Welcome to this morning's meditation on the lawn offered by the University of Virginia.
It is my pleasure to be with you.
My name is Benita Mayo and I am a graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences and I am a yoga and mindfulness meditation instructor with the Contemplative Sciences Center.
Happy Valentine's Day.
Today's focus will be on loving self-regard or self-compassion and today's meditation is dedicated to you.
To connect more deeply with others,
We must face ourselves first.
We often reject other people's care and attention when we believe we don't deserve it,
But there's nothing that we have to do special to receive love and to be loved.
It is simply because you exist.
I love this poem by Rumi.
Your task is not to seek for love,
But merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
Your task is not to seek for love,
But merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
So let's begin to set ourselves up for our meditation.
And I might invite the question,
What do you need to have for loving self-regard?
So find a comfortable seat.
Your eyes may be open or closed.
Place your palms down on top of your thighs if you're sitting,
Or if you happen to be lying down,
You can just have your arms by your side.
If you're sitting,
Note your feet on the floor,
Feeling grounded through the earth beneath you.
And if you're lying down,
Notice the connection between your back body and whatever you're lying on,
Feeling solid and strong.
And place your attention on your natural breath and taking soft inhales and exhales through the nose.
And allow for three gentle full breaths.
Inhaling and exhaling,
And breathing in and breathing out.
Be with the sensation of the breath just at the tip of the nostrils and soften the face and soften the jaw.
And allow your tongue to fall away from the roof of the mouth.
Soften the shoulders,
Inviting yourself to be grounded and present in this meditation this morning.
Inviting your attention for a strong back,
Representing the capacity to hold yourself up.
And invite your attention to your soft front,
Opening to the things that are.
So we'll sit like this just for a few moments.
So breathing in and breathing out.
And finding your natural rhythm.
One breath at a time is how we practice.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Inhale and exhale.
On your next inhale,
Maybe you recall your,
Bring your mind to the desire for loving self-regard.
Exhale bring to your mind your desire for loving self-regard.
Exhale consciously focus on the love and compassion that exists in your heart.
As you breathe in,
Bring greater awareness for this love,
The warm,
Loving softness within you.
As you breathe in,
Bring a greater awareness of this love,
The warm,
Loving softness within you.
And as you exhale,
Consciously send that loving support to everyone around you,
To all beings.
Breathing in,
Bring to mind the whole circle of people surrounding you with love.
Breathing out,
Receive the love that is being given to you.
Breathing in and breathing out.
One breath at a time is how we practice.
Breathing in,
Call to mind your desire for loving self-regard or loving self-compassion.
Breathing out,
Consciously focus on the love and compassion that exists within your heart.
Breathing in,
Bring your awareness to this love,
The warm,
Loving softness within you.
And breathing out,
Consciously send this loving support to all beings in need at this very moment.
Breathing in,
Receive the love,
Know that you are love.
And breathing out,
Send the love out to all beings.
Breathing out,
Receive the love that is being given to you.
Breathing in and breathing out.
One breath at a time is how we practice.
Breathing out,
Receive the love that is being given to you.
As we begin to close out our practice this morning,
I invite you to place one hand in the center of your chest over your heart and maybe place the other hand just on top.
Feel the warmth of your hands and the gentle touch on your chest.
And say to yourself,
May I be kind to myself.
May I offer myself loving self-regard.
And what do you need to hear right now to express kindness and compassion and love for yourself?
Maybe there's a phrase that speaks to you in a particular situation.
Maybe the phrase goes something like this.
May I give myself the compassion that I need.
May I learn to accept myself as I am.
May I forgive myself.
May I be strong.
May I be patient.
And notice how that feels in your body.
Give yourself permission to receive.
And with your hands still at heart center,
Remember these words from Rumi.
Your task is not to seek for love,
But merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that have been built against it.
There's nothing you need to do.
You deserve the love just for being you.
Thank you.
