Welcome.
My name is Cheris Cotier-Shank and it is my pleasure to share this guided experience with you.
A journey of awareness designed to help you cultivate your feelings of self-compassion.
So settle in to your favorite place and allow your eyes to close.
And as your body gets comfortable,
Take three slow easy breaths.
In two three,
Out two three.
In two three,
Out two three.
In two three,
Out two three.
Good.
Now release that controlled breath.
And as you allow your breath to return to a peaceful rhythm that's slow and comfortable,
You may become aware of things you were not aware of before.
Perhaps you can feel yourself breathing.
Perhaps you can feel your heart beating.
Perhaps you can sense your muscles loosening,
Relaxing.
And as you breathe,
Notice a sense of spaciousness around you.
A boundless sense of time and space.
And allow your inner awareness to gently expand in your own time and in your own way.
That's right.
There's nothing that you need to do.
There is nothing that you need to say.
There's nothing that can disturb or distract you.
Any noise you hear takes you deeper into your inner mind.
That private place where only you can go.
Knowing you are completely safe,
Allow yourself to drift and reach back in your memory to find a time when you were compassionate towards another person.
Don't get too picky about this.
Just find a time when you were compassionate towards another person and allowed yourself to express that compassion.
I trust that you have found that time.
Now,
As you remember,
Step inside your body at that time and feel the feelings you felt then.
Compassion is feeling someone else's pain and desiring to help.
So,
Allow yourself to experience those emotions.
Love,
The desire to help,
And wanting this person to feel better.
And when you are feeling those emotions fully,
Ask your subconscious mind to grow them.
Allow those feelings to expand until they fill your entire mind.
Allow those feelings to expand until they fill your heart and flow through your whole body.
And then,
With your breath,
Expand those feelings to fill the spaciousness around you.
When you inhale,
Feel them expanding beyond your physical body to fill your entire aura.
With your exhale,
Allow them to contract just a little bit,
Filling all the nooks and crannies where they weren't quite yet settled in to your physical body.
With your inhale,
Expand those feelings of compassion,
Love,
The desire to help,
The desire for the other person to feel better.
With your exhale,
Allow them to contract and flow through all of you,
Even the places you missed the first time.
Good.
Now,
Ask your subconscious mind to memorize this feeling,
This feeling of compassion and love and the desire to help.
Memorize this feeling.
And when you have that,
In your own mind,
Ask yourself this question.
Is it okay with me that I show myself compassion?
Is it okay with me that I show myself compassion?
Assuming your answer is yes,
Put both hands,
One on top of the other,
Over your heart center.
Just placing your hands this way,
One hand over the other,
In the middle of your chest,
Creates a flow of oxytocin in your brain.
It communicates that this is a heartfelt desire.
Now,
Using your name,
Say to yourself,
I love you.
I love you.
I believe in you.
You are a good person.
And just for a moment,
Allow that compassion that is directed from you to you to really sink in.
I love you.
I believe in you.
You are a good person.
Thank you.
If there's anything else you would like to say to yourself,
Say that now.
And allow the awareness of this compassion to nourish your deepest heart.
You can do this anywhere,
At any time,
At home,
In the morning when you wake up,
At night when you go to bed.
In the bathroom,
At work.
Anytime you need it,
This is available to you.
I love you.
I believe in you.
You are a good person.
Thank you.
And when you're ready,
Come gently back into the room and appreciate all that you have given to yourself.
