Welcome and greetings.
My name is Tony Socordi and this is a self-compassion and empathy meditation.
Please take your position.
If you are sitting on a chair make sure your feet are flat on the floor.
Your spine should be relatively straight and you can let your hands gently rest on your lap with the palms facing up if that is comfortable for you or facing down.
If you want you can imagine a thin thread gently pulling the top of your head towards the ceiling.
Your head should be slightly tilted as if you were looking at the floor five feet in front of you.
Take some time to adjust the position to make it stable,
Comfortable and dignified.
And when you are ready,
Gently,
Slowly close your eyes.
Check where you are physically,
Emotionally,
Mentally and have a sense of letting go physically and mentally.
Drop your shoulders and your head.
Drop your shoulders if necessary,
Relax your jaws,
Your neck,
Your back,
Lower back,
Legs,
Arms.
Make sure your body is relaxed to position comfortable and yet comfortable.
Make sure your body is relaxed to position comfortable and yet stable and dignified.
Now let's take some deeper breath.
Inhale slowly,
Gently through your nose if possible.
All the way into your belly and then slowly exhale through your nose all the air out.
Again inhale slowly,
Gently,
Intentionally all the way into your belly and slowly exhale all the air out.
And slowly exhale all the air out.
Do it again three times on your arm.
And when you are done,
Go back to your normal breathing.
Let your breathing be natural.
And feel the gentle movement of your chest rising up and down as you inhale and you exhale.
And feel the sensations at the center of your chest.
And feel the sensations at the center of your chest.
And bring to mind someone you really care about,
Someone you really love who is still alive today.
Bring that person you really care about to mind.
And from your heart center,
Repeat mentally to them,
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
And now bring your attention to yourself,
Your own self.
And from your heart center,
Repeat mentally,
Saying to yourself,
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
May you be happy,
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
And still from your heart center,
Respond to yourself,
Saying mentally,
Yes,
May I be well,
Yes,
May I be safe,
Yes,
May I be happy.
Yes,
May I be well,
Yes,
May I be safe,
Yes,
May I be happy.
And now bring your attention to your family and friends,
People that are close to you,
People that you like in general.
And for them,
Say mentally,
From your heart center,
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
And now bring to mind someone you barely know,
Maybe the person at the cash register,
At the grocery store,
The person you met at the bus stop,
Someone at work you rarely talk to,
Maybe you don't even know their name.
Bring them to mind and wish them well.
Mentally say,
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
And now extend that generosity to all the people in your town,
At work,
In your country,
In the whole world.
From your heart center to all the people in the world,
Mentally say,
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
And now bring to mind someone with whom you may have some difficulties communicating.
Someone with whom it's not always easy,
Could be a family member,
Someone at the workplace,
Someone with whom you're having trouble communicating.
Bring that person to mind and repeat mentally,
This person has a body and a mind just like me.
This person has feelings,
Emotions and thoughts just like me.
This person has been sad,
Disappointed,
Angry or hurt just like me.
This person has felt unworthy or inadequate sometimes,
Just like me.
This person worries and is frightened at times,
Just like me.
This person has longed for friendship,
Just like me.
This person is learning about life,
Just like me.
And still thinking about them,
Mentally say,
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be happy.
And now to close the circle,
Come back to yourself.
And once more say to yourself,
May I be well,
May I be safe,
May I be happy.
May I be well,
May I be safe,
May I be happy.
And now slowly,
Gently come back to your breathing,
To your chest rising up and down as you inhale and you exhale.
And feel the sensations at the center of your chest.
And slowly come back to where you are,
The room you're in,
The time of the day.
Feel your feet on the floor,
Your hands on your lap.
Wiggle your toes,
Your fingers,
Stretch if you feel like it.
And when you are ready,
Slowly,
Gently open your eyes.
Thank you.
