Welcome to CMP's equanimity and compassion practice.
I'll begin by taking three deep belly breaths allowing the air to go all the way into the abdomen at your own pace.
And allowing the breath to flow in its natural rhythm,
Allowing the body to breathe itself.
And just paying attention to the sensations of the breath in the body wherever you feel them the most.
And the cultivation of equanimity will begin by envisioning the most beautiful and majestic mountain in your mind.
Attending closely to the experience of the mountain.
And then taking on the challenge of embodying the mountain,
Imagining the head as the peak and the arms as the side of the mountain and the lower abdomen and legs as the base of the mountain.
So sitting tall and strong and rooted in the bedrock.
As day turns to night,
You remain solid and strong like a mountain.
And as the weather changes from sunny to raining,
Windy,
Stormy,
You stay solid and strong.
As people come and go,
Whether they admire you or not,
You remain solid and strong.
Imagining with this sense of strength,
Solidity,
Composure and imperturbability.
Sensing your ability to face with balance all that arises in life.
Can And then in the cultivation of compassion,
We'll begin with ourselves.
If we don't care for ourselves,
It's more difficult to care for those around us.
So let's begin.
If you're comfortable by placing one hand on your heart,
Pausing to feel the warmth of the hand on the heart,
The pressure.
And then in this moment,
Just noticing anything that might be causing you discomfort in this moment,
Be it large or small.
Attending tenderly to this experience in the body and noting that everyone feels this way sometimes,
We are all faced with challenges.
So just with tenderness,
Allowing the aspiration to rise,
May I give myself the compassion I need.
May I be free from inner and outer harm.
May I find relief.
And whatever other aspiration feels authentic to send yourself in this moment.
Attending to the experience of compassion in the body.
And either resting your hand or keeping your hand on the heart as you wish.
I'll now invite you to bring to mind a loved one,
Someone who is going through something difficult,
A challenge.
Attending to them as closely as you can,
Either envisioning them or relaxing into their presence.
Bringing the world to their eyes for a moment.
And allowing the aspiration to arise.
May you be free from inner and outer harm.
May you find relief.
And whatever heartfelt wish resonates for you to send to this loved one.
And now expanding our circle of care to include someone you don't know well but you know is suffering.
Perhaps a neighbor,
Colleague,
A store clerk,
Someone you have,
You don't know closely but you know that they are experiencing something difficult.
And again seeing the world through their eyes,
Tenderly acknowledging their pain.
And allowing heartfelt aspirations to arise.
May you be free from inner and outer harm.
May you find relief.
And whatever other aspiration feels authentic.
And now expanding your circle of care to include a person you have difficulty with,
A challenging person in your life who is going through something difficult.
For a moment seeing the world through their eyes.
Acknowledging the pain they might be experiencing.
And allowing the heartfelt yearning to arrive that may they too just like you be free from inner and outer harm.
May they find relief.
And any other aspiration that feels right to send to that challenging person.
And then expanding compassion outwards into the world to include all beings without exception.
And allowing the universal aspiration to arise.
May we all be free from inner and outer harm.
May we face life's difficulties with balance and composure and stability like a mountain.
May we all live with ease.
Just attending to wherever your attention lands on individuals or groups,
Communities,
Countries across the globe.
ERYL LINGINGising is the spirit of compassion.
It is about awareness.
Comedian
