Candy McCarty

Hot Springs Village, AR, USA

English

Before identity, before belief-there was simply you. Through observation and experience, we learn how to see the world, and in turn, ourselves. This meditation guides you in recognizing those inherited lenses, so you can soften them and return to your authentic nature.

Music: Blessing by Liborio Conti

Who Are You Beneath The Story

Hello and welcome. My name is Tracy McCree. I'd like to welcome you here to this guided meditation visualization. And today we're going to talk about how we learn to see the world through others. And the thought of it was inspired by one of my favorite books and specifically a particular part of it. So it's inspired by the book Frankenstein. And the particular scene that inspired this meditation is when the creature, or he's called Frankenstein, but the creature runs. And he's trying to find shelter and he finds shelter in a cabin or a house, kind of the side of someone's house. And it's a blind man and his family. And he hides and he can see the family through the wall, this little hole in the wall. And he learns words and language. And in this particular case, what we're talking about, he learns what a family is, what love is, how they interact with each other. Just normal daily activities of the family when they come and go and how they greet each other. And then he finds books and as he learns language, he reads and learns more. But his main source of his own structure of his identity or who he becomes in that moment is by looking through that hole in the wall at the family. That's what I'm going to bring into this meditation. And there's a way that many of us have learned to understand ourselves and it's through this same lens of others or other. So it's an invitation to gently explore this pattern that many of us carry. And the way that we even learn to read others, maybe what the creature did. If someone was happy or sad, he learned to read them, to sense what they may need. He started to feel compassion and empathy for the old man that couldn't see. And we learn to understand ourselves through their reflection. And sometimes without realizing it, we begin to wonder if we are ourselves at all or if we can even see ourselves. It blurs that line. So today is a space to slow that down, to begin to notice what it feels like to include yourself in your own awareness. So I invite you to begin and just take a moment to settle in. And get as comfortable as possible, whether that's seated or lying down. And allow your body to be supported. And let yourself fully arrive in this moment. Maybe even softening your jaw. Moving one shoulder up, back and down. The other up, back and down. Softening your face, your gaze. And there's nothing you need to do right now. Just being here in this moment is enough. And if it feels comfortable, you can gently close your eyes now. Or if you prefer, you can soften your gaze. Just begin by noticing your breath. Not changing it. Or controlling it. Just becoming aware of it. The inhale. And the exhale. And maybe do a cleansing, nice long inhale to the count of four. Two, three, four. Hold it, and then a sigh out. And allow your breath to be something that you can come back to again and again. Even if your mind wanders, that's okay. You can just picture clouds floating by in the blue sky. And just return to your breath. And now I want to further this illustration and begin with a story. Not something to analyze, but something to gently listen to. And I invite you to imagine a person who has lived their entire life believing that they could not see clearly. And this is not something they question. It's simply how they understand themselves. And because of this belief, they learn to move through the world differently. They become highly attuned to others. Sensing their tone, their energy, their facial expression, even subtle shifts in presence. And they learn to ask questions like, Who am I to you? What do I seem like? What do you notice about me? And they're asking outside of themselves, and slowly, through these questions, through asking, because they believe they can't see clearly, they begin to build a sense of self. But this is built through reflection, and through relationship with the other, through what is returned to them from others. And for a long time, this feels like the only way to know themselves. And now imagine that something shifts, not dramatically, not all at once, but quietly. They wake up one morning, and something feels different. At first, it's really hard to name, but the world feels clearer, more direct, less filtered through this lens. Colors even feel more vivid. Space feels more open. And presence feels more connected, more immediate. And slowly, they begin to realize they are seeing, not for the first time, but perhaps for the first time without interference. And then they begin to realize something deeper. There had been something they were wearing, not something physically that they could easily name, but something subtle, like a lens or a filter. Something they never knew was there. Now, this has fallen away, and they begin to understand. They were always seeing. It was simply obscured. And now let that realization gently turn inward. Because if seeing the world becomes clearer, perhaps seeing yourself can become clearer, too. So gently bring your awareness back to your breath, to your body. To the simple fact that you are here. And softly ask yourself, what am I aware of within me right now? There's no need to answer it perfectly or even search for anything specific. Just notice. You might become aware of a sensation in your body, maybe warmth, or maybe tension in a certain part of your body, maybe softening, or even an inner stillness. You may even notice emotion beginning to rise, or maybe the opposite, maybe the absence of emotion. And you may begin to have thoughts arise, or maybe a quiet, maybe stillness. And no matter what arises, all is welcome here. And even if your attention begins to drift or move outward, that's okay. There's nothing to correct, only awareness. And then a gentle return back to the breath. As if you were learning something new. Not how to become someone different, but how to include yourself in what you already notice. Without effort, without strain or forcing, just presence. And now imagine that this clarity is not something you are creating, but something you are remembering. Like a lens slowly becoming transparent, not through force, but through awareness itself. And allow yourself to just rest here for a few breaths, not trying to understand anything, not trying to change anything, just being here. With yourself. And gently sense what it feels like to not leave yourself out of your own awareness, even for a moment. To simply be here as someone who is seeing and being seen from within. And now take a slightly deeper breath in, and a soft exhale out, and begin to notice your body again. Maybe gently touching your hand, and just feeling the space around you. And before you move on, just take a moment to notice, and when you feel ready, gently begin movement in your body, gentle movement, your fingers, maybe gently wiggling them, your toes, a little more awareness of the room. And just take this moment with yourself to notice something simple that nothing about you needed to change for you to begin to see yourself more clearly. Only your attention returning. And as this meditation begins to come to a close, take a moment to simply notice yourself here. Not what has changed or what didn't, but the fact that you were willing to turn your attention inward, even briefly. For many of us, learning to read others became second nature, a way of staying connected, there is something powerful that happens when we begin to also include ourselves in that awareness. Not instead of others, but alongside them. You don't need to hold on to anything from this experience, you can just let it be something that you can return to again and again. Each time remembering a little more clearly, seeing a little clearer that you are here and you are not outside of your own awareness. And now I'll take one more gentle breath in, and when you're ready, in your own time, you can gently open your eyes. And I thank you for journeying with me and taking time out of your day to practice. May you come back to this again and again to see more clearly and come home to yourself. May you have a blessed day and Namaste.