Emotional Healing Through Self-Compassion: Extended Version

I invite you to join me on a healing journey of self-compassion. This practice is inspired by Compassion Focused Therapy. It will help you heal your heart, lessen anxiety, and set down the burden of self-judgment and blame. There are two meditation lengths for you to choose from. This one is 39 minutes and goes a bit deeper into addressing anxiety. Both include binaural beat technology to help increase the impact of these visualizations.

Transcript

Welcome.

I'm so happy to be your guide on this healing journey of self-compassion.

This meditation is inspired by compassion-focused therapy.

Dr.

Paul Gilbert is the founder of CFT,

And this meditation pulls from Dr.

Gilbert's suggested exercises.

Thank you to Dr.

Gilbert for his wisdom and guidance.

This meditation includes binaural beat technology that is guaranteed to shift your brainwave state into deep delta and theta waves.

This enhances your ability to soak in these powerful concepts while staying centered,

Calm,

And relaxed.

Let's start by sitting comfortably with both feet flat on the floor,

About shoulder width apart.

We'll be together for a little while,

So if it's more comfortable,

Feel free to lie down.

Rest your hands on top of your legs or at your sides.

Close your eyes or leave them softly open.

Your face is relaxed,

With maybe a small smile on your lips.

Begin to focus on your breathing.

Let the belly expand as you breathe in.

Softly draw the belly back as you breathe out.

Play with the speed of your breath until you find a comfortable,

Soothing rhythm of breath.

However your pacing is,

Keep the length of your inhale and your exhale even.

For example,

If you inhale to a count of three,

Exhale to a count of three.

Let's get grounded.

Focus on your body,

Sensing the weight of your body resting on the chair and the floor underneath you.

Let yourself feel held and supported by the chair.

If you notice that your mind has gone elsewhere,

That's okay.

Just notice this and gently guide it back to awareness of your body.

Breath by breath,

Allow yourself to be right here in the moment,

Connected to this body.

Are you ready to go on a journey?

I invite you to create a safe space,

A place where you feel deeply peaceful,

Calm and safe.

What speaks to your heart?

Where do you feel most connected to your true self?

Within your mind's eye,

Imagine yourself looking around.

What do you see?

Are you out in nature?

Maybe you're in the green of the woods.

You feel pine needles under your feet,

Smell the fresh clean air and feel lovingly surrounded by beautiful trees and wildlife.

Or are you at the beach,

Feeling the soft give of sand beneath you,

Listening to the ebb and flow of the waves.

The sun is soft on your skin,

Gently warming you.

Maybe your special place is a remembered favorite nook from childhood,

A soft cushy chair,

A tree house,

Or a hidden spot where you loved to curl up to dream.

Wherever your special place is,

Feel yourself gently landing in that space.

Feel how the whole body is able to relax and melt down as this safe space gently welcomes you and nourishes your spirit.

I now invite you to focus on what your body feels as you relax into your safe space.

Maybe you feel the sun on your face,

A breeze lifting your hair or caressing your cheek,

Or you feel the heat of a campfire burning.

You may feel sand between your toes or the lovely warmth of a cozy kitchen.

What do you feel?

Allow this to gently wash over you.

Now think about what you can hear.

Is it rolling waves or the sound of seagulls at the beach or the soft gentle sound of a campfire crackling?

Or maybe the sounds of your grandmother moving around in the kitchen?

Or maybe it's a soft sigh of the wind through the leaves of trees or the song of a passing bird?

What do you hear?

Allow these sounds to gently surround you.

What do you smell?

The fresh scent of pine,

The salty smell of the ocean,

Maybe the delicious scent of apple pie baking in the oven,

The smell of a crackling log fire,

Or the smell of aged books.

What do you smell?

Allow yourself to breathe in these good smells.

Letting all of these sensations lightly wash over you,

Feel yourself relax.

Your whole body is soft,

Your legs,

Your arms,

Your torso,

Your face.

From this space of relaxation,

Feel how you're coming into energetic alignment with this special place.

As its energy nurtures you,

Your energy nurtures it.

Feel how your safe place rejoices in your presence.

You can sense how your own pleasure at being there feeds its vitality.

Allow yourself to root down,

Creating an emotional connection with this place.

Breathe and relax.

While still in your safe,

Special place,

Think of a color that you associate with compassion,

Kindness,

And warmth.

This can be anything under the rainbow.

Your color might be different than mine,

And that is fine.

Remember,

There are no wrong answers here.

And picking a color now doesn't mean that you can't choose another even better suited to this in the future.

So relax and breathe.

