Befriending Ourselves Workshop

Internal Family Systems and Feeding Your Demons

A Half Day Workshop with Taylor Rechtschaffen

Access the infinite compassion at your core, transforming your relationship with yourself and the world around you.

In this half-day workshop you’ll discover how two profound wisdom traditions, IFS & FYD, unite to awaken your innate capacities—guiding you to gently meet, understand, and heal your most challenging inner landscapes through the practice of befriending yourself.

In a world often filled with turmoil, both within and around us, we all yearn for deeper peace, acceptance, love, and joy. This workshop offers time-honored pathways to meet life's challenges with genuine compassion, curiosity, and creativity, empowering you to move from a pattern of suffering to one of healing.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based approach that recognizes the multiplicity within us—acknowledging that we contain various 'parts' that carry different emotions, beliefs, and energies. Through IFS, you'll discover how to befriend all aspects of yourself while accessing your essential 'Self'—the compassionate core presence that can heal and harmonize these internal relationships. As your connection to Self strengthens, you'll experience greater confidence, clarity, and ease that naturally extends to all your external relationships.

Inspired by the ancient practice of Chöd, Feeding Your Demons ® (FYD) is a five-step process created by Lama Tsultrim Allione that transforms painful or uncomfortable feelings in the body-mind ~ called "demons" in this tradition ~ into allies.

This enriching, experiential day is designed for both newcomers seeking personal growth and practitioners (therapists, coaches, and healers) looking to deepen their work. You'll explore practical techniques to access the open-hearted wisdom that already resides within you—the natural compassion that Buddhist teachings call Bodhichitta and that IFS recognizes as your authentic Self.

You’ll learn IFS techniques you can immediately apply to partnerships, parenting, work dynamics, and family interactions. Complementing this inner work, we'll explore the Buddhist understanding of bodhichitta—the awakened heart-mind that recognizes our fundamental interconnection. These ancient teachings beautifully reinforce and deepen the IFS concept of Self, creating a robust framework for accessing your innate wisdom and compassion in everyday life.

The workshop includes:

• experiential practices
• guided meditations and demonstrations that bring these concepts to life
• teachings that illuminate both traditions
• dedicated space for reflection, rest, and integration

There will be ample opportunities to ask questions and participate in meaningful discussions, allowing for personalized exploration of these practices of self-befriending.

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