As you feel ready,
Gently allowing your eyes to close,
Or if it feels right for you,
Having your eyes partly or fully open.
Beginning by taking a few fuller,
Deeper breaths.
Breathing fully in and fully out for three or four breaths.
And taking these moments to gently draw your mind back and feeling your body sitting here right now,
Breathing.
And then allowing your body to breathe on its own.
And taking a moment to let your attention scan through your inner landscape.
Like standing on a hill and looking out across some fields.
Just noticing whatever you can see within your own body right now.
What sensations,
Vibrations,
Energy,
Emotions,
Thoughts are happening inside of you right now?
And whatever you notice,
See if it might be possible to just make a little tender space.
And just let it be,
If only for these few moments.
Nothing to work on,
Nothing to fix.
Just noticing and letting it be as it is.
And as you feel ready,
And if it feels right for you,
Taking a moment to offer yourself some soothing and supportive touch.
Taking a moment to place a hand somewhere on this human body that feels connected and comforting to you.
Perhaps just simply clasping your hands in your lap.
Perhaps cupping your own face with your hands or placing a hand over your heart.
And taking a moment to feel,
To really feel these sensations of contact.
Perhaps even noticing that living warmth at the point of contact.
These sensations are a reminder that we're not just going to bring attention.
But perhaps bring a warm,
Caring,
Kind attention for this person too.
The person feeling the contact,
The warmth of these hands,
Is a human being.
A human being doing their best day by day.
Someone who needs and deserves care and compassion.
As all human beings do.
You can leave your hand in this spot or let it rest somewhere that feels very relaxed,
Very easy.
And in a gradual,
Deliberately paced way,
Taking a few moments to find your breath.
Finding the spot where you can most easily feel the movement of your breath flowing in and flowing out.
It doesn't have to be the same spot it was yesterday.
And whenever you find that place where you can most easily feel the physical sensations of breathing.
Letting your awareness rest there like a bird gently landing on a branch.
Just feeling the flow of your own breath.
You don't need to change or control this breath in any way.
Your body knows how to breathe.
And there's nowhere else to go right now and nothing else to do right now.
Just feeling your own breath.
Perhaps even beginning.
Just beginning to savor these sensations of breathing.
In the same way that you might savor the smell of lilacs or pine needles.
Savor the taste of coffee or strawberry.
Just enjoying the feeling of breathing,
If that feels right.
Just enjoying the feeling of breathing.
And of course whenever your attention wanders,
Now or later.
Just smile.
Smile to this wonderful human mind.
And whenever you feel ready,
Gently guide it back.
Back to the breath.
And now if you like,
You can just stay with the breath.
Using this as a time and space to give yourself whatever it is you need right now.
Nothing you have to do,
Nothing you should do.
Or if it feels right for you,
Moving on to practicing being a compassionate mess.
Allowing yourself to think about a situation in your life that's causing you some emotional pain.
In some way it's making you feel awkward,
Not good enough,
Inadequate,
Maybe even like a failure.
Please don't choose the biggest problem in your life at the moment.
Or even a very big one.
But choose a problem where the intensity is in the medium range.
Something useful to practice with.
And maybe it involves something that you regret,
A mistake you made,
Or more unsuccessful in something that matters to you.
Taking a few moments to evoke this situation vividly in your mind.
Visualizing it in detail.
What happened?
What was said?
Who was present?
Noticing if you start to feel the energy of discomfort in your body while bringing this situation into mind.
If so,
Allowing this to happen.
If not,
Perhaps considering choosing a slightly more difficult situation.
Do you notice unpleasant sensations or painful feelings?
If so,
Can you make just a little bit of space for them?
Allowing them to be there just as they are,
If only for this one moment.
Taking good care of yourself as you go along,
Giving yourself whatever you need as you do this practice.
Perhaps by remembering that you are not alone.
Uneasiness,
Discomfort,
Painful feelings are part of being human.
Every human life involves some discomfort and pain,
And at the moment that you feel yours is the moment that you are connected to and similar to other people,
Not different.
Recognizing yourself as human can be healing.
Seeing how much it's possible in this moment to allow and accept whatever pains you're feeling.
Not so that they'll vanish,
But letting your heart melt as you hold these difficult feelings,
Taking good care of yourself.
Perhaps even reassuring yourself by the simple human fact that these are a few moments of pain for you.
Can you be there for yourself even just a little bit to live this moment with connection and care with a loving presence?
Take two or three deep breaths to focus and ease yourself a little bit.
Perhaps placing a hand over your heart or another gesture that's relaxing for you that feels supportive and kind toward you.
And now trying to speak to yourself in a friendly,
Compassionate,
And supportive way,
Finding words that connect using these words or your own.
I'm so sorry that you feel bad about yourself,
But remember these feelings are not going to last forever.
I'm here for you,
And I'm going to stay here with you.
Ouch,
It hurts to feel like a failure and inadequate,
And even if I can't make it go away,
I will try to be here with it with courage and compassion and patience and an open heart.
Allowing the compassionate side of yourself to blossom in these words or perhaps as an image or a gesture or simply a warm feeling.
Can you allow yourself to be just as you are,
Just who you are right now,
Fully a human being?
Could you perhaps for these moments stop expecting yourself to be perfect and acknowledge that you're doing your best?
And now if it feels right,
Try speaking to yourself using words that acknowledge your imperfectness,
Your messiness,
But also provide you with unconditional acceptance,
The same way that you would talk to a friend or someone you really care about.
Again,
Using these words or finding your own.
It's okay to be a mess.
It's okay to know that I'm imperfect as all humans are.
Wow,
I messed up again.
I wish I hadn't,
But I did.
It's very difficult to feel like this.
There's nothing I can do to change the fact that I am an imperfect human being who makes mistakes sometimes.
I am a work in progress as all human beings are.
I hope I can accept myself in a kind and understanding way when I suffer.
I am a compassionate mess and that's okay.
It's okay to be a compassionate mess.
It's okay to admit I'm not perfect.
I'm human.
Whenever you find yourself using self-compassion to push your pain away or to become a better person,
Seeing if you could let go of that subtle form of resistance and simply be present with care and love.
The compassion of recognizing that we are all imperfect human beings living imperfect,
Messy lives.
If it feels right,
Taking a moment to recognize that we are all imperfect.
Taking a moment to recognize that we are all compassionate disasters.
And we can feel free and at peace despite our human imperfections and human messiness when we can greet our messiness and imperfection with connection and love.
And now letting go of that and taking a few moments to just rest gently.
And now letting go of that and taking a few moments to just rest gently in your own body.
Noticing however the energy of your body is right now.
Seeing if you can give yourself permission for this practice to be however it's been.
Give yourself permission to be however you are right now.
