Welcome.
My name is Christine Grace McMulcan,
And it is my honor to offer you a mindful self-compassion informal practice.
Self-compassion break.
Please settle into a position in which your body is comfortable and will feel supported for the length of this practice.
Please close your eyes,
Partially or fully,
And take a couple of slow,
Deep,
Relaxing breaths.
Bring to mind a situation in your life that is difficult,
That is causing you stress,
Such as a health problem,
A relationship problem,
A work problem,
Or perhaps a friend who is struggling.
Please choose a problem in the mild to moderate range,
A 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Not a big problem.
We don't want to overwhelm ourselves as we're first learning the skill of self-compassion.
Allow yourself to see,
Hear,
And feel your way into the problem to the extent that you experience some uneasiness in your body.
Where do you feel it the most?
Make contact with the discomfort that you feel in your body,
And then say to yourself,
Slowly and kindly,
This is a moment of suffering.
This is a moment of suffering.
That's mindfulness.
Other options include,
This hurts,
Ouch,
This is stressful,
This is a moment of suffering.
And now offering yourself these words,
Slowly and kindly,
Suffering is part of living.
Suffering is part of living.
That's common humanity.
Other options include,
I'm not alone.
Others are just like me.
We all struggle in our lives.
This is how it feels when a person struggles in this way.
Suffering is part of living.
And now offering yourself these words,
Slowly and kindly,
May I be kind to myself.
May I be kind to myself.
That's self-kindness.
Other options might be,
May I give myself what I need.
May I accept myself as I am.
May I live in love.
May I be kind to myself.
This is a moment of suffering.
Suffering is part of living.
May I be kind to myself.
If you're having difficulty finding the best words,
Imagine that a dear friend or loved one is having the same problem as you.
What would you say to this person,
Heart to heart?
If your friend were to hold just a few of your words in their mind,
What would you like them to be?
What message would you like to deliver?
Now can you offer the same message to yourself?
And now releasing the words,
Releasing the practice,
Resting quietly for a few moments.
And when you're ready and in your own time,
Slowly and gently opening your eyes.
