This transcript was created using AI and has had some light editing. Please forgive transcription errors. Thank you!

If you're tired of feeling never enough, of constantly being derailed by your own fears or the reactions of others, then you are in the right place. I'm Deb, a licensed psychologist, and this is Blooming Outside the Lines, a podcast dedicated to women who've spent their lives trying to stay within the lines of what's acceptable, who've never felt good enough and who are ready to break free and bloom. Let's talk about how you can build a solid foundation connected with your strength and your wisdom. Before we start, I need to make sure that you know that the information I share with you is just that. It's just information. It's not meant to be a prescription for what you should do or meant to replace the advice of any of your healthcare providers. It also doesn't mean that we have a professional client-therapist relationship.

hi there and welcome. I was going to continue with talking about feelings of never feeling enough and how those feelings leave us vulnerable to big industries. And I think I will mix it up and talk about that next week.

And this week, I want to share a couple of ideas for strengthening your connection with your truth and wisdom. For many of us, it's hard to go from using the opinions of others as the yardstick for what to do and how to feel to trusting our own wisdom. It takes working on some of our old beliefs and it also helps to have some tools or support in making that transition. 

We've been talking about beliefs that can keep us from being ourselves. And today I want to introduce the concept of Entelechy and the practice of connecting with your wisest self, both of which can help you to bridge the gap or make the transition to trusting your wisdom, even when others see it differently or don't approve. 

Please use these concepts in a way that match your beliefs and values. They are simply tools or suggestions. Modify them or use them in whatever way feels responsive to you. going to talk about each one of them and then lead you through a guided meditation so you can practice. 

Let's start out with Entelechy. Entelechy is the idea of realizing your full first learned about it while taking an online course with Jean Houston, PhD. The idea of Entelechy is that there's a plan for us. So just as it is the Entelechy of an acorn to become an oak tree and a rose seed to become a rose, there is an Entelechy supporting you to be you and all that you were meant to be. According to Dr. Houston, we can use this idea of Entelechy as a source of support throughout our lives, as a source of encouragement to be ourselves and to reach our full potential. And because it encourages us to reach our full potential, thinking about this concept may also help us to bring our attention back from caring about the needs of others to taking care of ourselves.

You might use this concept as a reminder that something larger than yourself, whether that's God or however you envision your creator, has a plan for you. You might use it as a concept to remind you that you deserve to be you. Or, as Dr. Houston suggested, you could use it as a guiding presence and a source of support.

The other source of support that you might utilize in learning to trust your wisdom is your wisest self. I guess for me, the concept of Entelechy is larger than me. It is the design for my life from a source larger than myself. When I think of my wisest self, it's the part of me that knows what is best for me.

It is the part that is connected with my strength and my wisdom and knows that I deserve to be me.

There's certainly overlap between the two. And from my perspective, they offer slightly different sources of support. 

So let's talk more about our wisest self. Most of us recognize that we have this part of ourselves and many times we haven't learned to trust it or it gets overrun by the opinions of others. We can also lose touch with this voice when we tip or our old wiring lights up.

 Practicing connecting with this part of yourself can help you be prepared for when you're in situations where other people are disagreeing or disapproving. It can bolster your confidence in saying no and also in asking for what you want. This is the part of ourselves that most women share freely with others and yet have very little connection with for themselves. 

I often think about this as if we have two railroad tracks of wiring in our brain, one for how we care for others and the other how we care for ourselves. And we don't have any of those connectors between the tracks.

So for others, we are compassionate, we encourage them to be themselves, to stand up for themselves and take care of themselves. And all of that rarely happens for ourselves. That's what I mean by the tracts being so separate. 

Yes, we have to work on beliefs that get in the way of trusting ourselves. And we also need to build the structure in the brain that will make it easier for us to do this. Because most of us have very little practice with listening or trusting our own wisdom, we don't have the structure.

Or as I often describe them, the highways or the wiring in our brain that make it easy for us to perform that ability without a lot of effort. So think about something that you do with a lot of regularity. I often use the example of heading out to your car and just automatically pulling out your keys. We don't have to think of that.

