"Inner Critic"

I recently read a quote by a poet named Czeslaw Milosz, "We should not think of our past as definitely settled, for we are not a stone or a tree. My past changes every minute according to the meaning given it now, in this moment."
One persistent ghost from the past has been my "inner critic," the voice that has negative things to say about the myriad ways in which I don't measure up. When viewed through the "lens" of mind-body connection, I eventually began to bring that voice to conscious awareness, where I could deal with it directly. I had begun to grasp the stressful effects the constant "chatter" was having on me and on my well being. I do accept that my mind will always be busy, that is its' job. I don't accept that the voice must stay the same. In each moment I can ask it to take a back seat. I can replace it with positive images, words, breathing, loving and compassionate energy,which are gifts that I give to my life and health. This is an ongoing practice that produces compassionate and loving results for me as well as those around me.