Welcome,
My name is Mahabodhi and this is a practice of fierce self-compassion.
With self-compassion you mindfully accept that this moment might be painful and you embrace yourself with kindness and care in response,
Remembering that imperfection is part of the shared human experience.
Having self-compassion means being able to relate to yourself in a way that is accepting,
Forgiving,
And loving,
Especially when a situation might be less than optimal.
Begin by finding a comfortable seat.
You can also be lying down for this meditation.
Close your eyes,
Placing one hand on your heart and another on your belly,
Both of your hands on your body in a very soothing and comforting way.
The first phase in practicing self-compassion is identifying what you are experiencing,
That this is a moment of struggle.
You are no longer resisting it because what you resist persists and what you embrace,
You move through with grace.
You are acknowledging it,
You are naming it and identifying it.
This is a moment of struggle.
I feel a struggle within me right now.
Turning inward to your difficulty instead of running away from it,
You are bringing mindful awareness to the fact that suffering or a struggle is present.
Silently repeat to yourself,
I feel a struggle within me right now.
I feel a struggle within me right now.
Say it a few times and now let that go as you move on to the second phase of practicing self-compassion.
And the second phase is acceptance.
Accepting that struggle and suffering is a part of life.
You are reminding yourself of the common human nature that the Buddha said that the first noble truth is life is suffering.
It is actually normal to feel struggle from time to time.
Many people are going through similar situations.
The degree of struggle may be different,
The flavor of struggle may be different,
But the struggle is part of life,
Part of being a human.
It is how you learn life lessons,
How you grow,
Build resilience and most importantly it is how you gain wisdom.
Sometimes it's referred to as post-traumatic wisdom.
And so you get to decide the outcome of the struggle.
Will it break you down or will it break you open?
And trust that you have a choice.
You always have a choice.
And now silently repeat to yourself several times,
Suffering is a natural part of having a human experience.
Suffering is a natural part of having a human experience.
The third phase of practicing self-compassion is forgiveness.
It's forgiving yourself.
May I be kind to myself in this moment.
Support bringing kindness to yourself by perhaps putting now both of your hands over your heart,
Feeling their gentle warmth and touch,
The soothing and comforting energy of your two hands resting on your heart.
Allow these feelings of self-compassion to stream through your fingertips.
Silently repeat to yourself several times,
May I be kind to myself,
May I be kind to myself.
Now gently let that go and talk to yourself in the most compassionate way.
Use a comforting language that you would use to soothe someone you dearly love and care about.
Silently call yourself by your first name and you say to yourself,
I care about you.
I am here for you.
It's going to be okay.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be at peace.
Now let that go and take a full breath in and a long breath out,
Noticing how your body feels right now,
Allowing any sensation to be just as they are,
Holding space for yourself in full acceptance and fierce self-compassion.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
This meditation is offered to you with love and blessings.
