Welcome.
This meditation is going to be an integrative lesson and experience for you.
We're going to be learning and feeling the energy of empathy and compassion and how to maintain an open heart.
So please take a moment and find a comfortable position.
Perhaps you'd like to keep a journal next to you.
So as we come in and out of the meditation,
If anything arises,
Any ahas or things you'd like to keep,
You have a place to put it.
When you're ready,
I'd like you to just close your eyes down.
And just notice the body,
The points that touch,
The sea to the ground beneath you.
And notice the jaw,
The muscles behind the ears,
The tongue.
Let it all relax down.
Unhinging,
Unclenching,
Letting go and relaxing.
The same with the eyes.
Imagine them just leaning back into a hammock.
Really letting them relax.
Relaxing the throat,
The shoulders,
Your arms,
Hands,
Your belly.
Letting the hips unhinge as well.
Loosening that belt.
Letting your legs buckle out,
The knees let go,
Ankles.
Everything is just now loose.
Coming through the feet.
Relaxed.
Focusing now on the breath.
We're just noticing where it lands.
Without even having to think,
The breath takes care of you.
It knows exactly what to do to keep you safe.
Let's see if you can bring your focus now into breathing straight into the heart.
Just imagine that all of that energy from the breath is filling your heart center.
And as it pumps out,
It's sending love around you.
Breathing in,
Sending love out.
Right into the heart.
The heart radiates a pulse of energy that extends outward three feet around you.
This electric magnetic field is your aura and can be measured.
The more we can focus on bringing the light out of our hearts,
The larger our energy field expands.
Just imagine this radiation of energy and love coming from the center of your heart.
From all directions surrounding you now in this light,
In this energy field.
Beautiful.
We're first going to explore empathy.
I'd like you to bring up a time when you felt deep empathy for someone.
This could be a friend,
A loved one,
Maybe even a stranger.
Recall how it is to feel as a witness of their pain or struggle.
You may notice their emotions and the feeling in yourself as if they were your own.
And notice where your body is feeling this energy right now.
Empathy can cause a lump in the throat,
Tightening in the chest.
Maybe even a heaviness or tension in the shoulders.
Pressure in the head.
Adrenaline rushing through your body.
Empathy.
Sometimes we even feel heavier like a weight that we're carrying when we take on other people's emotions.
So just breathe into this feeling for a moment and recognize the beauty of your capacity to feel deeply for another.
With another.
We take that on.
Now I'd like you to just release that memory.
Coming back to center,
The center of the chest.
Be here now.
In this present moment,
Where all you're doing is practicing here.
This is what's experienced now.
Coming back to neutral.
Nice clearing breath in and out of the heart.
We're shifting from empathy to compassion now.
And if there's anything you want to write down about how that felt to be in empathy,
You can.
Just pause the meditation and come back when you're ready.
And centering again,
Nice deep breath into the heart.
And exhale the love creating and formulating and establishing that aura again.
Compassion now is the emission of love.
It's a loving awareness of another's pain,
Identifying that there is pain or suffering in another.
But with a sense of spaciousness and wisdom.
Instead of absorbing their emotions,
Compassion allows us to hold space for others without taking on their suffering as our own.
So we admit that we see the pain.
But absorbing it does not help them.
We hold space for the pain to exist.
Knowing that our aura can give out love without needing to absorb any suffering.
So visualize someone you care about deeply is going through a challenging time.
This time,
Instead of feeling their emotions directly,
Imagine yourself offering them love,
Support,
Understanding from the heart.
So instead of absorbing through the aura,
The aura blocks the absorption,
But allows to emit this love.
So all you're doing is radiating this love out to them.
Imagine them feel this wave of love,
Security,
Reassurance,
Comfort.
This belief in them and their well-being,
Their ability to move through the suffering.
This place of real wisdom and compassion creates a safe space without anyone like you taking it on as your own.
So imagine the emission now from the aura.
No need to absorb.
You are safe to give out.
Just imagining them now basking in this light,
Feeling this love,
Feeling this safety.
Now notice the difference in the energy in your body.
The compassion feels lighter,
Positive,
Expansive,
Like a gentle warmth spreading through your heart.
Imagining the love filling that other person.
It brings a smile over your face knowing that they can be comforted,
Not by you taking on their pain,
But giving them that love.
It's an offering without the weight of carrying their burden.
So take a nice deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Feel the energy of compassion filling your body.
All the way in through your nose,
Filling up the chest,
The heart,
And emitting this love into the body now.
It's filling every cell,
Softening any tension or heaviness.
It's a blessing of love,
A wave of relaxation.
And notice how compassion allows for you to stay connected to others now without overwhelming yourself.
Beautiful.
Just notice the difference and take some time if you'd like to pause the meditation and write down your thoughts,
Insights,
Lessons learned.
We're going to shift now into maintaining an open heart through nervous system reactions.
Our nervous system reacts to protect us in moments of stress,
Discomfort,
And fear.
Sometimes these reactions cause us to close our hearts to shield ourselves.
But even when our nervous system is activated,
We could still choose to keep a heart open.
So we're going to practice now.
Again,
Bringing your focus and attention to the heart space,
The center of your chest.
I would like you to feel the energy here.
Notice any warmth,
Tension,
Or a sense of openness.
And begin to imagine your heart radiating.
Again,
This glowing light,
This energy.
With each breath we see this light expanding and creating space in your chest.
And as you breathe,
Remind yourself.
No matter what my body feels,
My heart can remain open.
Even when my nervous system is reacting,
My heart is free to love,
Free to stay soft.
Visualize a time now when you felt your heart closing in response to stress.
Identify what the stressor is.
Now imagine instead of closing your heart,
You open it up and acknowledge that what you're experiencing isn't love,
But you can still feel love.
Soft,
Kind,
And spacious within you.
And as you breathe,
Allow this open-heartedness to become a familiarity.
Something that you can retreat to and remember when the body is activated.
Feel how your heart can hold both your safety and your compassion no matter what the nervous system is doing.
Heart cohesion is when we breathe into the heart and the heart tells the body it is loved.
It does not have to engage.
It is safe.
Know that this is your natural state,
Open-hearted,
Grounded,
Curious,
And compassionate.
And before we close,
Silently repeat to yourself,
My heart is open.
I can hold love and compassion even in the face of stress.
My nervous system is wise,
But my heart is free.
Feel this truth resonate throughout you now.
It's like the door is unlocked.
You are free.
Slowly bring your awareness back to the room.
Gently wiggling your fingers and toes,
Take a moment now to thank yourself for this practice.
May your heart remain open.
May your compassion flow freely through you,
For you,
And for others.
Emanating from the heart.
May you navigate the world with both wisdom and love.
Namaste.
