Beyond Mindfulness: Engaging Ways to Meet Your Most Confident Self
For many, meditation and visualization exercises are wonderful tools for connecting with nurturing, protective, and confident parts of themselves. But what if those techniques don’t quite work for you? What if closing your eyes and trying to conjure up a protective figure or a wise, confident part feels frustrating, distant, or even impossible?
You’re not alone.
There are many ways to access these parts of yourself beyond traditional meditation. Sometimes, engaging with tangible, creative, and even playful methods can be a more effective way to connect with the support and wisdom within you. Here are some approaches to explore:
1. Expressive Writing: Creating a Book or Letters
If you struggle with visualization, writing can be a powerful way to tap into your internal nurturing and protective figures. Try writing a short story, a fairy tale, or even letters between different parts of yourself.
Write to your inner child as if you are the protective figure they needed.
Write letters from a wise mentor to your present self, offering encouragement and advice.
Create a short story where a strong, loving, and protective character helps someone vulnerable navigate a challenge.
Let your imagination guide you and allow your intuition to shape the words on the page.
2. Playing with Figures or Dolls
This may feel unconventional for adults, but engaging with figures or dolls can create an externalized, hands-on way to interact with different parts of yourself.
Choose a figure to represent your nurturing protector and another to represent your vulnerable part.
Act out conversations, asking your protector what guidance they have.
Physically positioning these figures can provide insight into how your protective energy wants to show up.
This process isn't about returning to childhood but about using tangible tools to access internal wisdom.
You can also use a free online sandtray, which includes different figures to help you tell your story, just as therapists use with clients both young and old: https://www.onlinesandtray.com/.
3. Drawing, Coloring, or Collage
For those who connect through imagery rather than words, creating art can be a direct way to engage with nurturing and protective energies.
Draw your protective figure—not necessarily as a human, but in any form that resonates (an animal, a symbol, a landscape, etc.).
Color mandalas or abstract shapes while focusing on the feelings of safety and protection.
Create a vision board of images that reflect confidence, care, and strength.
Let the process be intuitive. You don’t need to be an artist—this is about connection, not perfection.
4. Movement and Embodiment Practices
Sometimes, it helps to physically embody confidence and protection rather than trying to mentally access it.
Stand tall, place your hand over your heart, and take deep breaths while imagining strength filling your body.
Try slow, intentional movements, such as yoga or stretching, while focusing on grounding and protection.
Walk in a way that makes you feel strong—whether that means taking up space, moving with purpose, or imagining a nurturing figure walking beside you.
5. Using Music and Sound
Music can deeply connect us to emotions and parts of ourselves that feel distant.
Create a playlist that evokes feelings of safety, confidence, and care.
Sing or hum to yourself as if you were comforting a younger part of you.
Use sound bowls or humming to create a sense of internal resonance and connection.
6. Symbolic Objects for Comfort and Strength
Physical objects can serve as reminders of your protective and nurturing parts.
Wear a piece of jewelry that symbolizes protection.
Carry a small token (a stone, a charm, a written mantra) that represents inner strength.
Wrap yourself in a soft blanket or scarf while imagining the embrace of a protective presence.
Embracing What Works for You
The goal isn’t to force connection but to explore different avenues that feel natural to you. If one method doesn’t resonate, try another. Healing and self-connection aren’t linear, and there’s no “wrong” way to engage with your inner nurturing and protective parts.
By giving yourself permission to explore creative, tangible, and embodied ways of accessing these internal resources, you may find a deeper sense of safety, confidence, and support than you ever thought possible.