What color is compassion for you?

If you feel stuck,

That's okay.

How about you borrow mine for now?

Mine is a soft,

Glowing orange,

Almost like a morning sky just as the sun comes up.

Once you have your color in mind,

Imagine this compassionate color surrounding you,

Almost as if a gentle,

Loving hand has rubbed it into your skin like lotion.

You have been painted with this color of compassion.

Breathe in,

Breathe out.

Feel how this silky lotion covers you from head to toe,

Bathing you in the color of compassion.

As your body warms,

This imaginary lotion of compassion slowly sinks into your skin.

Now imagine the color flowing through you.

This color's sole purpose is to help you,

Strengthen you,

And support you.

This color of compassion now bathes your whole body inside and out.

Remember,

You're still in your safe space.

Allow yourself to feel supported and loved.

Breathe in,

Breathe out.

We're now going to shift our perspective and focus.

In your mind's eye,

I invite you to see yourself as a deeply compassionate person.

Let's talk about the key qualities of compassion,

Which are wisdom,

Strength,

And warmth.

To start,

See the wisdom that lives inside of you.

This wisdom comes from your understanding about the nature of life.

You have a lot of self-knowledge as well,

Deeply understanding how your body works and how your mind works.

You understand what it means to be human.

There's so much in life that happens that we have no control over and which is not our fault.

You know and recognize this.

Can you see that wisdom living inside of you,

The way that it shines out of you?

Can you see how your face is open,

Relaxed,

And aware?

See your wise self in your mind's eye.

Now let's shift and explore another facet of compassion.

See your compassionate strength when you face your challenges with kindness and non-judgment.

That's strength.

Having the confidence to be sensitive,

That's strength.

What does compassionate strength feel like to you?

What does compassionate strength look like on you?

How does this show up in your stance and how you hold your body?

In your expression?

In your mind's eye,

See your compassionate self standing in your special place,

Grounded,

Centered,

Wise,

And strong.

From this place of wisdom and strength,

Let's tap into our warmth.

See the ways that your compassionate self is warm and kind to yourself and to others.

Witness this person knowing you speak to yourself kindly,

Giving yourself permission to be human.

Now allow your warm,

Wise,

Strong self to see you,

To really see you.

Know that they see all of your facets,

The good things and the not so good.

And this compassionate self recognizes the beauty of who you are.

It recognizes the beauty of your humanity.

This compassionate version of you,

Who knows you better than anyone else in the world,

Sees you.

Sees the quirks and idiosyncrasies that make you unique.

And they love you,

Not in spite of those dips and crevasses,

But because of them.

This compassionate self sees how in every scar you have,

In every bruise,

In every tender spot,

You have shown up in life and done your best.

They see you and commend you.

You have done your best,

They say.

I invite you to hear this and feel its truth.

Say to yourself,

I have done my best.

You are a good person,

Deserving of love and respect,

They say.

Hear this deep inside and say to yourself,

I am a good person,

Deserving of love and respect.

They tell you there is no one to blame.

Set this burden down.

There is no need to carry this shame,

This anger,

This resentment any longer.

Set this burden down and feel how much happier and lighter your spirit will feel.

Hear this,

Believe this and say to yourself,

I am not to blame.

Say to yourself,

I choose to set this burden down.

Your compassionate self looks lovingly at you and says,

You deserve to be forgiven.

I see all of you and I forgive you.

Say to yourself,

I deserve to be forgiven.

Say,

I am a good person,

Deserving of forgiveness.

Say,

I forgive myself.

Feel their loving gaze on you.

Feel in your body how it is to be seen with wisdom,

With strength and with kindness.

No judgment,

No shame.

Let their witnessing of you be a healing balm to your heart and your soul.

Your compassionate self lays their hands on you,

Touching the places where you feel you need love,

Attention and healing.

Maybe their hands glow with the color of compassion.

Feel the warmth in their palms.

Feel their focus on you.

Allow yourself to be seen.

Allow yourself to receive their healing touch.

Breathe in,

Breathe out.

Your body is soft,

Relaxed and open.

Soak up their healing energy,

Their loving focus.

Again,

See your compassionate self standing in your special place.

See the natural way they inhabit confidence,

Strength,

Kindness and wisdom.

See how their body is grounded and strong.

They might have a small smile on their face and their eyes shine with peace and happiness.

Breathe and know that this compassionate self is you.

Shift your perspective so that you are inside of this body.

You are strong.

You are warm.

You are kind.

You are wise.

You are compassionate.

Breathe into this knowledge.

Breathe out.

Take a comfortable seat in your safe space and relax.

