Let's begin our practice by finding a posture that's going to best support us in this moment.
You could be seated,
Standing,
Or laying down.
As you settle into this posture,
Seeing if you can hold a sense of alertness,
While also balancing relaxation and a sense of dignity.
If you're comfortable,
You're welcome to close your eyes or simply lower your gaze.
We'll begin just with a simple act of arriving here in this moment.
Taking the journey downstairs from our thinking minds into feeling our body here and now.
You might notice the movement of your breath in places like your chest or your belly.
You might notice the support of a chair or the ground beneath you.
Perhaps that subtle sense of gravity keeping you tethered here on Earth.
Maybe there's a sense of coolness or warmth on the hands or feet.
You might notice the movement of your body in places like your chest or your belly.
Perhaps scanning your body to see if you're holding any stress or tension anywhere.
Perhaps it's possible to let some of that go over this practice.
Allowing your eyes to ease into their sockets.
Giving your shoulders permission to dissolve along with your arms and hands.
Just letting them be at rest.
Opening your chest and softening your heart.
In today's practice,
We'll be cultivating empathy and compassion.
I'll invite you just to contemplate what does empathy mean to you?
And what does empathy look like in action?
What does empathy feel like when it's being received?
What does empathy mean to you?
We're going to see what arises in this practice.
I'll be offering some phrases for you to silently recite.
And before we do that,
I'm going to invite you to choose somebody to work with in your mind's eye.
This could be somebody that is a little bit challenging for you.
It could be a family member.
Someone that you work with.
Somebody in your neighborhood.
You could also choose to work with somebody you don't know so well.
Somebody in an outer social circle.
And there's no good,
Bad,
Wrong or right choice.
Sometimes I like to say that whatever the mind brings up first is perhaps just the person to practice with in this moment.
I'm going to invite you to hold the image of this person as I offer a number of phrases.
You have the option of silently repeating the phrase verbatim.
Editing or enhancing the phrase in a way that you might say it.
Or simply resting in the reverberation of me saying the phrase.
With this person in mind,
We'll begin.
This person has a body and mind just like me.
This person wants to be safe and secure just like me.
This person wants to be healthy and strong just like me.
This person wishes to be happy just like me.
This person wishes to be supported just like me.
This person appreciates love and connection just like me.
This person has hopes and dreams just like me.
This person has good days and bad days just like me.
This person goes unconscious and becomes reactive just like me.
This person has made regrettable mistakes just like me.
This person is doing the best they can with the tools they have just like me.
This person has experienced hurt and pain just like me.
This person has known loss in their life just like me.
This person wants to have peace in their life just like me.
This person wants to have meaningful work just like me.
This person enjoys a sense of accomplishment just like me.
This person wishes to achieve their full potential just like me.
Now take a moment to just see what it feels like inside.
Maybe there's a softening in the chest or heart,
A tingling in the eyes.
It's also possible there are no sensations.
This is a heart-based practice and sometimes we're just sprinkling seeds and creating the conditions for empathy to grow and flourish.
And now continuing to hold this person in your mind's eye.
We're going to offer some wishes to and for this person imagining that these next couple of phrases are going right to this person.
And again you can either silently recite these phrases verbatim,
Edit them,
Or just rest in the reverberation of me saying them.
May you be healthy and nourished.
May you be safe and protected from danger.
May you know love,
Belonging,
And connection.
May you benefit from a sense of accomplishment.
May you achieve your full potential because you are a fellow human being just like me.
And as we bring this practice to a close,
Checking back in with your body and seeing how you feel.
Taking your way back,
Noticing your feet on the floor,
Becoming aware of the sounds around you.
And perhaps taking one last deep breath to signal the end of this meditation.
