Hello.
This practice is an adaptation of the Compassion with Equanimity meditation and Giving and Receiving Compassion from the Mindful Self Compassion practice created by Doctors Chris Deneff and Chris Germer.
Let's go ahead and get started.
So find yourself a comfortable position,
Whatever that means for your body,
And as you settle into your body,
See if it's comfortable to close your eyes,
Either partially or fully,
Just settling into this present moment,
Noticing what is below you,
What is supporting you,
And maybe even putting a hand over your heart or wherever it's comforting on your body and soothing as a reminder to bring affectionate awareness to your experience and to yourself.
And now bring to mind someone that you're caring for,
Someone who maybe is exhausting you or frustrating you in some way,
Someone that you care about who is suffering.
And for today,
If this is your first time with this practice,
Maybe choose someone who is not your child because this can be a slightly more complicated dynamic.
We don't want to overwhelm ourselves as we learn the practice.
So go ahead and call this person to mind,
Visualizing them and visualizing the caregiving situation.
And I'd like to be clear that caregiving is a broad word.
Many of us caregive in many areas of our lives,
Whether professionally or personally.
So make space for the broadest definition of caregiving throughout this practice.
So as you visualize the person and the caregiving situation,
Just notice where is the struggle in your body,
What's happening in your body,
What is coming alive,
What is getting activated.
And then listen carefully to these words that I'm going to share with you and allow them to gently roll through your mind,
Maybe even repeating them internally if you wish.
Everyone is on their own life journey.
I am not the cause of this person's suffering.
And it's not even entirely within my power to make it go away.
Even though I wish I could,
Moments like these can be difficult to bear.
And I may still try to help if I can.
Continue to breathe,
Aware of the strength,
Stress that you're carrying in your body.
Go ahead and inhale fully and deeply,
Drawing compassion into your body and filling every cell of your body with compassion.
Letting yourself be soothed by inhaling deeply,
Giving yourself the compassion you need with each in breath.
And as you exhale,
Sending out compassion to the person who's associated with your suffering.
Noticing how there's an ease with each out breath,
A relaxation,
A letting go of tension,
And just allow that ease to travel to the other person while you continue to nourish yourself with each inhale.
Continue breathing compassion in and out,
Allowing your body to gradually find a natural breathing rhythm.
Letting your body breathe itself in for me and one for you,
In for me and out for you.
Occasionally scanning your inner landscape for any distress and responding by inhaling compassion for yourself and exhaling compassion for others.
Reminding ourselves as caregivers,
I can also meet my own needs to soothe,
To comfort,
To protect,
And to provide for myself,
Even as I care for others.
If you find that anyone needs extra compassion,
Including yourself,
Directing your breath in that direction.
So maybe two for me and one for you.
Whatever feels right,
Right here,
Right now.
Noticing how your body is caressed from the inside as you breathe,
How your body just naturally breathes in and breathes out the way the tide comes in and the way the tide leaves.
Let yourself float on an ocean of compassion,
A limitless ocean that embraces all suffering,
A boundless ocean.
Inhaling compassion for yourself and exhaling compassion for others.
And listening to these words once again,
Everyone is on their own life journey.
I am not the cause of this person's suffering,
Nor is it entirely within my power to make it go away.
Even though I wish I could,
Moments like these can be difficult to bear,
Yet I may still try to help if I can.
And then now letting go of the practice and allowing any words or images to gently fade away and allowing yourself to be exactly as you are in this moment.
And then gently and in your own time,
Whenever you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
Thank you.
