Hey,
I'm Cyrus.
You might sense that the deepest and truest version of yourself is calm,
Confident,
Has clarity and compassion and courage,
Is creative and curious and connected,
But there's all sorts of parts within your psyche and your body that are in the way of that deeper awareness,
That deeper self.
Maybe there's an over-intellectualizing part,
Or a judgmental and critical part,
Or a skeptical part,
And surely tons of other seemingly conflicting parts that you might start to become aware of as you explore that inner landscape.
And yet making and holding space for those parts and allowing them to let go of their burdens so that we can become more connected to and led by that deeper and truer version of ourself is the basis of IFS therapy,
Richard Schwartz's Internal Family Systems Model.
And today we're going to be doing an amazing meditation loosely adapted from his book No Bad Parts.
It's called The Path,
And it's going to give you a taste of what it feels like to really separate from those parts and feel that deeper self of pure awareness,
To embody and experience it on a very clear and obvious level that will benefit you in your life.
So go ahead and get into a comfortable,
Relaxed,
But alert position,
And when you feel ready,
Close your eyes.
Take a slow,
Deep breath into the body and hold the breath at the top and feel your body head to toe and the energy you notice as you hold for a moment.
And slowly exhale like you're breathing out through a straw,
Out through the mouth,
Allowing your body to relax as you exhale.
Let's do one more breath hold to really slow our rhythm down,
Breathing in through the nose,
Filling up the body like a balloon,
Holding at the top,
Feeling the flow of energy head to toe,
Whatever you notice as you hold.
And super slow breathing out like you're breathing in slow motion,
Letting everything relax as you exhale.
And I invite you to imagine a path that you would love to take a walk on.
Maybe it's a rigorous mountain hike first thing in the morning,
Or maybe it's a relaxing walk in the woods at golden hour.
And maybe it's somewhere you've already been,
Or it could be somewhere totally new,
But just imagine yourself at the base of that path now.
Take a moment to notice the parts that have shown up today.
What parts within you are making themselves known?
See if you can feel or sense who has shown up within you for this walk today.
Is impatience here?
Is excitement here?
Has apprehension made an appearance?
Has the judgmental skeptic packed and brought their heavy backpack?
Just notice who's here.
Take a head count.
Do a roll call.
And now that you've started to notice who's showed up,
At least initially,
We're going to throw a slight curve ball to them and just ask them now.
Literally ask them in your mind if they're willing to wait there for you.
At the base of the path and allow you to go on this brief journey by yourself,
Your deep and true self for just a little while.
And notice without judgment how those different parts react to that idea.
You can try to see if the parts that are afraid could be comforted by those who aren't,
But let them all know that you won't be gone long and this would be good for them and for you,
But that they don't have to let you do it if they're not ready to.
Just take a beat to notice that unfolding however it does.
And it's okay either way,
It just depends on the day,
Because some days your parts will be up for this and other days they won't be.
And if they're not then don't do it,
Just pack up and see if you can try another day or simply spend some time with your parts and see if you can get to know them and understand their fears better about letting you try this.
But if they are up for it then go ahead and head out on the path now and remind those parts that you'll be back soon.
Allow yourself to walk down this path from a first-person perspective like you're seeing out through your eyes and just enjoying yourself for a moment as you walk along at your pace.
And just notice now if you're thinking anything at all as you walk along the path,
Because if you are thinking that means that there's still some parts with you.
So see if those parts too would be willing to separate and go back to the base of the path with the others.
And if they're not just notice what their fears are about doing so.
And as you continue to walk along and enjoy yourself you might scan your body for anything that doesn't feel quite like you as that deeper present self.
And if you find or detect anything in your body that also is likely to be a part and you can ask it to return to the base of the path.
And if it's willing to just continue to walk along without it now.
And as more of these parts perhaps start to return back to the base you might notice yourself becoming more and more pure awareness without a lot of thought.
And see if you can notice directly and enjoy what it's like to walk along the path without thinking just aware of the flow of your direct experience.
