Kindness for self and others.
And the intention of this practice is to generate some feelings of kindness and love towards ourself and others.
This healing journey can be a tough one and we can feel quite alone.
It's so easy to get discouraged.
There's research to show that actually practicing kindness and love can change our inner experience,
Easing our sense of threat and increasing our safety.
Perhaps just thinking of this as planting some seeds and just seeing what grows or doesn't.
Finding your seat or lying down on the floor perhaps.
So you can have a sense of support and some stability.
Connecting with a sense of your whole body here,
Being as present as you can be.
If it feels supportive it can help to place your hands somewhere on your body to support this opening towards warmth and caring for yourself.
Towards tenderness for yourself,
Kindness and friendliness towards yourself.
You might try a hand on the heart or perhaps both hands cupping your cheeks.
And yet this kindness thing can feel a little strange,
Even uncomfortable.
Especially if we're used to offering ourselves unkindness,
Criticism and rejection.
So through this practice,
As best you can just allowing for that complexity,
Making space for it.
Exploring it and looking after yourself,
Coming back home to breath and body regularly,
If that's good for you.
If necessary you can even allow yourself to open your eyes,
Look around the room,
Settle and ground yourself.
Right now,
If it feels okay,
Just noticing any feelings of pain,
Either physical or emotional,
There's no need to be specific.
In a broad sense,
Think about what you are carrying with this pain,
With this condition.
See if you can acknowledge how difficult it is to experience this pain,
To have this pain,
To take care of this pain.
Again,
A hand perhaps on your heart for extra support can be really helpful.
And if it feels right,
You might even say to yourself,
This is hard or it's so tough to feel this way.
Use words that you would find helpful to hear from a close friend who really understands what you're going through.
Practice softly repeating these words a few times and actually really listen to yourself saying them.
Check out,
Do you mean them?
Does it feel good to hear these words?
Or do you notice that you have a hard time hearing them?
Whatever your experience,
It's okay,
There's no right way or wrong way.
Letting yourself honor the unique gifts and strengths that lie within you.
Knowing there are gifts and strengths that are already realized and those that are still seeds of potential.
Like in every human life,
There are wonderful moments of strength,
Courage,
Humor,
Creativity,
Generosity and tenderness.
Your heart,
Like all human hearts,
Is capable of more love and kindness than you ever dreamed possible.
You might allow a slight smile on the lips as you practice meeting what's here with kindness,
Tenderness and acceptance.
Knowing that these things will change over time as you practice.
Becoming aware of your breathing now,
Settling into the rise and fall of this natural breath.
Riding the waves of each breath and allowing the rising and falling to offer some softening and presence to arrive.
You might even allow the breathing to help support the quality of kindness.
You might like to imagine the breath being imbued in the quality of kindness.
This might be a word or a light or a color or a coolness or warmth.
Breathing in acceptance,
Warmth,
Tenderness,
Friendliness.
Breathing in these qualities of kindness.
Opening to and making space with each breath.
There's no need to force anything,
No need to try hard.
Just allowing this practice to unfold,
To emerge.
Making space for whatever arises is also an act of kindness.
And now,
Using some words to offer this intention of kindness as a wish,
If you like.
Wishing yourself tenderness.
Wishing yourself acceptance and deep care.
Wishing yourself courage and the strength to live life with more compassion.
Wishing yourself ease and peace in your body,
Your heart and your mind.
Notice whatever is arising as you practice in this way.
Noticing if there is any sense of constriction or tension or unkind thoughts or ambivalent feelings.
It's okay,
Just opening to sensations in the body,
To all thoughts and feelings as best you can,
Just as they are.
Making a soft space to allow whatever arises.
This wellspring of natural responsiveness and care is what we're cultivating in this practice.
You may even like to make these wishes a more formal offering,
Using the words,
May I.
Try them out,
Try offering yourself these phrases.
May I be safe from inner and outer harm.
May I find peace.
May I be well in my body and mind.
May I be free.
Perhaps you can even imagine you're whispering these words into your own ear.
Using a soft,
Kind voice.
May I be safe.
May I be peaceful.
May I be well.
May I be free.
Wishing yourself kindness in the best way that only you know how.
Allowing whatever comes up.
Grounding using the soles of the feet or the breath as an anchor if needed.
Opening to receive these wishes just as much as you can.
And knowing that this will shift and change over time,
No need to struggle with it.
And now letting go of this and returning your attention to the whole body resting here,
Breathing.
And maybe opening up to all the others in the world who are suffering just like you.
Many millions of people on this same journey,
Learning how to shift and transform their safety and danger experiences.
This careful and caring work of investigation and transformation.
Knowing you are not alone.
In your mind's eye perhaps you might even invite all these people into your awareness.
Maybe as a small gathering of people,
Maybe a huge group.
To stand with you in solidarity in some way.
Maybe they have your back,
Maybe they come out from your sides or maybe they're in a big circle around you.
Sending their messages,
Their wishes.
May you be safe from inner and outer harm.
May you find peace.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be free.
Radiating out a sense of kindness to the world.
No need to push it out.
Perhaps see if you can be like the sun which just sits there and radiates it.
May we be safe.
May we find peace.
May we be well.
May we be free.
Keep breathing,
Keep softening.
Keep radiating out a sense of kindness to the world if that makes sense to you.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings find peace.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be free.
And when you're ready,
Bringing this kindness practice to a close.
And knowing you have this capacity at any moment of your day to pause,
To notice what is happening.
To connect to the common feeling we all experience.
And offer yourself and others kindness,
Compassion and understanding.
And now,
Becoming present to whatever is here now.
Letting the practice be just as it is.
And for you to be just as you are.
