Vulnerability is a door, not a hole. This one brings two more of your voices along to walk through it with you.
About 13 minutes with Steven Webb's calm voice.
You bring up a time you felt exposed and stand it in front of a door. Fear turns up, and you say I see you, thank you for trying to protect me. Then courage stands one side of you and wisdom the other, and all three say the lines together. You are not alone in there, even when it is only you.
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Thank you for sitting with me.
Steven
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Welcome to this guided meditation. I'm Steven. And this meditation is about embracing your
Steven Webb:vulnerability and also bringing along the voices of courage and wisdom at the same time.
Steven Webb:So let's begin by just allowing your body to settle into a comfortable position.
Steven Webb:And it's worth noting that you just allow your body to relax. You don't have to do anything. Your body
Steven Webb:knows how to relax.
Steven Webb:And as you become aware of your breath, just the same as your body, Your breath knows how to breathe.
Steven Webb:You don't have to get involved. We just become aware of this moment and allow it to be what it
Steven Webb:is.
Steven Webb:You can choose to gently close your eyes or just soften your gaze, just a few feet in front of
Steven Webb:you.
Steven Webb:And as you take on a moment just to arrive in this moment,
Steven Webb:you don't have to do anything, just be here.
Steven Webb:You don't even have to do anything with my words. Just
Steven Webb:hear them and
Steven Webb:allow them to be what they are
Steven Webb:Breathing in calm. Breathing out relax
Steven Webb:Breathing in calm. Breathing out relax
Steven Webb:And you may notice the body just leaning slowly back and forth. Just very subtle. That's
Steven Webb:okay. It's as the air goes into your chest. Your shoulders will slightly expand and move back. And
Steven Webb:you may notice your belly just going up and down slightly.
Steven Webb:That's your body doing its job.
Steven Webb:And that's all okay.
Steven Webb:And if you find your mind wanders, just smile. Thank you. Thank you for the thought. It's what the mind
Steven Webb:does.
Steven Webb:We never want to stop the mind thinking completely. We just want to educate the mind and help it to
Steven Webb:think in the way we want it to think. And right now we want the mind just to be aware
Steven Webb:of our breath
Steven Webb:we're breathing in calm, breathing out relaxed.
Steven Webb:And if you do have any thoughts of fear or avoidance coming up, just acknowledge them and then gently allow
Steven Webb:them to carry on past. It's
Steven Webb:almost like greeting an old friend and you nod and you give a smile. And you carry on walking.
Steven Webb:You don't even need to push them away.
Steven Webb:They'll fade away in the distance all by themselves.
Steven Webb:Now as you're feeling nice and relaxed, in this moment we'll just take a
Steven Webb:few more breaths. And
Steven Webb:what I mean by that is just be aware of your next few breaths. Whatever
Steven Webb:speed, whatever depth,
Steven Webb:You may notice they're slightly deeper than they were when you started.
Steven Webb:And just notice your shoulders relaxing. Your
Steven Webb:face relaxing.
Steven Webb:As you're relaxing into this moment,
Steven Webb:just bring to mind a time recently when you felt a little vulnerable.
Steven Webb:And let it come naturally, don't try to force it.
Steven Webb:And as you sit with this feeling, imagine it as a doorway.
Steven Webb:On the other side of the door lies a deeper connection. A connection with creativity and meaning.
Steven Webb:And notice if fear arises, acknowledge it. You could say silently to yourself, I
Steven Webb:see you.
Steven Webb:I fear. Thank
Steven Webb:you for trying to protect me.
Steven Webb:And then gently guide your attention back to your breath
Steven Webb:then just open your attention to just curiosity.
Steven Webb:What could be different the other side of the door?
Steven Webb:And ask yourself, what gift might be hidden within this vulnerability?
Steven Webb:Perhaps it's an opportunity to be honest. Perhaps it's an opportunity to grow or to connect.
Steven Webb:Perhaps it's just an opportunity to be vulnerable and
Steven Webb:be brave.
Steven Webb:An opportunity to mix the voices of courage. And
Steven Webb:wisdom alongside it.
Steven Webb:Now just imagine yourself looking at the door. And
Steven Webb:you stood there as the voice of vulnerability. And next to you, you've got your inner self,
Steven Webb:which is a clone of you with the voice of courage.
Steven Webb:And the other side of you, you've got your inner self as a clone of you and
Steven Webb:it's the voice of wisdom.
Steven Webb:And when you say these affirmations, the
Steven Webb:eye is all three of you. All the voices together.
Steven Webb:I am safe to be open to this opportunity.
Steven Webb:I am safe to be open to this opportunity.
Steven Webb:I choose curiosity over fear.
Steven Webb:I choose curiosity over fear.
Steven Webb:Within vulnerability, I find my strength alongside my courage and wisdom.
Steven Webb:Within vulnerability, I find my strength along with courage and wisdom.
Steven Webb:And as you feel these words resonate with you, How does vulnerability feel? How does that moment feel? Knowing that
Steven Webb:you also have different voices. The voices of courage and the voices of wisdom. And
Steven Webb:whatever voices that you'd like to bring to this moment. That
Steven Webb:although it is only you, you are not alone. The
Steven Webb:voice of vulnerability is not the only voice you have.
Steven Webb:So imagine seeing that time when you felt vulnerable.
Steven Webb:Imagine it with a deep breath and you're now braver because you have the other voices.
Steven Webb:And instead of the fear overall, maybe the voice is more excitement and opportunity.
Steven Webb:And now just take a few moments just to rest in the stillness.
Steven Webb:Let your breath guide you back to a sense of calm and presence.
Steven Webb:And just silently repeat these to yourself.
Steven Webb:May I be brave in my vulnerability.
Steven Webb:May I be brave in my vulnerability.
Steven Webb:May I embrace the gifts of openness.
Steven Webb:May I embrace the gifts of openness.
Steven Webb:May I show up fully with a voice of courage, compassion and wisdom.
Steven Webb:May I show up fully with a voice of courage, compassion and wisdom.
Steven Webb:And when you're ready just bring your awareness back to the room. And just shake out your arms or wiggle
Steven Webb:your fingers and gently open your eyes. And just imagine what life would be like instead of living off the
Steven Webb:one single voice. Whether it's fear or grief or whatever voice it is, imagine how
Steven Webb:different it would be if you just took a breath and go, okay, what more voices can we bring to
Steven Webb:this moment? I
Steven Webb:may be feeling vulnerable, but what if I bring the voice of courage? How different would it look?
Steven Webb:How much braver would I be?
Steven Webb:How vulnerability morphs into something different of an opportunity.
Steven Webb:I'm Steven Webb and thank you for your support on here. If you can leave a review and all these
Steven Webb:meditations are completely free because of people that can donate a coffee. That helped pay for the podcast and all
Steven Webb:the Inner Peace Meditations. You are awesome. Take care and thank you
Steven Webb:for meditating with me today.