Comforting Ourselves

Another way of becoming receptive is by learning to comfort ourselves. Other than chocolate, we may not know what comforts us or who within us needs comforting, but we can find out by gently looking within and asking ourselves what might feel comforting right now.

As you probably noticed, I wrote “who within us.” That’s because several individual aspects of our whole Self are active within us at all times. Although they are referred to by different names, I call them sub- personalities. When we are sad, angry, anxious, or scared, asking “Who in me is feeling this way?” is a straightforward way to get in touch with sub-personalities. Because I am a visual person, I usually “see” the part of me that needs my love. Very often, it is either a child or a twentysomething young woman. One of my clients is more auditory, and she “hears” answers. Other people neither see nor hear messages, but simply have a knowing about who within them needs soothing. It doesn’t matter how we perceive our sub-personalities, only that we ask them what they want and need from us now, and then do our best to fulfill their requests.

Excerpted from How to Stay Upbeat in a Beat Down World by Sue Patton Thoele. Available on Amazon.