Hello,
And welcome to the self compassion meditation.
Oftentimes we are our own worst enemy.
We tend to beat ourselves up over the smallest thing,
Or harp over the tiniest thing,
Or just the mistakes that we've made.
It's the decisions we have made or the decisions we didn't make.
Maybe there's a relationship issue,
We're beating ourselves up,
A work issue,
A family issue.
But whatever it is,
We tend to really hurt ourselves and cause more suffering to ourselves.
So this meditation is really about bringing more self compassion to ourselves.
So let's begin.
Feel free to find a comfortable and yet alert position.
So that's usually with your feet on the floor,
Your hands in your lap,
Your back is straight,
And your head is in alignment with your spine.
And let's begin by either closing our eyes or keeping them open and just lowering your gaze,
However you feel most comfortable.
Let's start by just feeling the weight of our bodies in our chair.
And by feeling the weight of our bodies in our chair just really helps us to ground ourselves to being here right now.
You can also bring your attention to your feet on the floor,
Or your hands in your lap as other ways of grounding ourselves in this moment.
You may also bring your attention to the sounds around you.
Perhaps noticing any sounds that might be happening outside your window.
Perhaps a car passing by,
Or birds chirping,
Or a siren.
Or just noticing the sounds inside or wherever you are.
By noticing sounds also helps to ground us into this present moment.
Now let's bring our attention to this one thing that we have been beating ourselves up over.
Or that one mistake or something didn't come through that you were expecting,
Or relationship challenge.
Perhaps you said something.
But let's bring up this suffering.
And as you remember this incident,
Where the situation that has been really bothering you,
And it keeps circulating in your mind over and over and over again.
Perhaps the negative thoughts that are coming through as you bring this situation up.
Can you notice how your body is feeling as you bring attention to this situation that you're beating yourself up on?
Can you bring your attention and notice how this shows up in your body?
So for example,
Perhaps you feel a tightness in your throat,
Or maybe a heaviness in your chest.
Or maybe there's a lot of tension in the back of your eyes.
Or maybe even a headache coming on.
But see if you can notice this suffering in your body and how it shows up.
Oftentimes we want to run away from suffering.
We want to ignore that it's happening.
Perhaps push it down.
And we're never with the suffering or noticing how it shows up in our body.
So just take this moment to really tune in to this suffering and how it shows up in our bodies and leaning into that.
And now let's bring our attention to this idea that everyone suffers.
We are not the only one.
It is truly part of our human experience that we go through challenging situations.
And so we're not the only one that has ever beaten ourselves up or feeling that we're not good enough.
We didn't make the cut.
That we are not doing well.
We are not the only ones that have ever said these things to ourselves.
So really bringing attention to this idea of this common humanity.
That it is part of our human experience to sometimes experience suffering.
And that we are not alone in our journey of challenge and beating ourselves up.
And now feel free to place your hand over your heart.
And just notice that sensation of placing your hand over your heart.
And perhaps feeling the warmth of your hand on your heart and on your chest.
And see if you can feel your heart beating in this moment.
And let's offer ourselves some kind words as our hand is over our heart.
Repeat this silently to yourself.
May I be safe.
May I accept myself for who I am.
May I be kind to myself.
And may I be at peace.
Again,
May I be safe.
May I accept myself for who I am.
May I be kind to myself.
And may I be at peace.
And again,
Say silently to yourself.
May I be safe.
May I accept myself for who I am.
May I be kind to myself.
And may I be at peace.
And now let's take a deep breath in and a slow exhale out.
And in a moment,
I'll ring the bell.
And feel free to open your eyes and bring your attention back to the room.
Thank you for sharing your practice with me.
