Taking a moment to settle yourself in whatever way could support you being present and at ease.
Offering your body any adjustments that could help it be more comfortable.
And starting the practice by just noticing your body being held by the chair or whatever you might be sitting on.
Really let yourself be held.
Feeling that support.
Mentally checking in with any places where there may be tension in the body and creating the invitation for that to release.
And let yourself notice where it is in your body that you can sense that you are breathing.
Wherever it might be most obvious to you,
You can use those sensations in that place as an anchor throughout the rest of the practice.
However,
If anchoring in your breath is not the best choice for you today,
You're welcome to use your hands,
Your feet or another body part.
And just noticing the sensations there.
As you take the next few breaths,
I invite you to bring to mind a difficult situation.
Something that was hard.
Perhaps working from something within the last few days or week.
Something you notice that your mind keeps mentally going back to and reviewing.
You feel uneasy about it.
Take a few moments in your mind to play a mini movie of that situation.
What was happening right before?
What's going on for you?
How are you doing?
And what else was taking place?
And letting yourself play through the hard parts.
And perhaps even up to the point of the feelings that came after the experience.
Maybe there was anxiety,
Shame,
Regret.
Take a moment to sense the feeling that came after the experience.
Maybe there was anxiety,
Shame,
Regret.
Take a moment to sense and name in your own mind what feelings arose.
And as you think of the situation and the feelings that you had,
Let yourself connect with the part that is hardest to hold now.
And see if you can start meeting it with a bit of kindness.
See if you can bring some understanding.
It might come in the phrase such as,
It's understandable why I did X.
It's because why.
Or it's understandable why I felt this way.
It's because this was happening.
And now practice meeting yourself like a really good friend.
A friend that might say,
Wow,
That sounds like a hard moment.
Or maybe even says,
I've done that same thing.
Or I've felt that way before too.
That sounds hard.
And perhaps even bring to mind how other people have done the same thing or something very similar.
We all have moments that don't go how we would like.
Times in which we are unskillful are places where we make mistakes.
And like a good friend,
Instead of repeatedly pointing out to you what you've done wrong,
What would it be like to meet that and say,
Yes.
Okay.
So something hard happened.
And then see what it would be like to say to yourself.
I offer myself forgiveness.
I offer myself forgiveness.
I offer myself forgiveness.
I offer myself forgiveness without any expectations of what it's supposed to do.
What happens when you say that to yourself?
In a gentle tone in your own mind.
Keep inviting that phrase,
Letting it wash over you.
And then at some point,
Other feelings emerge that are intense,
Like guilt,
Embarrassment,
Anxiety,
You can always anchor yourself for a few moments in your breath,
Or in another anchor.
And then,
After a few moments,
Try the practice again.
You can play with also saying,
I forgive myself.
I forgive myself.
We may notice that there's a part of us that's an inner critic that often shows up and makes us repeatedly watch the movies of our mistakes,
Or the things that don't go the way that we would like.
And we sometimes,
By default,
Go to that process.
It generates lots of painful feelings.
And without even realizing it,
We sometimes think that that's what we need to rely on to keep ourselves in line,
Or to not make that mistake again.
But actually,
What we might notice is that it's rather uninspiring.
It makes us dwell in a painful place.
And we start punishing ourselves.
And we start to brood and ruminate on all the different outcomes,
All the ways that this could have an effect.
And that too takes us out of the present moment.
And then,
After a few moments,
As you perhaps bring your awareness back to your breath,
Or your anchor of choosing,
Let yourself take away from this practice whatever you need.
Perhaps that reminder to validate your experience by explaining to yourself why something happened.
It's not an excuse,
It's just a way to help you understand yourself without judgment.
Or to take a moment to meet yourself as a kind friend.
It might also be that sense of belonging by remembering that other people,
Perhaps at this very moment elsewhere on the planet,
Have had that same hard moment too,
Or something very similar.
We are not alone in our imperfections.
And lastly,
Perhaps it's that practice of offering ourselves forgiveness.
Remembering that mistakes do not take away our goodness.
Taking three complete breaths on your own timing,
Letting the body sigh if that's what would feel good to you.
And when you are ready,
Gently bringing your awareness back.
