Learn To Be Kind To Yourself

A practice that helps set up the conditions for self-kindness to arise, leading us into having soft, kind eyes, then introducing the practice of self-empathy, and finally expressing support and warmth to ourselves.

Transcript

So just allowing the eyes to soften, Letting the muscles around the eyes be at rest and letting the focus within the eyes be soft as well, Just allowing ourselves to arrive and as the eyes soften, Usually to our inner field of attention becomes gentler, Naturally expansive, So that sensations from all over the body are allowed into awareness so we're just arriving more fully in the body in this moment and just bringing a little more awareness back to the eyes again we can allow the eyes to be kind, Just remembering what it's like to look with kindness, With love, Warmth remembering some specific time we did this and just noticing how along with that memory arise the feeling tones associated with kindness, Warmth and softness around the eyes, Appreciation, Tenderness and you'll find that those qualities of kindness pervade your attention as you bring it more fully back into the body again so that we're observing our own being with loving eyes just seeing if you can meet everything that arises with tenderness being aware of the heart with loving eyes, Meeting whatever you find there with tenderness and we can empathize with our nature as feeling beings, Aware of the heart we can remind ourselves that we feel joy, Sorrow, Peace and distress remember what it's like to be happy, Joyful remember what it's like to be miserable, Upset, To suffer so we experience joy and sorrow and we have a preference, We'd rather be joyful and yet this being human is not an easy thing we experience far less happiness than we would like, Far more suffering than we would like life is complicated and unpredictable, So we need support we need encouragement as we're doing this difficult thing of being human and we can offer ourselves that support, That encouragement by saying to ourselves may you be well, May you be at ease, May you be kind to yourself and others and feeling these words as an expression of kindness just continuing to repeat them for the next few minutes and just checking in with the eyes from time to time to make sure that they're still soft and kind with the eyes still soft, Still kind beginning to open up to the fullness of your awareness once again taking in the whole body, How you feel, How the mind is opening up to the outside world and in your own time beginning to move the body again, Slowly and mindfully and allowing the eyes to open so that you can bring your loving gaze more fully into the world

Reviews

Absolutely 💯 perfect! I will add this to my playlist. 🙏🏻🕊️

I can find showing kindness & compassion towards myself challenging and sometimes overwhelming. I loved how you gently guided us towards that goal by first directing a sense of empathy with ourselves, which was a new approach for me, and made the transition to the living kindness phrases easier & softer. Your guidance and spaces between helped the words fall & settle without overwhelming. Thank you 🙏🏻

Thank you, so peaceful and much needed loving kindness for today, loved the silent spaces in between the gentle guidance!

Lovely calming, soothing, and peaceful meditation. Thank you Bodhipaksa.
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