This post idea crystallized after a series of events, not surprisingly, as that is often how it works. First, something will catch my attention: a thought or concept, a meditation or podcast. Then, my individual clients will bring content to their sessions that inspire a connection to whatever has been on my radar in the first place. I very frequently will link my clients with whatever the content is, and it provides an often intriguing and simple way for clients to continue their psychotherapy progress between sessions.
In trying to up my meditation game, I have been using Insight Time daily [Link to app?] and have been particularly attracted to Sarah Blondin. The music is subtle, her voice is dreamy, and the content is spot on and accessible without too much woo-woo (which I’m not opposed to in the least, but can be difficult for some folks).
I recently listened to Loving and Listening to Yourself LINK and found it to be relevant for so many reasons. In my work with people, there is so often an urge to make people get it. We all want to be heard and understood, obviously. However, when it tips into *need* with a capital N, then it can be a problem. We might throw a fit, yell, scream, threaten and cry. It could be cause for self-harm, to prove how much we hurt. It might show up as behaving in ways incongruent with our values in order to be noticed.
All of these tactics make sense, and, perhaps more importantly, they are often occurring outside our actual awareness. So much is running in the background of our mind that we often don’t even know the why in terms of our behavior. Loving and Listening invites the listener to go inside, to detach from the self that is engaging the daily grind. The rejection and alienation and aloneness we find is because of the space between our two parts: my day to day and my heart center. We seek the love and acceptance from others that we first need to access within ourselves. Sarah reminds us that it is already there. Love we get from others only adds to our already plentiful well-being.
When we engage this practice, empty begins to fill. Desperate feels hopeful. Our unstoried self is given space. Masks and false identities, barriers to connection, and destructive behavior falls away. We are all we need.
I invite you to listen to her guided meditation. Please share what other practices you use to connect to your authentic, most kind and loving self.
