Although I have continued to keep my meditation practice in the past week, I was not able to post on the blog weekly as I had initially wanted. I felt a lot of regret for not posting, and then some avoidance each time I thought about what to write. I felt anxiety about revealing more about myself, but I also wanted to provide something new to the audience, and was not sure what would be the most helpful.
"...once we get a little derailed due to a change, we feel bad about it and are less likely to get back on track." (Babatua, Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change, pg.99)
After reading the above passage, I was inspired to practice what I preach, and try to work through the negative feelings that were delaying my posting. Below is a link to a meditation from Jack Kornfield, who is one of my favorites. It is called "Developing a Healing Attention", and I chose it because it is what I feel is one of the best things we can give to ourselves daily (for free!).
I also aim to cultivate this kind of attention in each of my clients as they move through the psychotherapy process. By that, I mean that the process of self discovery includes looking at different aspects of ourselves, but this should be done with loving kindness, not with a critical eye. Even holding our own negative thoughts can be a challenge, but it is important to see how we think about ourselves and others, and how those thoughts effect our actions.