Welcome to this meditation on self-compassion.
My intention in guiding you through this today is to help you reconnect with your inner wise loving self,
Inviting you to shift into a way of sitting that feels the most supportive for your meditation practice.
Relaxed and also alert at the same time,
Closing your eyes if that feels comfortable and resting your hands gently on your lap,
Turning your attention inside.
Being with ourselves is really a generous act of love and especially when we can show up for ourselves when we feel like we might have done something wrong or really just aren't happy with the way something has gone in our lives.
Showing up for ourselves and being with ourselves really goes against our conditioning.
For that reason it's a profound act in a world that's trained us to look outside of ourselves for validation,
To tell us what to do and how to be.
But instead we have the chance to show up with a spacious kind and loving awareness,
Creating a place of refuge inside of ourselves and the truth is is that it may feel a little foreign initially and that's okay.
Spiritual teacher Tara Brach offers,
When we become the holder of our own sorrows,
Our old roles as judge,
Adversary or victim are no longer being fueled.
In their place we find not a new role but a courageous openness and a capacity for genuine tenderness not only for ourselves but for others as well.
So we can choose to practice offering a kind and loving attention to ourselves no matter how we feel our past has gone.
And this is a practice.
We're laying down new neural pathways in our brains.
We're creating new habits of cultivating our life force energy,
Of noticing our inner critic.
Self-compassion can be a powerful antidote to that inner critic.
It's just a matter of cultivating the practice because there's a bigger part of us that knows the truth.
Bringing your attention now to where your body is making contact with the ground,
Your seat,
Your feet on the floor and grounding into the energy,
The sensation of the earth below you,
Providing you support.
Taking a moment to feel into that unwavering support of the earth and bringing your attention to your breath as a way of arriving even more deeply.
And for the next few breaths,
Focusing your attention with a nice deep inhale followed by a long exhale out.
If you're sensing any residual energy that feels charged or buzzing,
Just allowing yourself to breathe that right out,
Inviting yourself into a deeper relaxation,
Allowing your breath to resume its natural rhythm.
Taking a moment now to bring to mind a recent time that maybe you've done or said something that you wish you hadn't.
Maybe something you're holding against yourself.
It could be a moment of reacting in anger to someone,
Maybe saying something that you regret,
Maybe feeling like you failed at something.
A time that you feel like you've let others down or you haven't met your own standards.
Maybe falling back into an addictive pattern.
And as you bring this situation up,
Really connecting with what feels wrong or bad about what happened.
Allow yourself to deepen into the feelings of aversion that you have about the situation.
I'm exploring a little bit more deeply here.
Perhaps there was shame or regret that came up or maybe disappointment.
If you hurt someone else,
Did that maybe happen out of your feeling of insecurity or need to be safe?
Feeling like you needed to bring your power back?
And really looking at yourself in this situation and your vulnerability through the eyes of a loving friend.
And as you sense what was underlying the situation,
Maybe something you were afraid of,
Something you wanted,
Just allowing yourself to feel that and notice where it's showing up in your body right now.
Inviting you to place your hand on your heart or maybe in the center of your chest if that feels comfortable.
Sending a message of grounding and care right to yourself.
Maybe offering some words that feel loving and kind like you're okay,
This is okay,
This is the human experience and I forgive you.
Whatever words work for you.
And remembering to meet whatever it is that arises with an openness and a sense of love and remembering that any kind of failure or mistakes are just part of this life and our lives will always be filled with moments of flaws and imperfections.
Nothing has gone wrong and if you're sensing any kind of resistance welcoming that in too.
There's a place inside of us that really watches and witnesses anything that happens without any kind of judgment.
So inviting you to call on that presence in this moment,
That compassionate witness that lives inside of you or if that's feeling challenging you might call on a loving and supportive friend.
Feeling compassion flowing into you,
Supporting you and as we close out this meditation together offering these words of loving kindness to yourself.
May I remember who I am as a divinely created being.
May I know in my bones that there is nothing I can ever do that will take away from my inherent goodness.
May I know that whatever life brings me I am safe and cared for right here in this body.
May I have patience with myself when I forget these truths and remember that I can always begin again.
May I know the deep beauty of my own uniqueness as a worthy,
Strong,
Valuable and powerful being.
