Hello and welcome.
My name is Tina Stinson and I want to thank you for joining me for this meditation.
Find a place where you can be alone with yourself for a few minutes.
Sitting or lying down,
It doesn't really matter.
What matters is that you give yourself permission to stop in this moment.
Close your eyes if that feels good.
And I want you to take a deep breath in through your nose,
Filling your belly.
Hold at the top for a moment and then exhale slowly through your mouth,
Settling in,
Allowing yourself to relax.
One more time,
Breathing in and breathing out,
Letting your shoulders drop away from your ears,
Letting your jaw drop open and just letting yourself relax.
You don't have to be anywhere else right now.
You don't have to do anything.
You don't have to be anyone other than exactly who you are in this moment.
And that is enough.
And that has always been enough.
Bring your awareness into your body.
And notice where you might be holding any tension.
Your neck,
Your jaw,
Your shoulders,
Your chest.
Just notice.
No fixing.
And now ask yourself gently,
Who am I performing for right now?
Don't overthink it.
Just let the answer float up if it wants to.
Maybe it's a parent,
A partner,
A boss,
A friend,
A version of yourself from five years ago,
A stranger on social media.
Whoever it is,
You can let them go for now.
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Imagine letting down a mask you didn't even know you were wearing.
Another breath in.
And exhale,
Releasing another layer.
You don't have to perform here.
You don't have to be interesting or kind or put together or calm or anything.
You just have to be you.
And if you don't even know what that means yet,
We're going to go find that out together.
Now bring your attention to your chest,
The center of your heart space.
Imagine a small,
Soft light there.
It's always been there your whole life,
Even when you forgot about it.
Even when you covered it up with what you thought you were supposed to be.
That light is you.
Not the resume you.
Not the good employee,
The good partner you.
Not the version of you that filters and edits and apologizes for existing.
The real you.
The one who laughed before anyone told you how to laugh.
The one who cried before anyone said,
Don't cry.
The one who made something just because it felt good before anyone said,
That's not true.
That's not good enough.
That version of you is still here.
Let's get curious about them.
I want you to ask yourself quietly,
What do I actually like?
Not what I'm supposed to like.
What do I truly like?
Let the answer come,
Even if it's silly,
Even if it's weird,
Even if no one else gets it.
What makes you feel alive?
And when do you feel most like yourself?
You don't have to do anything with these answers.
Just let them exist.
Just let yourself be seen by yourself.
This is the whole point.
Who are you?
You are not here to be a copy.
You are here to be an original.
The one that only you can be.
The world doesn't need another filtered,
Muted,
Flattened version of a human being.
The world needs you.
You're weird.
You're quiet.
You're loud.
You're messy.
You're magic.
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Just let that land in your heart space.
Now I want you to imagine looking at yourself,
Not the mirror version that critiques,
The soul version that sees.
See yourself exactly as you are right now.
Not who you will be when you reach that goal or find your purpose or get your life together.
Right now.
And notice if there's any part of you that wants to look away.
I want you to stay and say this to yourself,
Silently or out loud.
I see you.
I accept you.
All of it.
The parts I show people and the parts I hide.
Now say,
I love you.
Not because you earned it.
Not because you exist.
Because you're supposed to be exactly this.
This might feel strange.
It might feel like a lie.
It might make you cry.
All of that is welcome here.
You have spent so long trying to be acceptable to other people,
Trying to be small enough,
Quiet enough,
Nice enough,
Normal enough.
What if you were already acceptable exactly as you are?
What if the only person who needed to say yes to you was you?
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Exhale the word yes,
Silently.
Yes to you.
Yes to how you are right now.
And yes to the person you're becoming.
Now bring that soft light back to your chest and feel it glow a little brighter.
This is your home.
Not a house.
Not a relationship.
Not a job.
This light.
This is you.
You don't have to figure everything out today.
You don't have to show up differently tomorrow than you did yesterday.
But you get to know that you're allowed.
You're allowed to be weird.
Allowed to be quiet.
Allowed to take up space.
Allowed to change your mind.
Allowed to not know.
Allowed to dance in the kitchen.
Allowed to sing loud in the car.
Allowed to follow your joy like it's your job.
Because it kind of is.
When you're ready,
Begin to bring your awareness back.
Maybe wiggle your fingers,
Your toes.
And know deep in your heart that you can come back here anytime you need it.
This version of you is always waiting.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes and move in to the rest of your day.
Not as someone you're trying to be,
But as someone you already are.
You're supposed to be here.
You're supposed to be you.
Now go be that.
Fully.
Unapologetically.
With joy.
Namaste.
