This is a self-compassion guided meditation for times of difficulty.
Starting with the eyes open and noticing the peripheries of your vision,
Begin by taking a few gentle breaths,
Welcoming your mind and body into the next few minutes.
And as you're ready,
Gently allowing the eyes to close.
Self-compassion contains three main pillars.
The first is acknowledging our own difficulty or suffering or struggle with honesty,
Authenticity,
And mindful awareness.
The second is connecting to the shared human experience of being in difficult times and with difficult feelings.
And finally,
The intentional choice to turn towards our own difficulty with kindness and compassion.
So as we begin,
I'll invite you to bring to mind a person,
A being,
Or a color that embodies kindness or compassion for you.
And as you do so,
See if you can bring to mind along with it the experience of receiving kindness yourself,
Or of extending kindness to someone or something else.
Even watering a plant is an act of kindness.
Notice if you can sense the feeling of kindness in your body,
And if there is a color,
A shape,
A movement to this energy.
Using gentle breaths in and out to deepen the connection to this feeling in your mind and in your body.
Beautiful.
We'll be returning here to this anchor.
And for now,
Intentionally shifting the awareness,
I'll invite you to find an area of tension in your body.
And as you bring this sensation to mind,
Noticing if this area too has a color,
A shape,
A movement to its energy.
Invite yourself to tune into any emotions or thoughts that arise along with this energy,
Seeing if you can practice holding a stance of gentle curiosity towards this area of tension.
This is the first step in mindful awareness and self-compassion.
Now at this point,
I'll invite you to welcome in the self-havening touch,
Palms,
Arms,
And face in any order and any combination that fits for you.
Or placing a gentle hand on the heart center.
Now imagine that you can give yourself some internal space from this sensation,
Imagining that you can take 10 mindful steps away from that energy and towards your own calm or safe place.
This could be a beautiful sea,
A forest,
A desert,
Or the mountains,
Whatever really speaks to you.
It could be somewhere you've been before or something that you're creating for yourself and your mind's eye.
And as we count aloud,
Walking towards this space,
I'll invite you to walk alongside me as I count 10 mindful steps towards your destination.
1,
2,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9.
Taking in a gentle breath and an easy exhale.
Now I'll invite you to notice five distinct shapes in your destination.
Counting them,
Naming them in your mind,
And then noticing five distinct colors.
Once again,
Naming them in your mind and lingering in their vibrancy.
And finally,
Seeing if you can notice five elements of motion in that environment,
Perhaps shifting sand,
Rolling waves.
Once again,
Naming them in your mind.
And then when you're ready,
Once again,
Inviting in a gentle breath to the count of four and an easy exhale to five or six.
Now as you continue the self-havening touch or that gentle hand on heart center,
I'll invite you to return your awareness to that bodily sensation.
And notice if you can observe it from a little more distance with mindful awareness.
Once again,
Practicing that stance of gentle curiosity towards it.
Once again,
Welcoming in another gentle,
Easy inhale and exhale.
And if you notice a little more space would be helpful for you,
I'll invite you to imagine using the current of your exhaling breath to create that greater space.
Now as you're noticing this area of tension,
I'll invite you to take a moment to connect into the shared human experience of having tension,
Of being in difficulty with difficult feelings,
Difficult experiences,
And difficult sensations,
That this is part of being human.
And though difficulty is unique to each person,
The experience of difficulty is universal.
Inviting in a gentle,
Easy inhale and exhale.
This is the second pillar of self-compassion.
Now finally,
Noticing the gentle presence of the self-havening touch or that hand on your heart center,
I'll invite you to tune in intentionally once again to that person,
Being,
Or color that embodied kindness and compassion for you that you brought to mind at the beginning of our practice.
Inviting your mind to ponder the energy that connects with kindness in your mind and body.
Noticing this energy and the ability to intentionally connect to kindness,
Both giving and receiving.
I'll invite you to repeat aloud after me or in your own internal voice,
Pondering these questions.
What if I can be gentle with myself?
What if I can be gentle with myself?
What if I can be gentle with myself?
What if I can be kind with myself?
What if I can be kind with myself?
What if I can be kind with myself?
What if I can give myself compassion?
What if I can give myself compassion?
What if I can give myself compassion?
Once again,
Tuning in with intention to the energy of kindness,
Compassion in your mind and body.
Noticing its color,
Its warmth,
Its weight.
Inviting in a gentle breath in and out.
Inviting this energy to deepen and expand just a little bit more.
And then as you're ready,
Begin bringing your awareness back to this present moment,
Noticing how your mind and body feel after our practice.
And then when you are ready,
Gently opening up your eyes.