Next to you,

There is a tablet.

I invite you to pick it up and on screen you see that there's a video of you.

You settle into your comfortable seat and hit play.

As your compassionate self,

You watch yourself get up in the morning,

Moving around your bedroom and preparing yourself for the day.

Your wise,

Kind self sees how the self you're watching is troubled by self-critical thoughts or feelings.

You witness their struggle with kind,

Loving eyes,

But you don't allow yourself to be dragged into the struggle with them.

You're still seated in your safe space inhabiting your compassionate self.

See your troubled self through the eyes of compassion.

Be aware of what you say to yourself,

What the big triggers are,

And what you do when these negative voices begin to circle in your head.

Remember,

You're watching these challenges from a distance.

You're still here firmly in your compassionate self in your safe space.

If you sense yourself being drawn into the home movie that you're seeing on the screen and you start to lose touch with the compassionate self,

Let the imagery fade and just breathe.

Find your soothing rhythm breath.

See yourself back in your safe space inhabiting your compassionate self.

And once you feel yourself landing there,

You can begin again.

As you witness your struggles from a distance with soft,

Loving energy,

Say to your troubled self,

It's okay,

You have done your best.

Even though you're still in your safe space,

Your troubled self can hear you and sense your presence.

Again,

Say,

It's okay,

You have done your best.

As you do this,

Maybe you also feel the color of compassion shining out of your body pouring onto your troubled self.

From your place of safety and peace,

Say,

You are a good person deserving of love and respect.

Feel the belief of this in your heart.

Feel this loving kindness shining out of you onto them.

Say to your troubled self,

There is no one to blame.

Say to yourself,

You are not to blame.

Say to yourself,

Set this burden down.

Say to yourself,

There is no need to carry this shame,

This anger,

This resentment any longer.

Say to yourself,

Set this burden down.

Feel how much happier and lighter your spirit will feel.

See yourself on the screen with loving eyes and say,

You deserve to be forgiven.

Say,

I see all of you and I forgive you.

Say,

Please choose to forgive yourself.

See how your troubled self relaxes as they receive what you say.

You can see how these words calm and heal them.

They relax and receive.

Again,

You can visualize your compassion as a color surrounding your onscreen self gently in kindness and forgiveness.

Breathe in,

Breathe out.

Send your onscreen self love and compassion.

Gradually,

You notice that the scene on the tablet has become more and more clear.

You see yourself on screen becoming nervous,

Anxious,

Or agitated.

Your compassionate self remains calm and relaxed,

Witnessing this from a distance.

Feel your connection to your safe space.

Breathe in,

Breathe out.

On screen,

See your anxious self and notice what it is that often stirs your anxiety.

Gently shift your awareness to the mind.

As the compassionate self witness,

But don't emotionally engage or judge.

Breathe in,

Breathe out.

Look at your anxious self through eyes of compassion.

In its wisdom,

Your compassionate self recognizes that this anxiety comes from the way that your brain has been wired to respond to certain situations or feelings.

Your compassionate self knows that with gentle awareness and support,

This habitual response can gradually be changed.

Focus in on what the onscreen self is worried about.

Maybe this anxiety is coming from an experience you had in the past.

Or maybe it's something you're worried about happening in the future.

Bring awareness to what is fueling this sense of churning concern.

Even though you're still in your safe space,

Your anxious self can hear you and sense your presence.

As the compassionate self with a loving heart,

See your anxious self and say wisely,

You are okay.

Just breathe.

Breathe with your anxious self.

Feel your belly slowly expand on an inhale and then release on your exhale.

With gentle strength say you are okay.

Just breathe.

Say kindly to yourself,

You are okay.

Just breathe.

Just breathe.

Just breathe.

As the compassionate self see your anxious self and say wisely,

You are safe.

Relax.

With a loving heart and gentle strength say you are safe.

Relax.

Say warmly to yourself,

You are safe.

Relax.

Relax.

Relax.

Notice how your anxious self listens and slowly responds.

Your mind calms and clears.

Your body softens.

Your face relaxes.

Your whole being settles.

Your compassionate self says,

See this worry as if it's a suitcase.

I'm here keeping watch over you.

I will watch over this worry as well.

It's heavy and it weighs on you.

I invite you to set it down.

You say to yourself wisely,

Set down this worry.

With a loving heart and gentle strength say,

Set down this worry.

Say warmly to yourself,

Let go.

Set down this worry.

Your compassionate self sees yourself on the screen setting down this suitcase of worry.

With strength and loving detachment,

You see it there,

But feel no emotional attachment to it.

