Welcome to this inner critic guided meditation to teach you how to calm your
inner voice. Close your eyes and get yourself into a comfortable position
either sitting or lying. Whatever feels most comfortable to you. Bring your
awareness to where your body is positioned in relation to the space
around you. And now let's start by first focusing on the breath.
Notice when you take in a breath how it expands your tummy and chest and when
you breathe out the chest and tummy relax again.
Give each breath your full attention.
On your next inhale try to purposefully expand the belly and notice it relax on
the exhale. One more time, breathe in fully expanding your belly and on the
out-breath squeeze out all the air from your lungs. And now go back to your
normal breathing pattern. Allow your breath to become gentle and natural. With
every breath you feel yourself becoming more centered.
Today's meditation is to learn how to be kind-hearted to yourself. Being self
compassionate simply requires the recognition that we all suffer and to
have a desire to help yourself through that suffering. Everyone makes mistakes,
everyone suffers at some point. It's part of being human. We're all in this
mixed-up world together, living with disappointments failures and grief.
Understanding that we're all in this together allows us to come together as a
community and understand the suffering of our fellow humans. All human beings
deserve compassion including you.
We all have an inner critic and most people will tell you not to listen to
that self-critical voice. This may work for a while but it will soon come back
because your inner critical voice is a part of you.
Now if you were a teacher working with a naughty child shouting at them or
ignoring them would make their behavior worse but if you listen to them and find
out why they are behaving this way you get somewhere with them. So today you
will learn how to be like this caring teacher for yourself. You're going to
take the time to listen to your inner critical voice and understand where it's
coming from.
So a scan your body and relax the muscles to the best of your ability.
Allow your jaw to relax and let a half-smile play on your lips. Now think
of a critical statement you often tell yourself. This critical statement may
feel very familiar to you something you say to yourself when you make a mistake
now as you think of that self-critical phrase notice how your body has reacted.
Has anything happened to your breath?
Become aware of any sensations in your body. Now you're going to gently question
that inner critical voice. Just get still and listen to any answers that may come
to you. Inner critic, do you crave perfection?
Inner critic, do you feel let down? Inner critic, do you feel mistrustful? Inner critic,
are you bored?
Inner critic, do you feel angry? Inner critic do you want success?
Inner critic do you feel hopeless?
Get still and listen to the answers from your inner critical voice.
Now you're going to notice how the harsh critical voice is received in your body.
How when you hear that critical phrase does your body respond?
Does your inner critic make you feel sad?
Does it make you feel lonely? Do you just need to feel loved?
Notice these two parts of your being ... the inner critic and a part of yourself that
receives the criticism. Allow both of them to be acknowledged hold space for
them both without judgment without the need to fix the disconnect. Find it in
your heart to grant them a generosity to be open. Return to your breath. Take two
or three slow breaths and take a few moments to settle and center yourself.
Allow the half-smile to come to your face again and if you'd like put your
hands on your heart and allow kindness to flow through your fingers, as a
gesture of support and self kindness.
Being kind to yourself will not lead you to have a big ego but it will allow you
to be free to make mistakes without worrying about the consequences. You are
no better than anyone else and you are no worse than anyone else.
No one person is ever to blame for something. Mistakes are often caused by a
chain or a series of events. Repeat after me
silently in your mind. May I forgive myself. May I be strong. May I be
compassionate to myself and others.
May I learn from my experiences.
May I accept myself as I am in this moment.
May I be patient. May I give myself the kindness I need.
When you find you're being hard on yourself choose one of these phrases to
repeat to yourself in the moment.
Today take the time to really listen to others. It's not easy to truly listen. We
want to put our own point across or interrupt or we start judging someone
instead of truly listening to them.
And by learning how to listen to others, you'll find it easier to listen to
yourself, even your inner critical self.
Bask in the self love and compassion you currently feel for yourself. No one can
love you as well as you do.
Now that we've come to the end it's time to come back now come back to
yourself come back to your breath, feeling renewed, calm and soothed.