Is your own inner critic a constant weight dragging you down? Do you find yourself getting frustrated with your inability to “get things right”, to follow through, or simply to be kind to yourself? This question cuts deep, doesn’t it? We all know what self-judgment feels like, that constant voice whispering (or sometimes shouting) about our perceived shortcomings.
Today’s meditation is the clearest answer to a harsh inner critic, and you might be surprised at just how gentle this answer is.
“Meditation teaches us to focus and to pay clear attention to our experiences and responses as they arise, and to observe them without judging them.” – Sharon Salzberg
“Meditation is not a matter of trying to stop thinking or make your mind go blank but rather to realize when your attention is wandering and to simply let go of the thoughts and begin again. It is a way of changing our relationship to our thoughts, so we’re not so consumed by them, with no sense of space. Having a newly spacious relationship to our thoughts brings both peace and freedom.” – Sharon Salzberg
“The critical element in meditation practice is beginning again. Everyone loses focus at times, everyone loses interest at times, and everyone gets distracted over and over again. What is essential, and also incredibly transforming, is realizing that we have the ability to begin again, without blaming or judging ourselves, without thinking we have failed, without losing heart, we can, and need to, constantly be beginning again.” – Sharon Salzberg
“While you are meditating, if your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the present moment.” – Sharon Salzberg
“Meditation trains the mind the way physical exercise strengthens the body.” – Sharon Salzberg
“Training our mind through meditation does not mean forcibly subjugating it or beating it into shape.” – Sharon Salzberg
While training your brain to “focus” is the primary goal of today’s meditation, there is a secondary goal which I think is even more important than the first: the recognition that I’m human, that “of course my mind will wander, of course I’ll stumble and fall.”
This can become your SUPERPOWER. Read over Sharon Salzberg’s quotes again and pay attention to the ‘gentle redirect‘ without judgement, without criticism. This might just be the most essential skill that every single one of us needs… the habit of a gentle redirect.
This skill applies to so much more than meditation of course, it translates to everything we do, our work, our relationships, our whole life can benefit from the gentle redirect that becomes so natural through a consistent meditation practice. Every skill takes practice though. Repetition is necessary, like going to the gym and working a muscle again and again and again until it’s so much stronger than before.
Of course the point is not to shirk responsibilities, but to normalise the fact that we all have moments when we fall. You can be your own gentle nudge to get up and try again, or you can hang the weight of your own judgement around your neck to drag around forever.
You’ve lost focus? – “It’s ok, let’s just get back on track.”
You’ve had a horrible meltdown? – “Lean into this collapse for the moment and let all the baggage drop, you’ll stand up stronger without all that extra weight anyway.
You’ve lost your temper again? – “You are slowly get better at this, you’ll get another chance to practise again soon.”
Let a “gentle redirect” become your SUPERPOWER – accept that you’ll make mistakes, be kind to yourself every time you do, and gently re-direct yourself to simply try again.
“You cannot fail at meditation.” – Sharon Salzberg
Meditation is such a convenient way for you to practise your own ‘gentle redirect’…
Today, just one affirmation in answer to a harsh inner critic:
- “A gentle redirect is my SUPERPOWER.” It doesn’t matter that sometimes I stumble, I embrace the art of beginning again.
Come along for the ride. You can’t get this ‘wrong’, and you WILL find a newly spacious relationship to your thoughts and emotions.
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: Focus.