How do you set the stage for listening to your parts? Read on…
Carmelina writes:
The process of tuning in to the Parts and what they are not wanting and wanting for me is so very subtle that it is hard to do! I am not clear about how to develop this skill.
For example, should I sit quietly with my eyes closed on a regular basis, like a meditation practice? Should I tune in whenever something is bothering me? It seems like there needs to be a practice of settling like mindfulness meditation beforehand to be able to tune in and sense the Parts better but I’m wondering what you recommend.
Dear Carmelina:
The practice you are looking for can be fully found in the Focusing process itself.
Even if you know you want to listen to your parts, you’ll start by settling your awareness into your body.
After feeling how your body is supported, and resting into that support, you’ll bring awareness into the inner area of your body: throat, chest, stomach and abdomen.
You’ll remember the life issue you are interested in Focusing on, and you’ll invite the felt sense of that to come freshly now.
It’s at that point that you may encounter parts. (Though it might also be later in the process when they appear.) Because you are sitting calmly and cultivating your ability to sense and listen, you are in an ideal position to get to know your parts.
But before you try sensing what they are wanting or not wanting, first just make a simple connection. “Hello, I know you’re there.”
Just as with a person, we can’t expect to have a deep conversation until we’ve made a connection and we’re in a friendly relationship.
You’ll probably find that once you feel a part in your body, and you’ve reached out to it in a friendly way, it’s not hard at all to sense what it wants and what it doesn’t want.
