Cultivating Self-Love With Mindful Compassion

Discover the gentle art of self-love through mindful compassion. Begin by settling into deep relaxation as you connect with your breath, body, and thoughts—observing each sensation with acceptance. Then, explore what self-love means uniquely to you, uncovering your personal needs and desires with genuine curiosity. By creating space for both awareness and tenderness, this meditation helps you develop a more nurturing relationship with yourself. Learn to embrace all aspects of your being while cultivating an authentic practice of self-compassion that resonates with your heart.

Transcript

Hello,

Welcome to Free Bird Meditations and welcome to this meditation on Cultivating Self-Love with Mindful Compassion.

Before we begin,

Please find yourself settled in a comfortable position and in a place where you are free from distraction.

Take a moment to simply rest in knowing that this time is just for you.

Nowhere to go and nothing to do.

Also,

Please know that by providing yourself this compassionate opportunity to hold space for your thoughts,

Your feelings and your sensations like you are doing right now,

You are already engaging in an act of self-care and self-love.

Also know that whatever comes up for you during this meditation is okay.

You are invited to simply be open and curious about this process.

So begin to close your eyes if you are comfortable with this.

Sit or lay quietly and let your body become still and comfortable.

Feel free to take a couple of moments to connect with this intention of cultivating self-compassion,

Whether it's a familiar concept to you or not.

And now that you are doing a remarkable thing and this is so needed in our society today.

Now slowly start to turn your attention inward to your beautiful self and your own inner landscape.

Enjoying the periphery of life and all the things to simply loosen their focus,

At least for this moment in time.

As you are turning inward,

See if you can become a bit more aware of your breath.

Not changing it,

Not judging it,

Just simply noticing where it is at this moment.

Your inhale,

Your exhale.

And as you do this,

See if you can allow yourself to relax just a little bit more.

Feeling comfortable and at ease,

Knowing that your breath is always here to support you and is one of your most valuable support tools you have that you can use anytime.

Again,

Breathing in and breathing out.

See if you can quietly notice the subtle sensations of the fresh air entering your nostrils and then filling your lungs and then being released.

Breathing in again and perhaps this time breathing out a sigh of release.

Simply letting go of or transmuting any old energy to make space for fresh,

New energy.

See if you can notice if there's any parts of your breath that feel somewhat restricted or parts that feel totally at ease.

Either way,

It's okay.

We're simply observing.

Again,

Breathing in and breathing out.

Now see if you can notice without judgment or analysis if there are any areas of tension in your body.

Checking in with your jaw,

Your neck,

Your shoulders,

Your arms,

Your hands.

Checking in with your back,

Your chest,

Your stomach,

Your lower back.

Checking in with your hips,

Your thighs,

Your knees,

Shins,

Ankles,

And all the way down to the tips of your toes.

What is it that you notice?

Whatever comes up for you,

Again,

It's okay.

Part of mindful compassion and self-care and self-love is also noticing what's going on in our body.

Now try to imagine using your breath to wash over or through any of the noted areas of tension.

See if you can direct and allow each breath,

Each inhalation,

Each exhalation to help these areas just loosen their hold a bit more.

Or maybe even melt away.

Now see if you can start to slow down and deepen your breath just a bit.

Not in a way that's uncomfortable or forceful,

But in a way that just feels good and is doable for you.

And as you do so,

See if you can imagine infusing your breath with a sense of lovingness or sweetness or warmth.

Slowing down your inhale and slowing down your exhale.

With each deepening of your breath,

You may find yourself becoming more relaxed than before and more peaceful than before.

Now see if you can breathe not only with your chest,

But deeper now into your belly.

If it helps to put one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach as you work with this,

You're most welcome to do so.

But just inviting the breath down a little bit lower into your belly and noticing what this effect has for you.

If this is a bit difficult,

Not a problem at all,

It sometimes takes practice and that's okay.

But again,

Just observe and notice what the sensation is like for you.

So now breathing on your own without my guidance,

I'm going to give you a few moments to just continue working with your breath,

Knowing that something so simple has the power to be so nourishing.

