If you’re working through the 30 Day Self Love Challenge, Day 4 invites you to write a love letter to your least favorite part of yourself– whether that be a part of your body, an illness, a feeling, a past memory or decision, and so on! If you aren’t working through the Self Love Challenge, I’d invite you to join our supportive, high vibe facebook community!
This exercise can be a profoundly powerful – and difficult – challenge, whether you choose to do it as a part of the 30 day challenge or on its own. If you ended up here on your own, chance are you were meant to be here, and this exercise is probably something your soul is calling you to explore.
The idea of writing a love letter to a part of yourself that you might be less-than-thrilled with, or, let’s be honest, a part of yourself that you might hate, might seem counter-intuitive. Part of the deep, transformative energy work that I do with clients often involves grappling with the parts of themselves or their experience that they have difficulty accepting. I’ve learned that resistance to these parts of ourselves and our experiences only bring more of the same. All of these parts of ourselves are a part of our experience for a reason. That bad habit you wish you could break once solved a problem. The negative experience you’re going through is intended to teach you something. The physical symptoms you’re experiencing are also communication from your body to you. Deep transformation comes on the heels of acceptance– there’s a reason they say, “What you resist persists.” This love letter is a step in the direction of understanding and acceptance.
I know how difficult this exercise can be, and sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start. The following exercise will help you as you begin to interact with this part of you, whatever it may be.
Parts Visualization for Understanding & Acceptance
- Find yourself a space and designate some time to do a meditative visualization. You may wish to have a notebook or journal with you to jot down insights, thoughts, and feelings as they come to the surface, but feel free to complete the visualization in its entirety before writing your letter.
- Close your eyes, and imagine you are standing in a neutral, safe space. This can be anything you’d like: a beach, a meadow, somewhere you’ve been before, or somewhere you haven’t. Be as present as you can be in this space. Feel the ground beneath your feet, feel the temperature in the air, feel what it would like to be present in the space you chose.
- Ask the part of yourself you’re having difficulty understanding or accepting to join you in the space. Give the part of you a physical appearance, even if it would be intangible in real life. Be open to however this part of you may appear – sometimes, they appear as versions of ourselves from another time, an object, an animal, a shape, a cartoon character… absolutely anything!
- When the part of you has joined you in the space, pay attention to any feelings or emotions that may come up for you. Acknowledge these feelings and allow them to pass. This is an opportunity to have a conversation with this part of you, and you may be surprised at the information that comes up. Imagine asking this part of you questions, talking to it – the important part is to remember to allow it the space to answer. You may imagine it talking back to you in your visualization, or the answers may seem to ‘pop’ into your head.
Some questions you may consider asking are:
- How do you feel?
- What is your purpose? Why are you here?
- What is your job?
- What are you trying to show me or teach me?
- Where did you come from? When did you start?
- What would you like to tell me?
- What do I need to know?
- What do you need the most?
- How can I help you?
- How can I honor you?
- How can we work together?
- What problem are you helping me solve?
- When your conversation is finished, be sure to thank this part of you for joining you and helping you gain understanding. You may not be at the point of acceptance yet, but acceptance is a process with a result that comes with time.
- Jot down any insights, feelings, emotions, learning, or new understanding that might have come as a result of this exercise. Use this information to help you craft your letter. Remember, the important part of the exercise is the experience of writing the letter, not doing it perfectly or not having any negative feelings about it at all. Look for opportunities for new understanding, gratitude, and acceptance, but don’t pressure yourself to have them before you’ve processed through the layers and layers of things that need to be worked through along the way.
If you find this exercise difficult, or have interest in experiencing it with the help of powerful, transformative energy techniques to access your subconscious and bring resolution more quickly and easily, book a free clarity call with me today to talk about how I can help!