Welcome to this Compassionate Image practice.
This is a core practice from Compassion Focused Therapy.
Begin by settling in and finding a posture that feels supportive for you today,
Whether that's seated in an upright position or lying down.
Tuning in to what feels wise for your body.
Noticing the points of contact with your body and the surface that you're resting upon.
Weight of the body going down.
And if seated,
Noticing the contact with feet on the floor.
At the same time,
Aware of the gentle uplift through the back all the way to the top of your head.
Height going up.
So that as you sit or lie here,
You're aware of a sense of the body as a whole breathing.
And inviting you now to tune into the physical sensations of breathing in the body.
Gently resting the awareness in the breath,
Breathing itself.
As best you can for the full duration of each in-breath and the full duration of each out-breath.
Breathing in,
Knowing that you're breathing in and breathing out,
Knowing that you're breathing out.
And when the attention leaves the breath,
Remembering that this isn't a mistake,
Noticing where the attention goes to and gently returning the attention to the anchor of the breathing.
Inviting you to slow down the rhythm of your breathing,
Engaging with a rhythm of breathing that feels soothing and calming for your body.
Perhaps a slightly deeper breath than usual.
Can you allow the breath to be smooth and even so that the duration of each in-breath and each out-breath is equal in length?
Using counting as a support if this feels helpful for you.
Going with what feels comfortable and right for your body in this moment.
Perhaps paying particular attention to the out-breath,
Noticing the gentle releasing and letting go that happens as we breathe out.
Inviting you then to drop the attention a little more deeply into the body,
Breathing into the whole of the body.
Realising those points of contact with the surface that you're resting upon.
Feelings of pressure,
The contact of your clothing on your skin,
Perhaps temperature in the body.
And if it feels helpful,
Perhaps gently scanning through the body,
Starting at the bottom of your toes all the way through to the top of your head.
Not forcing your experience to be a certain way,
But bringing a friendly interest to these physical sensations in the body as they present themselves to your awareness.
And if you become aware of any tension or discomfort in the body,
Inviting you to soften around these places and let go of any tension that you're able to let go of.
And you're already inviting you to let go of any particular focus,
To let go of any effort and to spend some moments resting here,
Seated or lying.
This breathing body with no need to change or do anything.
A sense of resting here,
Going off duty.
If we get pulled into thinking or other distractions,
Again,
Reminding ourselves that this isn't a mistake,
It's not wrong.
Perhaps coming back to the anchor of the breath to help us to return to this present moment.
Inviting you now to consider what qualities of compassion may be particularly helpful for you.
Perhaps a sense of acceptance.
A need for belonging.
A need to feel understood.
So that you're creating a compassionate image that's ideal for you and meets your needs in every way.
And with these thoughts in mind,
Focusing now on what your compassionate image would look like.
Would it be human?
An animal?
A being?
Perhaps a colour or light?
Or something in nature like the sea or a great mountain?
Focusing what comes to mind and going with whatever feels helpful,
Knowing that there's no right way to do this.
What would your compassionate image sound like?
When it speaks to you,
What tone of voice would you most like to hear?
How might it convey its sense of caring and commitment toward you?
Noticing any colours or light that are associated with this image.
And if it feels supportive,
Bringing to mind your compassionate or safe place.
Imagine meeting your compassionate image there.
Noticing how it is coming towards you.
A sense of pleasure and welcome.
Perhaps imagining sitting together.
You focus in on the presence of this ideal compassionate image.
Noticing any feelings of safeness in its presence.
And it's okay too if you don't have these feelings of safeness,
Inviting you to imagine what it would be like if you could feel safe in the presence of this ideal compassionate image.
And now we're going to focus on three qualities of compassion.
The first is wisdom.
So your compassionate image has a deep desire to be helpful to you.
It deeply understands the nature of our human suffering,
Our emotional struggles and our tricky brains and the fact that so much of our experience is unchosen.
Spending these next few moments imagining being with your compassionate image that has these qualities.
And inviting you to let go and shift the attention to focus on the quality of strength and authority.
Your compassionate image is not overwhelmed by your emotions or the things that go through your mind.
It can tolerate and be with any emotional distress that you might experience.
And this strength comes from a deep wisdom and understanding that we have tricky brains and do get caught in emotional struggles.
Spending a few moments now imagining being with your compassionate image with these qualities of strength and authority.
These qualities that might support you with having courage to do things that might be difficult.
And finally shifting the awareness now to focus on a quality of caring commitment.
Your ideal compassionate image is fully committed to your well-being.
Imagining that your ideal compassionate image is infused with these qualities of kindness and acceptance and warmth toward you,
Supporting you on your life path.
Imagining that you couldn't do anything to make it go away unless you wanted it to.
Imagining what it feels like when you sense that your compassionate image is fully committed to you in this way.
And as we're reaching the end of this practice inviting you to connect with your soothing rhythm of breathing,
Inviting a friendly facial expression and if it feels okay imagining your compassionate image offering the following kindness phrases to you in a deeply kind and warm voice.
May you be safe and free from suffering.
May you be happy and as healthy as it is possible for you to be.
May you live with ease.
Seeing if it's possible to connect with the intention,
The warmth and care and commitment that your compassionate image is offering through these words.
And then letting go of these phrases,
Allowing your compassionate image to fade if that feels okay.
Reconnecting with the breath,
The feeling of your body resting here seated or lying.
Perhaps opening to a sense of space around the body and the room that you're in.
Moving gently as you transition out of the practice and taking with you the knowledge that these feelings are part of you.
That your compassionate image can be ideal for you and can be accessed at any time you might need to.
Go well into the next moments of your day.