Breathing,

Slowing down,

Relaxing,

And just noticing what comes up,

But savoring this moment to just breathe.

You might notice that things come up in your mind as you do this,

Or perhaps emotions as well.

Please note that this is okay and it's totally normal and part of this process of mindfulness.

But when these things occur,

Just see if you can label them,

The thoughts or the emotions,

And breathe with them and hold some space for them.

Breathing in and breathing out and simply observing and noting.

Know that by simply noticing and holding space like this for your thoughts and your feelings and your sensations is yet another act of self-care and self-compassion.

You don't have to push them out of the way like we often feel compelled to do.

We can just be curious as to what's going on inside of us without that judgment or over identification,

This is just another layer of self-awareness and self-compassion.

Again this takes practice,

But you are encouraged to utilize this during your everyday waking life.

Now you've worked with forming a deeper,

More intimate connection to your breath and your body and a curious awareness of your mind and emotions.

So let's take it a little bit deeper now into the core of this meditation.

Now that you are more relaxed and open and tuned into yourself,

I'd like to ask that you give yourself the permission to be more curious and open to the possibility of cultivating more self-love and compassion for yourself.

Realizing that this is totally an acceptable thing to do and again the world greatly needs this from you.

What comes up for you when you think about this process or this possibility?

Just noting.

Whatever it is again,

It's okay.

And again,

Just breathing in with this and breathing out.

So now I'd like to ask that you take a minute to just see or acknowledge and witness you,

Yourself.

You,

This remarkable human being with your own strengths and your own vulnerabilities.

This human who has endured so many experiences and processes.

This one human on a planet of many,

Unique and beautiful,

But also one who also desires happiness,

Health,

Love,

And peace.

Which is okay to desire and ask for.

As you witness yourself in this regard,

I'd like to invite you to imagine breathing in a feeling of warmth or sweetness.

Even if that's something that's unfamiliar to you.

Just be curious and open and inviting to the possibility.

As you're breathing in,

See if you can possibly sense a bit of nourishment and support.

But it's something that's starting to percolate from within.

And with each breath,

It's growing stronger.

Breathing in and breathing out,

See if you can offer just a little compassion for yourself.

For all that you do and all that you've gone through.

All of your wins and all of your losses.

Maybe imagining the times that you've been demanding or hard on yourself.

Even forgiving of yourself or others.

See if you can allow that to be released as you exhale.

Again,

Witnessing yourself in your humanness.

And allow that to settle and sink in for a moment.

It doesn't matter what's happened in the past or what has yet to come.

It's just you and your beautiful self right now.

And you are most certainly deserving of this nourishment.

Perhaps for some this might be a bit more challenging and that's okay.

But together we are working on awakening this potential.

And it will grow over time with your practice.

If you feel comfortable in doing so,

You're also invited to place your hand on your heart.

And continue taking a few nice long deep breaths.

Noticing that when you do this,

Something becomes a bit activated.

Enquire or notice what this might be for you.

Again,

Whatever it is,

It's okay.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Noticing,

Softening,

Opening.

See if you can kindly offer yourself the permission to let all the stuff,

You know,

The burdens,

The should-ofs,

The could-ofs,

The messages that you don't have time for self-love or maybe aren't even deserving of it.

To just let it go.

Imagine if it's just for this moment.

Noticing if there's any sense of lightness when you do this.

And again,

With each breath,

The connection to this self-love grows deeper and stronger.

And this warm feeling of peace again starts to expand within your being.

How lovely.

Now I'd like to invite you to ask yourself a question.

And this question is,

What do I need right now?

It's okay to ask.

This could be a variety of things.

Common examples might be just feeling more relaxed,

Less stressful,

And more at ease.

Or perhaps it might be the desire to feel love or a sense of connectedness or happiness or more support.

It could even be a sense of forgiveness of yourself or for someone else.

Or maybe it could be just giving yourself a reprieve from all the burdens that you carry.

Or maybe it could just be a newfound sense that everything is going to be okay.

That you are love.

And that you are actually love itself.

So take a few moments to inquire and connect with this.

Whatever it is that you need,

It's okay to ask.

