Compassion and self-compassion.
As an act of self-compassion,
Find your most comfortable seated posture and let's take our three,
Four,
Seven,
Eight breaths.
Let's breathe as one,
Let's breathe together,
Inhaling for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
And exhaling out through the mouth for two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
And again inhaling for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Exhaling out through the mouth for two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Last breath in this way inhaling for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Exhaling out through the mouth for two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Find your most comfortable seat,
Close your eyes gently,
Release any tension in your forehead.
As an act of self-compassion,
Release any tension around the eyes,
Release any tension around the mouth,
Release any tension in the jaw and the cheeks,
Nothing to say right now,
Nothing to do right now,
Nothing to think right now,
Just being,
Just being,
Just enjoying this being,
Letting your shoulders be light,
Releasing the tension in your neck,
Releasing the tension in your chest,
Releasing the tension in your shoulders,
Releasing any tension in your back,
Let your body be heavy,
Let your being be light,
And for a few moments,
Just being,
Being by being aware,
Connecting to the awareness of this breath moving through you,
Feeling the breath moving through the nose,
Feeling the breath moving through the throat,
Sinking deeply into the feeling of the breath in the rising and falling of the chest,
Feeling the breath in your belly,
Feeling the breath with all your awareness and feeling the breath from the inside,
Feeling that expansion,
That movement,
And take a moment to acknowledge the intention of this practice,
This meditation will help you develop the concentration to focus the mind,
Prepare the mind for choosing a response which leads to your happiness,
And if you can be in the present in this moment,
You can choose your speech in all moments,
So for the next few minutes,
Being with the breath,
Tuning into its sensations,
If it's helpful,
Say the word inhale each time you inhale,
And exhale every time you exhale,
Enjoying this awareness,
Enjoying this presence,
And returning again to the words inhale,
Exhale anytime the mind wanders,
Staying with the breath for a few minutes,
If the mind wanders as an act of self-compassion,
Bring it back,
Staying with your breath for two more minutes,
When the mind wanders,
Returning to the breath,
And now seeing how you feel after five minutes of awareness,
Is there more inner stillness,
Is there more groundedness,
Is there more connection to your core,
And to further connect to your core,
Put your hands on your heart,
And with joy,
Like a coming home,
Feel into this heart,
Feeling into the heart physically,
The sensations of the beating heart,
Through the chest,
Through the hands,
Through the body,
Realizing that this pulsing is a sense of life coming and going,
Rising and falling,
Contracting and opening,
And as the stars and all of the cosmos pulsate,
We also pulsate,
Receiving and giving,
The flow of life,
Reality is so great,
The cosmos is so great,
This world we live in is too vast for us to judge it,
The world or any part in it,
We are part of this world,
We connect to this world with this heart,
We nurture this heart,
This heart nurtures others and nurtures ourselves,
And as we are nurtured by our heart,
So too,
All that are about us in our lives and beyond,
Are also feeling this pulsing heart,
And their pulsing hearts,
Receiving and giving,
Connecting to our own heart,
We connect to all hearts that are beating,
Hearts that are also vulnerable,
Hearts that we can be kind to,
Sending the wish,
May I speak to others,
Words that come from this heart,
May this heart be the source of what I say,
When I'm being very honest with this heart,
May I listen to others deeply from this heart,
May I listen with this heart,
May I listen with this heart in a way that opens others others to speak sincerely,
And to speak from their hearts,
May I feel the joy of connecting,
The joy of connecting through speech,
The joy of connecting in silence,
The joy of connecting across continents,
The joy of connecting with other hearts across space and time,
And the joy of connecting with those before me,
With those in front of me,
Through the words I hear,
And the words I speak,
And may I speak kindly to myself,
May I nurture and protect this heart always,
And through what I do,
And what I say,
And what I think,
And how I set my intentions,
May I share this heart with other hearts,
As an act of self-kindness,
Send the wishes for yourself,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be safe,
May I stay connected to myself in every moment,
May my words be a contribution,
May my words contribute to the compassionate universe,
May my words serve the happiness of all beings,
And returning to this feeling,
This sensation of the hand on the heart,
Our heart is always beating for us,
We can listen to it,
We can feel it,
We can be fed by it,
And in the inner mercies of our own heart,
We can extend that mercy out to others,
And that would be a just heart,
An in-tune heart,
A heart that pulsates with all about it,
Is always here for us,
There is always the heart to return to again and again,
Coming back to the heart,
And warmly thank yourself for having done this practice of mindfulness,
Compassion,
Self-compassion,
Intention-setting,
And deep connection to your heart,
And thanking all others doing this meditation with you,
Releasing the hand back down,
And take a deep breath in through the nose,
Taking a deep breath out through the mouth,
Coming back to earth,
Feeling your body grounded in the chair,
Your feet on the floor,
Your seat,
Your body,
The air against your skin,
The fabric of clothes against your skin,
And being grateful to be in a body in which you can do so much good with your mouth,
Your hands,
Your whole body,
Opening your eyes,
And whatever you see around you in your environment,
Think the most generous thought you can about it in this moment from the heart,
Bringing the practice into your environment with you.
