So today,
In the next three or four days,
We're going to explore the concept of a compassionate image as a way to access a deeper form of self-love.
A compassionate image is an image of something or someone that to you represents love,
Compassion,
Kindness in a non-judgmental and infinite way.
The idea of this is that before we can give this to ourselves,
Love,
Compassion,
Kindness,
Encouragement,
Healing,
Before we can give that to ourselves,
We need to first receive it.
Contrary to popular belief,
If we could really do this,
If we could really receive self-love and give ourselves self-love,
I believe we are much better at loving others.
To the degree that we can do that for ourselves,
The more we will be able to do that for others.
So this is really an exercise in loving yourself and making yourself a more loving human being.
So this compassionate image can have different forms.
It can be,
You can imagine a religious image,
You can imagine a human person,
An ancestor or someone in your life who's loved you.
You can imagine an image from nature and I'm going to take a few steps here to take you through different ones.
So let's start today.
We're going to start with a religious image.
So just close your eyes.
Just let yourself settle in.
Receive the holding of the chair.
Underneath you,
Behind you.
Putting your body in a comfortable and alert posture where your heart is open.
In this case,
Open to receive.
And then just envision a compassionate image.
So if you are a religious person or a person with a particular spirituality,
Let this be an image of whatever within that spirituality represents the divine for you,
The source of compassion,
Of kindness,
Of infinite love that is unconditional.
Images like this might be Mother Mary or Kuan Yin or Christ or the Buddha or any religious image you have that represents that for you.
So just pick one right now,
One that speaks to your heart from whatever tradition it is that you feel most connected to right now.
It could be Mother Earth.
Just imagine yourself in the presence of this religious image.
And just imagine that you can just be completely yourself.
You don't have to be any other way than you are.
You can come just as you are and you're fully accepted.
In fact,
You are fully loved.
Just envision this image pouring their love into you through the eyes,
The facial expressions.
There's like a light coming,
A light,
A continuous light of love,
Compassion,
Kindness,
Understanding.
Whatever it is that you need right now and it's there in its source,
An infinite abundance just for you personally.
Just stay with this one image for this meditation and allow yourself to receive it,
To fully receive the love,
Including into those places that you feel are not so lovable.
We all have these places that we feel like they don't deserve love,
They don't deserve compassion.
Let this light,
Let this love particularly into those places.
Open your mind,
Open your heart,
Open your body to the possibility of being completely loved,
Unconditionally loved.
And you can take the sense of receptivity,
Of openness to divine grace right into your silent meditation now,
If that is what you're doing.
And you can pause me until you're ready to come out.
Let's take one more deep breath of receptivity,
Of this knowing that love in its nature is unconditional,
Always is.
And we can drink from the source of this love and let it heal whatever inside of us needs healing.
Take that with you as you're opening your eyes and take that awareness of the unconditional nature of divine love for you,
And take that with you as you encounter your day and see what difference that might make in how you perceive the world.
