This week in our Oasis @ Serenity Cafe Podcast, we explore one of the most powerful foundations in healing work — creating your Inner Sanctuary.
In Internal Family Systems (IFS), the sanctuary is a place in your imagination that is entirely yours. It’s a place of peace, safety, and restoration — a place where your inner parts can feel welcome and secure.
Your sanctuary can be anywhere you choose:
A rustic cabin in a wildflower-filled mountain meadow
A quiet forest cottage beside a sparkling waterfall
A bungalow on a white sandy beach with turquoise waves lapping at the shore
Or anywhere your heart feels most at home
🧳 Before You Enter — The Safe Container
Before we begin creating your sanctuary, we’ll use a gentle exercise to set aside anything that might distract or weigh you down.
You’ll imagine a special container — perhaps a treasure chest, a jewelry box, or a hope chest — where you can temporarily store worries, fears, and tensions. Once the lid is closed and latched, you can step away knowing those things are held safely until you’re ready to pick them up again.
🌊 The Guided Meditation
In this session, I’ll lead you through a step-by-step guided visualization to bring your sanctuary to life. You’ll engage all your senses — noticing the sights, sounds, scents, and textures that make your sanctuary feel vivid and real.
This space will become more than just a calming visualization. It will serve as:
A healing retreat for your wounded parts
A meeting place for your protective parts
A safe space where your True Self can lead the way
Over time, each of your parts will be invited to create their own unique space within your sanctuary — a step toward harmony, healing, and trust.
🎧 Listen, Watch, & Experience
You can close your eyes and listen or keep them open to watch the full Create Your Sanctuary session in today’s Serenity Saturday release of the Oasis @ Serenity Cafe Podcast.
Give yourself the gift of a quiet, uninterrupted 20–30 minutes to explore your inner world.
💬 Reflection Prompts
After you’ve visited your sanctuary for the first time, share your experience in the comments below or in your journal. Suggested journal prompts:
What you noticed first when you arrived
How your body felt while you were there
Any parts that showed up or expressed curiosity about the space
This is your space.
You can return anytime, with eyes open or closed, simply by bringing it to mind.
Each visit strengthens your connection to your inner world and deepens your healing journey. Those of you practicing IFS, ego-state therapy, or other form of parts work, in session with me or someone else, will use this safe place frequently and may already have an inner sanctuary. You can use this session to develop it further, enhance it, and make it bigger and better each time you visit.
✨ See you in the sanctuary…
— Don Carter, MSW, LCSW
Oasis @ Serenity Cafe
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