Welcome to this meditation on compassion through the eyes of the inner child.
In this simple meditation,
We'll start by offering self-compassion toward the wounded child in us and then offer it outward as we see the wounded child in others.
You can begin by finding a comfortable position to relax or recline.
And if you feel safe to,
You can allow your eyes to close and rest your hands away from technology that might interrupt your practice time.
And we'll just start with some breathing exercises to ground ourselves.
And let's together take a full breath in and out.
Again in and out.
And finally in and then let it all out.
And breathing normally now,
Where is the moment that your in-breath becomes the out-breath?
And where is the moment your out-breath becomes the in-breath?
And just focus on the breathing cycle for a moment.
For our compassion through inner child practice,
Let's consider a quote from Thich Nhat Hanh who says this.
In each of us,
There is a young suffering child.
We have all had times of difficulty as children and many of us have suffered trauma.
To protect and defend ourselves from future suffering,
We often try to forget those painful times.
But just because we may have ignored the child doesn't mean they aren't there.
The wounded child is always there,
Trying to get our attention.
And so with this understanding that the wounded child still needs our attention,
We'll use a compassion mantra that simply says,
I see you,
I feel you,
And I care about your pain.
We want to let the child within know that we care about their pain.
Imagine yourself as the child you once were.
Perhaps a five-year-old child.
And you might think of a specific photo from around that age as a child.
And once you see this image of yourself,
You can start offering words of compassion to this child.
If you'd like,
You can put a hand over your heart to really feel from your heart space as you say to this child,
I see you,
I feel you,
I care about your pain.
Try to feel the pure,
Non-judgmental,
Honest compassion for the unhealed wounds of this child,
And you can say again,
I see you,
I feel you,
And I care about your pain.
Okay.
And after the words of self-compassion,
We can move to the next stage of our practice.
Let's bring the same feelings of compassion to a benefactor.
So think of someone who's been especially kind to you.
This might be a friend,
A loved one,
Or someone who's been taking time to show up for you.
Do you have this benefactor in mind?
And once your thoughts are on this benefactor,
You may recall again that we all had times in childhood with difficulty or trauma.
And seeing the benefactor as a wounded child,
Let's begin offering the same phrases of compassion,
Saying to their wounded child,
I see you,
I feel you,
And I care about your pain.
If you find your mind has distracted into stories,
Worries,
Or plans,
Just note this and you can gently return to the phrases,
Seeing the wounded child inside the benefactor,
Saying again,
I see you,
I feel you,
I care about your pain.
Alright.
And now you can let this person go and move to the next stage of our practice.
Try to bring to mind someone that you find difficult,
Or toward whom you feel some resentment or jealousy.
It might even be a family member that you just had a disagreement with.
Again,
Just as you've had difficulty or trauma in childhood,
This person has had their own difficulty and trauma in childhood as well.
And when you see this person as a wounded child,
You can set aside narratives to truly offer the same phrases of compassion and care,
Saying to the child in them,
I see you,
I see your suffering,
I feel you,
I care about your pain.
I wonder how this person would feel if they knew that you were sending these wishes of compassion to them.
I see you,
I feel you,
And I care about your pain.
Okay.
And finally,
We can expand our wishes of compassion outward to our family and friends,
Our community.
We can expand further to send these feelings of care out to the wounded child for everyone in our city and our country,
And as wide as we can imagine.
And notice and appreciate the capacity and expansiveness of your own heart as you offer these phrases of compassion to everyone,
Everywhere.
I see you,
I feel you,
I care about your pain.
Great.
And as we wrap up this meditation time,
You can slowly return your focus to your own body,
Mind,
Heart in this present moment.
How was that for you?
Do you notice any discomfort,
Tension,
Or difficulty?
Do you notice if you're experiencing any warmth,
Spaciousness,
Calm,
Or joy?
And take a moment to honor and celebrate this time you spent cultivating a compassionate heart that is seeing,
Connecting,
And caring.
And then,
Whenever you're ready,
You can allow your eyes to open and gently return your attention to the space around you.
Thank you for practicing together today.
