“I can feel the seeds within me stirring, calling and pulling. . . . Asking me to listen, to follow the path they wish to to grow for me.
Wistfully | look at what I have grown, the path I have made already that stretches out behind me.
I see it’s medicine weeds, the richness of soil, and I also see where it has become run down, the earth dry and the roots weakening.
I know the path is changing, I know my soul is calling for something new, and I watch the brave shoots of green, the buds on tree branches and I wonder if I have the same bravery, the same courage to let these new seeds of mine take me.”
Here in the northern hemisphere, we are halfway to spring.
“…beneath the surface of winter, the miracle of spring is already in preparation; the cold is relenting; seeds are wakening up. Colors are beginning to imagine how they will return. Then, imperceptibly, somewhere one bud opens and the symphony of renewal is no longer reversible. From the black heart of winter a miraculous, breathing plenitude of color emerges.”
Here’s a powerful practice from Ann Weiser Cornell to shift your experience with your inner critics so you feel relaxed instead of undermined.
Let’s try it…
Pause: Take a moment to settle into your body. Feel your feet. Feel your seat. Allow yourself to arrive in the inner area of your body, throat, chest, stomach, and below. Remember a time when something in you said critical things to you. Maybe something like, “What makes you think you can do this?”
Acknowledge: When you find your inner critic’s words, try saying it like this: “I’m sensing something in me saying __________________.” Mine often sounds like my father because it learned its language from him. So my sentence would be “I’m sensing something in me saying ‘who do you think you are?’”
Say Hello: And then say hello to the one who is saying that. You’re not agreeing or disagreeing with what it says. You’re simply saying “Hello.” Try saying out loud, “I’m sensing something in me saying ____________ and I’m saying hello to it.”
Listen: Because inner critics are often worried, we want to invite them to let us know what they’re worried about. We can do that by saying, “Might you be worried?” And then listen to its response. When I sense the part of me that says “who do you think you are?”, it lets me know that it is worried I’ll get bigger than other people are comfortable with. For it, that means I’ll get attacked or hurt somehow.
Let it Know You Hear It: Gently let your inner critic know you sense what it’s worried about. You’ll get a sense of relief just from IT finally being able to let you know why it is worried.This is just a beginning. As you practice responding to Inner Critics with compassion and confidence, you’re far less likely to get taken over by them and far less likely to feel bad about yourself.
Here’s the powerful truth:
Every inner critic is trying to save you.They’re just so worried something bad will happen to you that they talk to you in a way that leaves you feeling terrible. But you can turn that around when you know how to respond to them. Lasting change comes from how you relate to yourself and everything you feel.
the stars speak your name the moon sings in your veins the selkies who swim through harbor and lagoon remember you with liquid eyes
come home to the timeless tide to the truth of you hidden like witchlight under your skin come home to your true story the one hidden like sunken treasure beneath who you think you are and who the world told you you could be
you are more than the roles you play for others and the ones you try on for yourself you are more than your fear more than your longing circumstances and pain
come away from the harsh dry land of limitation move away from the shoreline of approval the sharp rocks of fitting in will only bruise your luminous skin
lay down all you think you know abandon that habit of smallness relinquish the sting of bigness let what is unworthy drift out from you
feel
allow the waves of possibility to cradle your soul-drenched heart
float
on the current of ancestors those who burned and bled who gave all so you could embody what they could not so that you could become
more
spread your arms wide like hope and your legs wild like abandon feel your spine loosen with silk and starlight
you belong to She who holds the deep in her lap She is not afraid of the dark
She is the dark
and you are the pearl she is crafting from chaos and crisis look at you shine every bit of you treasure”