On screen,

You see yourself walking away from this suitcase unburdened.

Light,

Strong,

Peaceful,

Calm.

Your on screen self glows with the color of compassion and peace.

Your compassionate self shines loving kindness onto the on screen version of you saying with wisdom,

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you be peaceful and at ease.

Your compassionate self shines loving kindness onto the on screen version of you saying with gentle strength and conviction,

You deserve to be happy.

You deserve to be healthy.

You deserve to be safe.

You deserve to be peaceful and at ease.

Your compassionate self shines loving kindness onto the on screen version of you saying with warmth,

Be happy.

Be healthy.

Be safe.

Be peaceful and at ease.

See this loving energy flowing from your compassionate self to your on screen self.

See how this positivity soaks in grounding you.

In your mind's eye,

Return to your compassionate self in your safe space.

Have your compassionate self come to standing,

Looking around this special place again.

Know that anytime you need it,

This haven is here for you,

Protective and welcoming.

As you're ready,

Gently let go of these visualizations and come back to the body.

Feel how this meditation has nourished you,

Healed you,

Relaxed you,

And strengthened you.

Know that your compassionate self,

Wise,

Strong and kind,

Is real and lives within you.

During those challenging moments in life,

I suggest that you breathe,

Connect to your safe space,

And invite your compassionate self to help you navigate through difficult moments.

Remember your color of compassion so that you can use this to support your journey as well.

I invite you to listen to this meditation for 30 days in a row.

If you can listen to it right before bed,

That's awesome.

This will allow these visualizations to echo in your mind as you sleep.

Repeating this is important for three powerful reasons.

First,

We want to build a deep and lasting connection to your compassionate self.

With every time you listen to this,

You will breathe more strength,

Wisdom,

And kindness into this version of yourself.

We want you to become your own personal coach.

Second,

These scripts can become natural go-tos in moments of stress or anxiety.

But this takes practice,

Especially when emotions are running hot.

The more you listen to these tools,

The easier they will come to mind.

Third,

And lastly,

This practice will help you rewire your brain.

If you habitually respond to life in a certain way with anxiety or self-criticism,

That's not a coincidence.

Without meaning to,

You've trained your brain to do this.

The more you think these same thoughts,

The deeper ingrained this habit becomes.

The power of the visualizations we've done is that we're providing your brain with another path to take,

One that's more positive and life-sustaining.

With time and focus,

You can shift yourself to kindness,

Self-compassion,

And forgiveness.

So I hope that you continue to journey with me on this road to self-compassion.

May this meditation serve you well.

Please know that my spirit is shining loving-kindness on you.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you be peaceful and at ease.

Reviews

the solution to everything in my life is more self compassion. thank you for a beautiful journey into self compassion 🙏💛🩵🙏💛🩵🙏💛🩵🙏💛🩵🙏

Very loving and inspiring meditation. Thank you, and may you know you are loved.

Thank you for helping me find a bit of peace when it seemed so far away 🙏

Phenomenal! I will keep coming back to this. Thank you 🙏

Lovely Meditation , very peaceful and enjoyable! Thank you 🙏

You have no idea how much I needed to find this meditation, thanks 🙏

I can't say I remembered everything because I fell fast asleep before it ended. But I woke up MUCH BETTER than I usually do. More optimistic & emotionally lighter.

Thank you…. The only thing I would suggest is to pause and let us ponder your poetic words. Beautiful

Soothing words, calm and warm voice and relaxing music. I felt all the compassion I needed. Namaste 🙏🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🧡

Wow!
Thank you so much 🙏
I finally found the right voice, choice of words and pause timing.
Thank You 🙏

Profoundly beautiful & healing!! A gentle & reassuring journey to discover your compassionate self. This came to me during a highly traumatic time. Will listen daily & write the script down. Exquisite & pragmatic. So helpful!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.💖 💜💞💜💞💜💞💜

Excellent. Delivered with genuine care and feelings.

Thank you. Learning to put the burden down is a powerful visualization for me.

I needed this more than I knew. Helped me tremendously. Thank you

Wonderfully helpful. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight.

Veeeeery hopeful now. Thank you 🙏 I'll be back tonight. 💞💖💝💜💞

This is exactly what I needed! How beautifully soothing

Thank you. I feel the safe place, the wise strong and kind compassion just in hearing your voice.🙏✨💜

This meditation had a huge impact on my healing from CPTSD. I’m so thankful I found it. Bless you.

It was so lovely to be given permission to 'set my burden down'. I feel as if a huge load has been lifted from me. Thank you so much.