If you're not sure what you need,

That's okay too.

You can simply ask for more peace or relaxation.

Or just for the capacity to be more loving to yourself.

Whatever works for you.

Now,

After identifying this,

I'd like for you to envision that within your being,

Your higher self,

Somehow,

Some way,

Whatever you need is actually already within you.

You just have to call upon it and activate it and give it permission.

And yes,

You deserve to be able to do this.

And each time you sit and breathe with this,

Your support within yourself grows stronger.

And breathing deep into this heart of yours,

This beautiful space,

Your soul,

Your true being that is divinely perfect already.

See if you can imagine offering and activating that which is what you need to yourself and through yourself with each breath.

See if you can breathe about this deep sense of love and gratitude and support.

Allowing yourself just a bit of grace.

Perhaps you can also imagine that this is maybe accompanied by a special,

Beautiful color of your choice or a sound or a texture or a frequency.

Either way,

Feeling this deep sense of peace and a wellspring of something really beautiful that you're tapping into right now.

Breathing in a sense of feeling really supported,

But from within.

Now if any notions that try to interfere with this come up or make it hard to do,

It's okay.

This can happen.

Just smile at them and breathe with it.

And tell that aspect of yourself,

Hey,

It's okay.

Allow yourself to soothe yourself with your own love and compassion that is deep within the center of your radiant heart.

Imagine healing energy being infused into your being as you breathe in and breathe out.

And maybe even this peace that doesn't even have to be explained.

Now I'd like for you to again imagine this aspect of yourself,

Your higher self.

This is yourself that is radiating with pure love.

Who has already been healed,

Who has learned all the lessons and who knows what is truly best for you.

This higher self is in perfect health and is at such peace.

This higher self,

Whether you realize it or not,

Is always with you and within you.

All you have to do is call upon it.

Now imagine this aspect of your higher self giving you the warmest,

Sweetest,

And most compassionate and supportive hug that you have ever felt.

And you can let go.

And you can just be loved.

Take a few moments to simply rest and breathe in this beautiful support.

So,

You've worked with connecting to your breath and simply recognizing your thoughts and your feelings and have just held sweet space for them.

You've also identified what it is you need deep inside and have worked with connecting to it.

But instead of seeking this from outside,

You have actually cultivated it from within.

Over time,

The more you do this,

You will start to notice a greater impact.

You might be better able to catch self-limiting or defeating thoughts and reframe them to more positive and nourishing thoughts.

Or you might be inclined to engage in better behaviors for yourself and reduce the frequency of things that just don't serve you anymore.

Or you might find that you're just a bit sweeter to yourself overall.

Taking a deep breath in and a deep breath out again.

After working with this type of cultivation is so very appreciated and as you may know is greatly needed in our world today.

And by you doing so,

A ripple effect can be felt throughout the world and hopefully more people will start to cultivate their own self-love and compassion.

Now start to allow yourself to slowly return back to your regular levels of awareness.

Slowly opening your eyes when you're ready.

Wiggling your toes and wiggling your fingers.

And moving forward with a sense of love and self-nourishment and feeling just a bit lighter and more peaceful now.

Thank you again for working with this.

Wishing you all the very best on your journey towards self-love utilizing mindful compassion.

May we all be well,

Be happy,

And be free.

This Milk匂 you

Reviews

That was pure magic. There was not one distracting element and I was able to stay deeply connected throughout. Your sweet voice was a soothing balm and demonstrated how I would like to talk to myself. I asked for forgiveness and confidence. Thank you for creating this space for healing and love.

Katie is nothing short of extraordinary. I feel as if she’s speaking straight from her heart to my heart. Such a blessing.

Thank you for the baby steps. You are giving new meaning to the term gentleness. And with that, maybe new meaning to 'gentleman' for me. Will need to revisit this so it can sink in.

🙏

Beautiful. Thank you so much.

So very helpful and see you then thank you so much!

Just what I needed. Thanks ☺️

Thank you for the thoughtful words of a most important part of our lives. 🙂

Thank you, thank you, thank you!What a powerful, beautiful, gentle meditation.

Beautiful. Thank you.