How each of us experiences ourselves is intimately related to the amount of space the Inner Critic (I.C.) takes and how we engage it. While the I.C. can show up under all circumstances, it becomes particularly accelerated when we are on the path of deepened awareness and transformation. Using didactics, inquiry, somatics, and dialogue, this session has 3 integrated areas of focus. One will explore the I.C. dynamics and staying power that is at the core of our universal human dilemma. This is the territory of inner polarity which is commonly experienced as struggle, feeling out of alignment or lost. A second focus is on discerning the I.C.’s many and often surprising and elusive ways of being experienced. Whether our personality structure tends toward ego-expansion or ego-deflation, we will be detectives in gaining clarity about the critic’s activity. Third, working with the I.C. provides an avenue for contacting our deeper truth and inner authority. Specific processes for transforming our relationship to the I.C. and repairing/healing our relationship to our deeper nature will be integrated throughout. Ultimately, this work of reshaping our relationship to the Inner Critic supports the primacy of love and compassion in life.