stillpoint yoga

yoga meditation and philosophy with Lynn Fraser
in the Himalayan Tradition of H.H. Sri Swami Rama

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Befriending Ourselves

Who is my best friend? What are the qualities I value in that friend? What do I value about my relationship with that friend? Hint – good friends don’t condemn and ridicule us!

Am I a good friend with myself? Why/why not? Could I be? How does that feel?

  1. Journal about these questions. Observe this week when you have a spirit of friendliness towards yourself and when that fades and you feel aggression or you judge yourself. Write about when and why? What is going on?

  2. What is the impact of this on the mind? The emotions?
     

  3. Is the way I treat myself similar to the way I treat other friends and family?

Internal dialogue

Find a quiet place where you can be alone for 10 or 15 minutes. Pretend you are sitting across from yourself and interviewing your mind about being your own friend. You could ask – do you feel I am your friend? Why or why not? Can you give me some examples to help me understand why you feel that way? Once you’ve asked the question, sit and wait for an answer. Make a mental note of the answers and thoughts coming into the mind.  When you’re finished, write in your journal about the experience.

  1. A few evenings before bed this week and before coming to class next week, journal for 5 or 10 minutes on what you are learning about yourself through this observation. 
     

  2. Throughout the week, practice the skill of staying in the present moment. When you notice something in your mind about friendship, make a mental note about what is going on at the time. Before next week’s class, journal for 5 minutes about what you observed.

 

 More on how to journal.