# The Path[^1] [[On Tools, Skills, and Practices...]] Type: [[🧘 IFS Meditations]] Use: [[🔑 Restore Parts' trust in Self and in Self-Leadership]], > [!Notice] This meditation has been edited from its original source %% ![[The Path.mp3]] %% > [!tip] Insight Timer Version > [The Path](https://insighttimer.com/drrichardschwartz/guided-meditations/ifs-the-path) > "In this deeply relaxing meditation, Dr. [[👤 Richard Schwartz]] guides listeners through The Path exercise where they take a journey without their parts in order to learn about Self Leadership. This exercise is designed to create awareness about Self and the needs of parts, both specific and in general." > [!note] Note > - I like to do this meditation while I’m literally [[👟 Walking]] outdoors. > - This pairs well with [[🧘 The Pathway Home]] First we get comfortable, and a few [[💨 Elongated Exhalation]]s. In your mind’s eye imagine yourself at the beginning a path. This might be somewhere you've been or an invention of your own. Then turn to your parts and ask them to wait there while you walk alone -- just for a little while -- and notice how they react. See if any fearful parts are comforted by parts who are okay with the idea, and let them all know that you won’t be gone long and this would be good for everyone, but they don’t have to say yes if they’re not ready to. If they’re not up for it, you can just spend the time just getting to know them better and understand their fears around doing this. If they say yes, remind them that we'll be right back and start walking. If any thoughts arise, you know there are parts with you still. So you ask these parts if they might be willing to separate and go be with the others. If they don't want to, you can ask what they're afraid of. You try a [[🧘 Body Scan]] and see if there are any sensations that don't quite feel like your Self. Most likely, these are also parts, and you can ask them to go be with the others too. If these parts are willing, you'll start to notice ourselves thinking less and less and perhaps gain a sense of spaciousness. If those parts are unwilling, that’s okay too. You can spend this time getting to know them and why they're scared. If at any time you can see yourself walking in third person, that's a [[🛡️ Presence-ing|Presence-like Protector]]. If that were you, how could you be watching? Kindly ask them to go be with the others, too, so you can walk the path yourself, in first-person. If the parts you've found have walked back to the base of the path, you should have access to some of the [[☀️ Self-Energy#Qualities of Self-Energy|☀️ Qualities of Self-Energy]]. Clarity of mind, spaciousness, feeling centered and embodied, a sense of well-being and connection, feeling confident and secure. You might notice a vibrating energy running throughout the body. This is [[☀️ Self-Energy]], and you can invite it to course through you. If you notice some place you can't feel it flowing, there is likely a part blocking it for some reason, and you can ask them to return to the base too. If you’re not feeling a difference, it's because your parts are still there. You can again scan your body and mind for parts and ask them to let you walk alone. Take a moment to pause and savor this feeling. Notice what it’s like to be so unblended and all the ways you can feel it. Notice how and where Self energy shows itself and remember these markers. In the future you can recognize these feelings and know you're embodied. As you go about our day you can compare how you're feeling now to how you're feeling then, and your place on that spectrum tells you how active your parts are. You may notice that [[⭐️ Body#Somatic Sensations|Somatic Sensations]] you're accustomed to feeling aren't around, which suggests those sensations might be caused by parts. So the next time you notice them, you can ask them to relax, to trust you and let you walk alone and handle the situation. They may offer advice before before going on their way. If you find yourself feeling a lot of Self energy, you might pause and listen for any messages. It may be nothing comes, which is okay, but we may receive something if we are receptive. When the time feels right, walk back toward the start of the path at whatever pace feels good. When you get back to your parts, see how they react and thank them for their bravery in letting you do this. Ask what it was like for them and if they might try it again sometime. Remind them you can help them, that you want to earn their trust, and to repair any damages to your relationships with them if there are any they'd like to share. If you still have some tingling Self energy, you can give it to your parts or send it to other people. Self energy is a healing energy. Notice how they react to this offering. When the time feels right, thank everyone for their time and their trust and see if you can bring some of this Self state with you as you slowly [[Transition out of meditation]]. ## Follow Up - If your parts didn't feel safe to let you walk, take the time to understand their fears. - Sometimes people do get some kind of kosmic guidance about their lives or about how to work with their parts. Sometimes it’s just a comforting sense we're not alone. Whatever it is, share it with your parts. Where exactly these messages are coming from is secondary to their value. - The Path often highlights parts that we otherwise wouldn't notice, like [[🛡️ Presence-ing|🛡Presence-Presenting Protectors]]. - If we're able to establish a spectrum of feeling unblended, our [[🛠 Parts Log]] can become even more effective. [^1]: [[📖 🟢 No Bad Parts - Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model]] Exercise: The Path