Welcome to today's compassion meditation.
Today's meditation will support you to cultivate a feeling of compassion,
Which is an inherent capacity and capability that all of us have within us.
This is ability to hold with care and concern for yourself or someone else when they are going through difficult situations,
Or for example,
Challenges or unexpected obstacles.
Before we start today's session,
Please take the next couple of moments to maybe settle into your space,
Get comfy,
Prepare a meditation cushion if you need.
Perhaps you want to close the door or use earbuds,
Or do any small thing that could allow the next 10 or so minutes to be a more private space for you.
Now,
As we begin your practice of meditation,
Find a position either seated,
Lying down,
Or even standing up where you feel comfortable and held.
And balance this feeling of comfort and relaxation alongside a feeling of structure and stability,
Knowing that this shape will hold you for the whole session.
As you settle into this structure,
Into this shape that is holding you,
Notice the sensations of your breath as they travel gently in and out through your nostrils.
Inhaling,
Noticing the sensations of your breath,
And exhaling through the nostrils,
Noticing them leave your body.
We'll now draw your awareness and let your breath become your anchor by counting your breath.
At the very top of your inhale,
Just before the exhale,
Silent knee,
Count from 10 to 0.
And if at any point of time if you lose track of the counting,
Gently guide your mind back to the practice of counting,
And you can start once again counting down from 10 to 0.
Let's begin.
Now wherever you are with your practice of counting,
Gently release this practice and guide your awareness to your mind and imagination.
Bring to surface in your mind any memories that you have relating to the feeling of compassion,
What it is like to hold this care and concern for yourself or for someone else when they are going through a difficult situation.
Feel this feeling inside of you right now.
In this practice of compassion,
We're going to now focus our own simple ability to hold another person with care,
Gentleness,
And concern.
And we start this practice in a simple way by bringing to mind someone whom you feel it's easy to care for,
To extend love and concern for.
This could be someone from work,
A dear friend,
It could be a family member with whom you've had an enjoyable and positive experience or a more in-depth relationship that you really cherish.
As you bring to mind this person,
Let the image of this person surface.
And as you do so,
Perhaps if it feels good for you,
Allow a smile to gently spread across your face.
Or maybe you sense a feeling of warmth spread across your heart.
Continue to hold the image and the presence of this person in your mind,
Visualizing their face,
Visualizing their presence,
And considering this intention of yours of compassion and gentleness directed towards this person.
It could be a simple thought.
I hope for this person to be happy.
I wish for this person to overcome any challenges or difficulties in their way.
You might be aware of any specific challenges or difficulties this person is facing,
Or maybe you might not know the specifics.
But like all humans,
This person has their struggles and their unique challenges and obstacles.
Bring to mind the face of this person,
Whose presence you enjoy,
And allow your care for them to flow freely.
As you feel and visualize them being happy,
Envision that they have happiness,
Joy,
Even despite the challenges and difficulties in their life.
Trust that they will be able to cultivate resilience and to find equanimity and peace.
For a couple of breaths here,
Notice how it feels to hold this person with kindness and care.
Now that we've tried this practice with someone we enjoy,
That we find it easy to care for,
We guide this practice and add a layer onto it to apply this to someone we may know,
But not so well.
Someone whom perhaps you know has some explicit challenges or difficulties,
Whom you'd like to send some care and concern and friendliness towards.
Perhaps they are experiencing difficulties at work or having some challenges at home or in their interpersonal relationships.
Bring this person to mind and let their explicit struggles or challenges begin to surface.
In the same way,
Extend your kindness and a wish for this person to find and feel happiness,
Even despite their challenges and difficulties in their life.
And as you hold this person in mind,
Also hold in mind your intention to cultivate this capacity for holding others and yourself with compassion and gentleness.
And perhaps this intention of compassion and gentleness does not change much the actual circumstances of this person's life or even your own life when applied to yourself.
But this powerful practice allows you to be open,
Caring and fully present with difficulty.
Being present to the difficulty of yourself and others isn't necessarily something we have to learn,
But this is something we are all naturally capable of.
It is inherent within you.
Enact with this capacity and this feeling and know that it is always there.
At any point of time when you are feeling that you are needing some care,
Some gentleness,
Know that you can extend this same care to yourself.
I will now count down from 10 to 0.
And when we reach 0,
You can very slowly and gently open your eyes.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 Very slowly and gently allow your eyes to blink open.
Bring the palms together in front of your heart in a gesture of gratitude and prayer,
Acknowledging this inherent capacity to hold yourself and others with gentleness and kindness,
Compassion.
Bowing your head down,
Acknowledging this inherent capacity and inhaling,
Bringing this with you into the rest of your day and the rest of your week.
Amen.
