Healing Through Parts Work | Meditation #5

*Dive deeper with the full Conversation Episode that will be posted on Wednesday!*

The way you see yourself today was shaped by the experiences of every version of you that came before.

In this guided meditation, Amy introduces a compassionate approach to Parts Work—a practice inspired by Internal Family Systems (IFS) but adapted into a simple framework you can use on your own. Rather than criticizing or trying to "fix" yourself, you'll learn to reconnect with younger versions of yourself through curiosity, understanding, and love.

As you revisit a meaningful memory, you'll practice offering your younger self the compassion, safety, and wisdom they needed most. This process helps loosen the grip of shame, soften negative self-talk, and begin changing the unconscious beliefs that still influence your life today.

Healing doesn't come through punishment. It comes through compassion.

Take a deep breath, find a comfortable place to settle in, and join us as we begin building a relationship with every part of ourselves—so we can experience greater healing, greater self-compassion, and greater peace.

In this episode you'll experience:

• A guided self-compassion meditation
• An introduction to Amy's approach to parts work
• A practice for connecting with younger versions of yourself
• A powerful exercise for reducing shame and strengthening self-worth

On Wednesday's conversation episode, Amy and Ryan will explore why this practice is so transformative and how it can change the way you relate to yourself and others.

*Subscribe to the Greater Peace Podcast for new episodes every Monday and Wednesday.*