Or you might think of the routine you have in the morning. Most of us don't have to think, OK, first I'm going to brush my teeth and then I'm going to take my shower. All of that happens without us thinking about it. And that's because we practiced it enough that we have the structure in the brain to do it without consciously directing it. 

So practicing connecting with your wisest self or your Entelechy is one way of building that structure in your brain so that when you're faced with a situation where you need to stand up for yourself or you're facing disapproval or you need to ask for what you want, your brain will make it easier for you because the structure to do so will already be there.

Okay, so let's practice.

In the guided meditation, I'm going to give you the choice of connecting with your Entelechy or your wisest self. And I've blended them a bit.

If you're driving, please stop the recording or pull over as you're likely to get very relaxed and possibly sleepy. Not a good situation for driving. And sometimes in practicing with guided meditations, it's possible that strong feelings may come up. If this happens for you, please be sure to reach out for support from a therapist in your area. Again, use this meditation or these concepts in a way that matches your beliefs. Modify them in any way that feels responsive for you.

Before we begin, try to find a place where you won't be interrupted for a few moments.

And once you find that place, give yourself a moment to settle in. You might take a moment to stretch or yawn.

and find a comfortable place to sit or lay down.

And if it feels responsive to you, close your eyes and just simply start to let go of the busyness of your day. Maybe using the image of pulling yourself up onto the bank of the river, of the busyness of your day and letting all that has been calling your attention just float on by knowing it will all be waiting for you and that right now in this moment there's nowhere else you need to be and nothing else that you need to do.

You might take a moment to take yourself in your mind's eye to a place that feels relaxing and safe.

It might be a meadow filled with wildflowers or a warm sandy beach.

Or it could be a soft chair in your house.

Wherever your mind's eye takes you, take a moment to notice all of the beauty, the sounds, the temperature.

 the textures, maybe the comfy cushion of your chair or the warm sand or maybe you feel the sunshine on your shoulders and as you do you notice that you're feeling more relaxed

and in that relaxed and safe place, simply allow an image of your Entelechy or your wisest self to be there with you.

She might look like a wise, loving version of yourself or a self who is connected with you and with the wisdom of the universe, of God, or of the spiritual.

Just allow an image to come up in whatever form it takes.

And if no image appears, that's okay. No worries. Just sense her presence.

And notice that there's a connection between the two of you.

Maybe it's a circle of love that surrounds you both.

Just notice the connection in any way that comes up for you.

And as you see and feel that connection, realize that she knows all of your struggles, all of the ways that you don't feel good enough, and she loves you just as you are.

Feel that love that is there for you.

the connection, the acceptance.

and notice what it feels like to feel so loved and accepted.

knowing that she is on your side and wants you to be you.

 Realize too that she knows all that is possible for you in this life and she wants that for you.

that her greatest desire is to love and nurture you and to encourage you to be yourself and all that you can be.

Take a moment to notice how it feels to know that she's always there and wanting the best for you.

Now in your mind's eye switch places with her. See yourself as she sees you with love, compassion and promise.

If she were to speak to you, what would she say?

What would she want you to know?

Now switch places again and notice what it feels like to have heard those words.

Really allowing them to soak in.

and spending as much time as you would like with her.

feeling her love, her wisdom, and her encouragement.

and knowing that you can connect with her at any time as she's always there for you.

I'm going to sign off and when you're ready, gradually bring your attention back to your surroundings, wiggling your toes, slowly opening your eyes, noticing the surface that you're sitting on or laying on, noticing the colors that surround you.

 bringing your attention back to the present time and place.

And notice too what it's like to come back to your surroundings knowing that your wisest self or your Entelechy is always there ready to support you.

Take good care. Bye bye.

This has been Blooming Outside the Lines, a podcast dedicated to supporting you in blooming into all you are meant and wish to be. If you enjoyed it and gained value, please consider leaving a review, as it will help other women to find it and please share it with anyone who would benefit from it. And if you would like to be notified when new episodes become available, be sure and follow on your favorite podcast app. Until next time, how will you light a candle of self-acceptance? Because you deserve to be you, even if others disagree.