Curiosity, Compassion and Commitment

Hello and welcome to this meditation where we will be exploring and experiencing the qualities of curiosity,

Compassion and commitment and really playing with these qualities to support and enhance our meditation experience.

So get nice and comfy.

Really tuning into your body in this moment and just noticing what it needs,

What posture it needs,

What position it needs to feel supported,

To feel relaxed,

To feel secure in this meditation journey.

Just making any slight adjustments as you settle yourself in.

And just noticing if the body needs a little bit of movement to settle in,

Some stretching,

Some repositioning.

Really set yourself up mindfully for this practice.

And really gently bringing your awareness to your breath.

And just noticing the rise and the fall of your breath.

Seeing if you can stay present with the breath from the start of the inhalation.

Staying with the breath as it raises.

Watching the breath as it reaches its peak and starts to shift into the exhale.

Noticing that moment of stillness in between.

And then following the breath right back down.

Noticing again the moment of stillness between the exhalation and the inhalation.

And just noticing the quality of the breath in this moment.

Notice places of tightness and restriction.

Noticing places of expansion.

Noticing places where the breath feels smooth.

Noticing the places where the breath feels bumpy.

And over the next few breaths begin to cultivate the feeling of curiosity.

Creating a curious body,

Creating a curious mind,

Creating curiosity within the energy field.

Feeling curious about the meditation journey that you are entering.

Your meditation journey.

And just noticing what that feels like for you.

Noticing what opens up.

Noticing what softens.

Noticing any changes in body posture.

The positioning of your eyes behind your eyelids.

What does curiosity feel like in your body?

And what are the effects when you consciously create that feeling within?

Noticing perhaps how supportive the energy of curiosity can be as you enter into a meditation.

Perhaps feeling the expectations of yourself or the expectations of this meditation falling away.

Perhaps feeling and opening up a welcoming and embracing of what is here for you to discover in this meditation.

An excitement perhaps of what awaits you.

And perhaps even a falling away of judgement.

Perhaps what is awaiting for you in this practice might feel uncomfortable.

Or might feel confusing or restrictive.

But allowing yourself to be curious about that.

What does restriction feel like if that is how you feel in this moment?

What does anger feel like if that is what is present for you right now?

What does stillness feel like?

And even if you feel a sense of disconnection.

Or a sense of uncomfortability while you're trying to still the mind and the body.

What does that feel like?

What does it feel like to be disconnected?

Or numb?

So allowing yourself to be fully and radically curious about whatever condition,

Whatever feeling,

Whatever sensation is present for you right now.

And just have a play wherever you find yourself right now.

Play with it.

Play there.

Just taking a final few breaths with this quality of curiosity.

And inviting that quality with you throughout the rest of this journey.

Bringing it with you into the next quality that we're exploring which is compassion.

So just over the next few breaths just feel that shift from playing with the energy of curiosity to start to invite compassion into your body,

Into your mind.

Into your practice.

What does compassion feel like in your body?

What shifts for you when you consciously create compassion?

When you set the intention to feel compassionate towards yourself.

What happens?

What softens?

What opens?

What falls away?

And asking yourself,

How can I show myself more compassion in this moment?

How can I show myself more love?

More gentleness?

How can I be softer with myself?

And you might feel that physically.

How can you be gentler with yourself physically in this moment?

You might feel that in the mental realm.

What thought pattern?

What belief?

What can be let go of in this moment?

Just to give yourself a bit of a break.

What can you drop?

Perhaps there's an emotion that you're experiencing that needs your attention.

Perhaps there's a part of you that needs to be nurtured and held and validated and acknowledged.

And that for you in this moment is the perfect way to show yourself compassion.

What part of you needs to be heard?

Taking a few breaths,

Exploring this theme of compassion.

With a sense of curiosity thrown in as well.

How can you create a sense of compassion within the breath?

How can you breathe in compassion?

How can you breathe out compassion?

And over the next few breaths,

Just shifting your attention to the third and final quality that we're playing with in this meditation,

Which is commitment.

And noticing as you make that transition how different the energy of commitment feels to compassion.

Notice how the body changes when you bring commitment in with intention.

Noticing how you might need to shift your body to connect with commitment.

And I invite you to play with the energy of commitment in the way of being committed to this moment.

Being committed to yourself in this practice.

And being committed to bringing yourself back to this moment again and again and again.

So that every time you drift away,

Every time you're pulled out of this moment by the distractions in the mind or the distractions around you,

You make that commitment that when you wake up,

When you realize you've drifted away,

That you bring yourself back,

That you commit to bringing yourself back again and again and again.

And no matter how many times you wander away,

That when you do wake up,

You celebrate it.

That when you do wake up,

You bring yourself back with compassion and love.

I've wandered away again.

I will come back to this present moment with love and compassion for myself.

And also with curiosity.

Where did I wander to?

Where have I gone?

What is pulling my attention?

How do I treat myself by when I'm coming back?

How does it feel coming back into this moment?

How grounded do I feel here?

How much at peace do I feel here in my heart and in my body?

No matter what my experience is.

Being curious about the thoughts that you create when you realize you've wandered off.

And being committed to create more gentle and loving thoughts.

Just a final few breaths with this energy of commitment.

And when you're ready,

Just bringing your awareness back into your breath.

Just following the breath from the very start of the inhalation.

Watching it as it expands and reaches its climax.

Watching that subtle shift from the inhalation to the exhalation.

And following the breath riding that wave to the very end of the exhalation.

And just taking a final few breaths together and really embodying those qualities.

Curiosity,

Compassion and commitment.

Bringing your awareness down into the soles of your feet.

Adjusting the palms of your hands so they're connecting to another part of your body.

Grounding your energy through your palms of your hands,

The soles of your feet.

Connecting with the element of earth through your body.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

Have a beautiful day.