Welcome to Self-Compassion for Mistakes.
I'm Janna.
Wherever you are in this moment,
I'm grateful to share it with you.
Today's meditation,
We practice the three parts of self-compassion,
Specifically in response to a mistake or failure.
Remember that making mistakes is part of being human.
Gently close your eyes.
Begin to relax the body.
Find a position that allows you to be both alert and relaxed.
Know there's no expectation here.
Just set an intention to be a kind and loving witness to this experience.
Begin to bring to mind a failure or mistake that someone else witnessed or knew about,
A moment in which you felt exposed,
Uncomfortable,
Perhaps judged by your failure or mistake.
This can be as a child,
Anytime in your life,
And there's no need to overthink or choose the perfect event.
Just allow the one that comes to mind.
Begin to let yourself remember this moment.
Let it be felt in the body.
Feel the discomfort to the extent that you can while knowing you're safe,
Safe here.
Allow just a few words to form describing what happened,
And not a whole story,
But just the facts without judgment.
Perhaps you could say to yourself,
I messed up,
Or I was embarrassed,
Or I was hurt,
Or I hurt someone,
Or I just had an imperfect moment.
Let the words form and whisper them to yourself.
Now let's bring in three components of self-compassion.
The first is mindfulness.
Without judging or denying or wishing that this experience didn't happen,
Allow yourself to feel it.
Let it happen.
Validate the pain.
You could even say to yourself,
This is really hard to experience.
Let it be felt in the body without judgment.
Just allow it.
Now invite the second part of self-compassion,
Common humanity.
Bring awareness to the fact that all humans make mistakes.
Just allow yourself to know this connection to others.
Perhaps say to yourself,
I'm not alone.
It's not just me.
This is a human experience.
Now the third part,
Self-kindness.
Gently place your hand on your heart or a body part that feels nurturing to you and allow full acceptance.
You could say to yourself,
It's okay,
Sweetheart,
Or buddy,
Or dude,
Or whatever term of endearment feels nurturing and safe.
Support yourself.
Tell yourself it's okay to be imperfect.
Just take a moment to pause,
Just feeling the sensations,
Recognizing that this is a human experience and know that you can bring yourself kindness.
Whisper to yourself now,
In your mind,
Everyone experiences mistakes and failures.
Everyone feels exposed and uncomfortable in these moments.
Everyone feels judged by other people at times.
In this moment,
Hold yourself with compassion instead of becoming another judge to yourself.
Be the kind and gentle witness to this experience,
To this moment.
See yourself from above,
Perhaps surrounded by all these people on earth meditating right now,
Many of whom may also have their hands on their hearts,
Offering themselves compassion.
Hold everyone that you visualize with compassion.
Know we all have failed.
We all fail and feel judged and unsafe.
We can all be kind,
Loving witnesses to ourselves and to each other,
To our human experience.
Can we set our intention for compassion?
Gently begin to open your eyes,
Adjusting to the light in the room.
May you continue to be compassionate with yourself.
Thank you for meditating with me.
May the universe bring us back together soon.
Until then,
Know you have your own wisdom on tap.