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hi guys, my name is Amy Lindstrom, and this is the Greater Peace Podcast. Today is Monday's meditation day. So I'm going to introduce a new topic for the week to be focused on. I'm going to guide you in a meditation that is pretty special today. And then we are going to on Wednesday, I'm going to introduce the topic to Ryan. We're going to discuss it with each other, and hopefully, we come out of that one with some skills and practices that you can use in your life that will help you to find more healing, more self-compassion, and more peace overall. So let's get going. So this topic is a hard one for me to put a label on, actually. I call it parts work, but if you've ever read the incredible book, No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz, then you're familiar with um internal family systems, IFS, we call it. So this is that, but not that. It's different. Um, I created, like tried to keep it in a way where it's something that people can use on their own without needing to have a therapist guide them through it. And so it's that, but not. Uh, it's intern or inner child work, but also not, because there's a framework there. So this is it's a little bit different, but we're we're going to call it parts work because for me, the thing that I say often is that it's like we are the sum of every version of ourselves that we have ever been. When you think of a memory that you had as a child that was something difficult that you went through, that version of you still lives in there, right? When we talked about the conditioned mind in week one, and we keep talking about it because it's super important to know those are the thoughts that we're trying to, the conditioned thoughts are conditioned by the experiences that we've had and the way that our brain perceives a way to keep us safe in it. And it doesn't make sense, but our brain often, when we're young and egocentric, it sees the world outside, we're at the center of it. And so when things are going wrong, we see that it is us that is bad, us that is wrong, us that is unlovable. And so, because it's the only way to conceptualize, you know, our uh world around us with our limited understanding. And so it is um something that is very important to go back. If you want to change the way that your brain views the world, we want to change out the filters, right? We want an upgrade. There is a filter that was created in your brain when you were young that is still operating. It served you very well then, and now it may be harmful. So um just different patterns of behavior that we have. I mean, one of the examples that's easy, it's like, do you know any adults who throw tantrums? You know, it's like, who throws tantrums? Three-year-olds that aren't getting their way, you know, because it's effective for them. They throw a tantrum and their parents like, okay, whatever, you can have what you want sometimes. Um, or uh they get loving and taken care of sometimes. And so whatever it is, they learned that this is a behavior that works to get what they need. And our brain, remember, is ruled by the fears of I don't have what I need, I don't belong, and I'm powerless. So when you are a child, your brain is constantly trying to avoid those things, but also find where those things might be true in every possible engagement scenario, right? Now remember, how do we like protect our kids from that or whatever? You know, I don't want that to be the case. I never want my kids to feel like this. But remember, this is the way the human brain works. It is necessary for consciousness to develop, the deeper senses to develop. And so it I guess the evidence that I would say that it is necessary is that not one of us is free of it. I've worked with people who have horrific, traumatic uh trauma childhood, which makes sense, right? Why they think and feel the way they do. I've also worked with other people who are absolutely struggling with some really intense stuff. And they had the most wonderful childhood where their parents were completely present all the time and uh validated them all the time and gave them everything that they needed that they were comfortable, and yet they still have this because they're interacting with humans and their brain is designed to work this way. So we're calling it parts work. Um, but this really is to me, I think it's hard to call it parts work without uh without feeling like it falls short a little bit just because this is the point where if you have negative self-talk, if you have shame, we all do. If um if you struggle with self-compassion, if you're struggling to know your worth and your value, if you struggle with confidence, all of that is will change through this process. You start to really experience a shift in the way that you view yourself, the way that you view the way you react. There's no more room for shame. There's a lot of grace, there's a lot of healing, there's a lot of opportunity for change without needing to beat ourselves up because we are the way that we are. So let's get right into it. Um, you can get comfortable. Remember, if you struggle with visualization, this I have done this with people who struggle with visualizing things, and it is still very effective. You just have to find the way that it works for you. If I say see, is that word then translated in your mind to feel or um whatever it is that works for you or hear, whatever it is that helps you. Um and sometimes I think that that's just a process of learning and trying because oftentimes when you can't visualize something, guided meditations is something you just remove as something you're gonna try because you can't do it. And so I'm just asking you to try, see if you can build the muscle. I know that it does still work when people experience that. So um the other rule is compassion is the rule. There's no criticism in this space, no judgment in this space. Uh, when we are doing what we are doing, we go into it with love and compassion. And um that's where you will see a lot of healing. So, okay, so take some deep breaths, get comfortable. You can lay down if you want to in this one because it is guided. Get comfortable to a point where it will not distract you. Then take a deep breath in. And then exhale. And then another deep breath in. And then exhale. Feel your body on your chair or laying down. Just becoming embodied in this place. Connecting to yourself, unwinding. Give yourself permission to release all the stressors of the day. When we give ourselves a break every once in a while, then we are more able to have the energy that we need to confront the problems that we need to solve. And so it is necessary. Now, sometimes your brain might bring to you immediately an image in this one. Our brains are constantly aware of where we need healing. I don't know how to explain that. It's a lot of research in EMDR that has been done and in other places, but all the experiences I've ever had is that if there is something that is ready for healing, your brain becomes aware of it or continues to bring it to your mind. In this situation, I want you to think of a time in your past. Maybe when you were a kid, maybe when you were a teenager. I just want you to think of a time when you were struggling. When something was very hard for you. Maybe where you felt alone. Maybe you didn't know what to do or how to handle a situation and it was overwhelming. Maybe you felt excluded. Maybe you felt hopeless. Maybe see if you can visualize them or sense them. Maybe they are in a park on a park bench. Maybe they're in your old bedroom. Sometimes when we go through difficult things, it feels like it's never going to end. We cannot see our way out of it, especially as kids. When you see the pain that they are feeling, and you know that pain. But you know that they survived it. That they learned something, that they got out of that situation, or that they're still in the process of learning. But you're not stuck there anymore. As you move toward them, hold on to the energy of compassion and love for them, and maybe go sit down by them. This is where you think about what did you need at that point. What would have been meaningful? The meme my daughter-in-law sent me of I am becoming the woman that my younger self would have gone to for protection. Be that person. And have a talk with that younger version of yourself. Tell them how great they are. Tell them what's coming. Tell them your perspective. Holding on to love and compassion for them. As if they are your own child. And let's just take a moment with that. Just to intuitively let whatever flow, keeping in compassion. There's no need for criticism. Again, if you do what we did in the wise person, if you ask questions or talk to them, you may pause, relax, and receive whatever it is that they want to say, and your job is to comfort them. So let's just take a few mo minutes with that. Do they want to stay in the space that they're at? Or do you feel like it would be helpful to bring them home with you? You can imagine taking them by the hand or just inviting them. Maybe they want to come live at your house and be with you. So they have what they need. But I want you to notice that when you feel that love and compassion for that younger version of yourself, notice how maybe at a time when they were trying to make the best possible decision they could, and maybe they were in trouble or they made a poor decision or whatever it was, it's just realizing how much forgiveness and grace you have for that version of yourself. However, in our current minds, we really struggle with giving ourselves that same amount of grace, but we are only functioning according to that understanding and trying to do the very best that we can. If you are going to beat yourself up for ways that you think or things that you've done, or things that you struggle with, there's this version of yourself and many, many, many more that you are putting down. And they don't need that anymore. What they do need is love and compassion. Criticism and punishment does not create meaningful change. Punishment may change behavior because of fear, because they're afraid of being harmed or hurt. And so their behavior changes. But if you want deep change, that only comes through compassion. I hope that this is meaningful for you. Ryan and I will talk more about it on Wednesday. But come back and do this again. Visualize this situation, other memories that you have, other times. Sometimes I think of my five-year-old self, and I just want to scoop her up and just love her. I hope that you are all well and happy and peaceful, and we'll see you on Wednesday.