Welcome to the Daily Insight.
My name is Fleur Chambers and it is my pleasure to guide you in today's practice.
Today we shall gladden our minds,
Bodies and hearts.
I love the metaphor of our mind as a garden.
To have a resilient,
Vibrant and healthy mind,
We need to attend to it much like we would attend to a garden.
We need to pull weeds and plant seeds.
And so in today's practice we shall pull the weeds of self-criticism from our minds and plant the seeds of self-compassion.
Where our attention goes,
Energy flows.
So together let's direct our attention away from self-criticism and towards self-compassion,
Creating a space for more peace,
Contentment and ease within our minds,
Bodies and hearts.
So settling into a comfortable position and as an opening act of self-compassion,
Just seeing if you could be 10% more comfortable.
Wonderful.
And closing down your eyes.
Moving now from the external to the internal.
And drawing your awareness to the natural flow of your breath.
Noticing the gentle rise and fall of your chest as you breathe.
Noticing the soft expanse of your belly as the air moves in and out.
Noticing any sense of arriving.
Arriving into your body,
Your heart.
Arriving into this moment.
With each breath,
This sense of arriving is growing within you.
Softening.
Letting go.
Peaceful.
Spacious.
And now with a sense of warm-heartedness,
Can you direct your attention to some of the self-critical thoughts that live within the garden of your mind.
Maybe they relate to your physical appearance,
To your personality,
Or to where you are at the moment in life.
Do you set high expectations for yourself?
And are you hard on yourself when you don't meet these?
Is there a quiet rumbling deep inside that you need to be more or do more?
Allowing these thoughts and ideas to gently move in and out of your awareness,
Much like clouds on a summer's day.
Breathing into these thoughts.
With each breath,
Feeling the space that is created.
Space to see these thoughts in new and liberating ways.
How do these self-critical thoughts make you feel in your body?
How do they make you feel in your heart?
Do these thoughts help you?
Are these thoughts even true?
Taking a deep breath in,
And as you exhale,
Letting these thoughts go.
With each exhale,
A letting go.
Noticing any experiences of relaxation or lightness that emerge from within this act of letting go.
Drawing your awareness once more to your breath,
And directing your breath into your heart.
Breathing into your heart.
Breathing out of your heart.
Noticing any sense of warmth,
Relaxation or peace.
Resting here in this moment of connection.
I'm curious,
If your heart could speak,
What message would it have for you?
Being open to any words,
Emotions or physical sensations.
Breathing this message from your heart,
Deep into your body.
Setting yourself an intention for how you would like to move away from self-criticism and towards self-compassion.
Sealing this intention with one deep grateful breath.
Planting it like a small seed in your heart.
Allowing the energy of this intention to shape your reality.
Rubbing your hands together now.
Feeling your own warmth,
And placing them somewhere on your body.
Enjoying your own warmth,
Your own ability to soothe yourself.
When you are ready,
Opening your eyes to the space you are in.
May you move through your days feeling inspired to attend to the garden of your mind.