If there are any subtle parts that aren't willing to leave your side that's fine.
You can just spend the time getting to know them and their fears and being the space in which they can be experienced and witnessed as you walk along.
And if at any point you find yourself watching yourself taking this journey from a third person perspective that means that there's a part trying to do this for you.
So just notice who is it that's watching.
You can ask that part to go back to the base too so that as you're on the path you don't see yourself you're just in the direct flow of your experience walking along.
And you might notice if your parts are really trusting you to do this then by now you might be experiencing the qualities of clarity,
Absence of thought,
Spaciousness,
Present centeredness,
A sense of well-being,
Connection,
Connectedness,
Being in your body and an effortless flow of confidence.
You may also sense a kind of vibrating energy running through your body that energy of the deeper self.
And if you do and it feels good invite it to run throughout your body as you walk along.
And if you notice any places in your body where the energy can't flow it's likely there's a part blocking it for some reason.
So you can see if that part will go back to the base of the path too.
And if you're not feeling those qualities we mentioned it means that there are parts still with you and you can scan your body and your mind to see if you can find those parts and gently ask if they will go back to the base.
And now I invite you to just pause and take in this experience as you walk along.
Totally at your own pace.
Notice what it's like to have this much energy of the deeper self in the body.
Notice the different ways you can feel it and how and where that energy manifests and reveals itself.
Almost like mental and emotional bookmarks that you can remember to tell that you're embodied in that deeper self.
Since by being familiar with that difference you'll be able to tell throughout your day how much that deeper self is present and how much your parts are running things instead.
For example,
You might notice how open your heart feels.
Whether you're in your head thinking a lot or if things are slowing down a bit.
Or if there's pressure in your forehead or shoulders or any other remaining subtle physical markers you might detect and if you catch any of those parts active you can just ask them to relax and go back to the base and just watch while you handle whatever you're facing,
Whatever's in front of you.
And maybe some of them need to give you advice before they head back to the base and that's fine but just remind them that they can trust you and continue to walk along in that deeper self now.
And to whatever extent you feel embodied in that deeper self just walk for a moment and enjoy that sense of thoughtless awareness as you drink in the pure beauty around you.
And allow the effortless fluid joy of motion fill your cup with more and more effortless energy.
And if you feel that deep embodiment you might take a moment to let any messages from the universe that want to appear to flow to you now.
Not thinking but simply intuiting and receiving whatever message or guidance wants to arrive to you now.
And maybe something came maybe nothing did but it's okay either way and now I invite you to head back towards the base of the path at whatever pace feels right to you.
Really enjoying the flow of pure energy and awareness as you return at your pace.
And as you perhaps begin to arrive to the base of the path and get back to your parts just notice how they're reacting to your return and thank them for whatever risks they took to let you do this.
Ask your parts what it's been like for them and check to see if they'd be up for letting you try it again sometime.
And as you start to make this gentle connection to them again remind them that you can help them that your goal is to earn their trust and that if any of them haven't trusted you for any reason that you're open to knowing about that when you feel ready and making repairs.
And if you're still holding any of that tingling vibrating energy of the deeper self in your body you can extend it to your parts now literally imagining yourself directing this flow of enlivening energy to your parts and noticing how they react to receiving that good energy.
And when that feels complete just thank all of your parts again for whatever portion of this exercise they allowed and begin shifting your focus back into the world at your pace now.
And as you open your eyes notice the good sense of being this field of embodied open awareness that also feels a connection to all the parts within you and the ways in which they communicate with you.
And I invite you to carry that embodiment and presence back with you consciously into your day and just be aware that some people don't get very far down the path at first because their parts won't allow it but even if that was the case it's valuable to learn why.
To ask them why they don't trust that it's safe and work with their fears but eventually you might notice your parts are increasingly willing to wait at the base and let you go down the path by yourself which will tend to lead to an increasing sense of that deeper self and felt embodiment as you practice at your pace.
Thank you for taking this time for yourself and your parts today and I hope you have a phenomenal day.
