You can use body sensations or emotions to get to know a part. You can sense the part in your body or tune in to its emotions. A part might feel like buzzing excitement in your solar plexus, in which case you can ask what it is excited about.

It is best to hear from a concerned part briefly—get to know what it’s worried about— and then help it to unblend from you so your Self is available. The concerned part doesn’t have to go away or change what it feels. It just needs to unblend from you enough that you can be open and curious about the target part.

Sometimes the name of a part will change over time as you get to know it better, just like the image.

The most potent question to ask here is the same as the previous one: “What are you afraid you would feel if you didn’t (perform your role)?”

Allow a visual image of the part to arise. This will give you the sense of it as a separate entity.

After all, if you are the part, it will be hard to feel something toward it. Sometimes just asking this question serves to help you unblend from the part because you must step into a separate place in order to answer it.

As you get to know a protector through this process, it is crucial to find out its positive intent. What is trying to do for you? How is it trying to protect you?

You are flooded with the part’s emotions to such a degree that you aren’t grounded.

You can also learn about a part visually by allowing an image of it to arise in your mind.