The Ghosts of You: A Samhain Guided Meditation

Samhain marks the end of harvest and the beginning of winter. It is a time of reflection and preparation, of looking back while hoping to be able to move forward. It is the perfect time of year to reflect on who you have been and who you would like to be, and this Samhain Guided Meditation is a great way to do that.

Many people have past versions of themselves that they either try not to think about at all, or spend a lot of time ruminating on and feeling bad about. A lot of people also have a future version of themselves, the person who they want to be, who they are trying to be.

The thing is, just like it is difficult to be ready for winter without harvesting the work of the past, it is difficult to be your ideal self without embracing the persons you have been. The plural ‘s’ on persons is not a mistake; as we learn and grow, we lean into different parts of ourselves. That is why it is not uncommon to hear, “I’m not who I was anymore,” or, “I wish I would have done things differently.”

For myself, while I would not say my overall character has changed, I would say that I was much more fear-driven earlier in my life than I am now. Sometimes that leads me to look back and shake my head at my old self, and to wish that she would have been a little braver and taken more risks.

But that girl got me here, just like your past versions of yourself got you here. Rather than engaging in the traditional practice of honoring our ancestors, in this Samhain Meditation Script, we are going to take some time to honor the ghosts of who we used to be.

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A Samhain Guided Meditation

As always, please remember that the goal of meditating is to increase your ability to focus your mind. Increase, not perfect.

Brains are very distractible, and for good reason. Being distractible allows us to notice a lot of details, which helps keep us safe. It also makes it difficult to pay attention or to act with intention.

While you practice this Samhain Guided Meditation, please do not beat yourself up if your brain is distracted. When you notice that your mind has begun to wander, all that is needed is to kindly guide your thoughts back to the meditation.

Prepare to Read Your Samhain Guided Meditation Script

Because brains are so very distractible, it can be helpful to remove any unnecessary distractions before beginning a meditation. Ways you can do this include:

Finding a quiet place to meditate. The bathroom counts, as does your car, as does your closet, etc.

Reading through the meditation first, so that you can close your eyes and limit visual stimuli as you walk yourself through it.
Drinking some water beforehand, so that you do not get thirsty.
Visiting the bathroom beforehand, so that you do not need to during.

Sitting or lying down in a comfortable position so that you do not put any undue strain on any part of your body.

These are not the only ways to limit distractions, and you certainly do not have to do all of them. They’re just suggestions to help you identify some ways to make this Samhain Guided Meditation easier for you.

Begin Your Samhain Meditation

We begin with a breath, a nice long breath in, and a nice long breath out. You have made it here to this meditation, a considerable accomplishment for this day, so take a moment to breathe and to acknowledge that you have chosen to do something lovely for yourself.

Perhaps you are a person who does nice things for yourself often, or perhaps being kind to yourself does not come so easily. Wherever you are on the spectrum of kind to self-neglectful, today you are here and that is enough.

As you breathe, consider for a moment where you have been before you were here; who you have been before you were here. You were born, you were a child, an adolescent. By now perhaps you have become a very young adult, or perhaps a much older adult.

All along the way, there have been things about you to love as well as things that you might wish were different. Take a moment now to remember the things about you that you loved. Perhaps the old excitement you used to have for the joys and surprises of the world, or the way you were able to trust in people and life.

Take a moment, and breathe, and remember.

Perhaps as you have remembered, some things that you did not love about yourself have come to mind. We will think of those in a moment, but let’s give the things you love about your old selves another moment. Another breath, in and out, in the body that has carried you all the way from birth to this moment.

Deepen

And now think of those things that you did not love. The ways you struggled to be a friend or the ways you struggled to be accepted by others and yourself. Give yourself a moment to think of these things, and as you do, imagine your chest filling with a cozy, comfortable kind of warmth.

You could not know everything all at once, could you? Could not be everything all at once. No, that would be impossible. And yet, it is so very easy to despise ourselves for not knowing and being everything.

In this moment, hold love in your heart for the persons you were, for the persons who did not know, for the persons who could not be. They wanted so badly for your life to be good, for you to find love, and joy, and belonging. Just like you still want those things for yourself, so did the previous versions of you.

Your past selves loved your current self so much. They wanted such good and beautiful things for you, just like you still want good and beautiful things for yourself.

Let us take a moment to love the persons who we have been, to give them the love that they needed, to show them compassion. They were enough to get you here. They were enough.

End

Just as the person who you are now is not who you will always be, you are also not the person who you have always been. And just like your past selves have carried you here, so your current self will carry you into your future.

We cannot change the amount of love that your past selves received, but we can change the amount of love that your current self receives. Take a breath, and as you do, consider what you could do today to show love to your current self.

What do you need? Who can you ask to help you? How can you help yourself?

Take another breath, remember that your past selves wanted so much good for you, and resolve to bring some of that good into your life. You are worthy of your own love. You are enough for you.

Allow your breathing to return to your usual pace and become aware of the world around you once more. Return to your life with kindness for yourself and for the ghosts of you who have come before.