Okay. Take a comfortable seat.Imagine the “part” of you that –
– feels like a victim
– is angry
– or depressed
– or anxious
– or nervous
– or full of shame and guilt
. . . imagine whichever one of those you might feel right now moving over, giving you some space.
Imagine this to be a part of you that is not the real you, just a small part that comes to take over once in a while.Ask it to sit in the chair opposite you, but definitely a bit away, even if it’s just a few inches.
Just take a few minutes and feel that space, that separateness from that part of you…Do you remember that there was a “You” somewhere inside that was not anxious or depressed or any of those unwanted things?A You that was …. just being. Living in the moment?
Can you feel it?
This is not an easy exercise but it gets easier with practice.
It begins with recognizing that your moods are not you. They’re part of you.
But not your essence.
When you do that, it’s not quite so hard to ask those parts to move a bit away.What does that feel like? Without the parts that analyze? Rationalize? Feel bad? Feel hurt?
What does that center of You feel like?
When you can do that well – and recognize all the parts – it’s much easier to maintain Self energy – that core of who you really Are.And the benefits are huge:
1. You get to know who you are apart from all those other things – the defenses, the methods you have of avoiding, the moods, the methods you have of trying to get heard.
2. You can speak to your partner, your kids, your boss, from a place of Self energy which means calm, dignity, happiness (even when things are stressful), connection.
3. You get the perspective that only Self has, and that gives you peace because you can see the big picture, what happened before and why it was not your fault, and where you’re going.
Now, will you slip sometimes? Of course. You’re human. So what? Let me know if you’d like help with this exercise.