Walks · one sitting, about 7 min
Awe
A short Self practice for a sense of something bigger, without saying what it is. Some would call it God or spirit, some would call it nothing at all: ask your parts for a little room and notice what is there.
10 steps, drawn from 15 books on IFS.
Checked: each step was read against the book passages it rests on, and stays inside them.
Read every step first
- By any name, or none. This is for a sense of something bigger than your parts: a moment of awe, of being part of everything, of enough. Some call it God, or spirit. Some call it nothing at all. You do not have to believe in anything spiritual to try this. If your parts are not up for it today, that is natural, and getting to know them becomes the walk.
- Get comfortable. Get comfortable, with your eyes open or closed, whichever suits you. If they help, take a few deep breaths, only to arrive where you are.
- A moment of something bigger. If one comes, bring to mind a time you felt part of something bigger: sitting quiet, lost in music or a task, in prayer or meditation, or for no reason you could name. Just the moment. You do not have to explain it. If nothing comes, that is okay too.
- What it was like. Notice what it was like. A sense of being connected, of room, of all being well? A quiet, a joy, a hum in the body? As you remember it now, notice where you feel it, if you do.
- Who came along? As you stay with it, notice whether a part has stepped in: one that wants to figure it out, one that doubts it, one that wants more of it, or one busy with something else. Any of these is likely a part, and nothing has gone wrong.
- What is here? With whatever room your parts have made, notice whether any of these are here, even a little: calm, clarity, curiosity, compassion, connectedness, confidence, courage, creativity. Or space, or a sense of enough. If one is there, where do you feel it? If none come today, that is okay too.
- What would you call it? People name this in many ways: God, spirit, the soul, the Tao, the Great Mystery. In parts work it is called Self. Some see it as brain activity and nothing more. Some give it no name. Any of these is welcome here, and so is not knowing.
- Rest there. Stay with whatever is here for a while, with your eyes open or closed. If your attention strays, come back like it is no big deal. Stay as long as you like.
- Back to your parts. Turn back toward your parts and notice how they react. Ask what it was like for them. Thank them for whatever room they made, if that is true for you, and any that held back for letting you know they were afraid.
- Before you go. Ask your parts whether they would be willing to try this again some time, and listen to what they say. If you plan to come back, let them know this was not their last chance to be heard. Only say so if you mean it. Then look around the room, feel your feet, and see if you can keep a little of whatever you found.
- Ask it for a little room. Turn toward it. Ask if it would give you a little room for a few minutes. It can stay nearby and watch, and it does not have to agree with anything. If it doubts all this, it is welcome too. Let it know you appreciate it looking out for you.
- Where did its answer point? Sometimes a protector's fear is about now: being left alone, losing control, something going wrong. Sometimes it points further back, at a younger part of you that got hurt and still carries it. Both are worth knowing. Only one of them is for today.
- Seen, and not today. If a younger part showed itself, let it know you noticed it and will not forget about it. You are not going to it today. If you want, make a note so you can come back to it. That may be plenty for one sitting.
- Get to know the one that stays. That is all right. Today, this is the part to get to know. Ask it what it fears would happen if it gave you a little room, and wait for its answer instead of thinking one up.