So taking a position where you feel supported and upright.
This could be sitting or lying down.
A position that will help you to stay awake but still feeling relaxed and comfortable.
Settling into your posture.
Noticing how your body feels,
The sensation of your feet touching the floor,
Your sit bones touching the chair beneath you.
Welcoming in all the sensations going on in your body.
Fully inhabiting your lived experience.
Now focus on your breathing.
The sensation of inhaling or exhaling.
Can you feel your breath more strongly at your nostrils or in your chest?
How about at your belly?
Your gentle rising and falling and expansion and contraction.
Just take a few moments to rest with your breath.
Just take a few moments to rest with your breath.
Notice the peacefulness of being quiet.
Now I'd like you to bring to mind some aspect of your personality,
Perhaps a recent failure or difficulty that's been bothering you.
Perhaps something that made you feel insufficient or lacking in some way.
Whatever this trait or situation is,
Start to sense into your feelings about it.
How does it make you feel?
Sad,
Frightened,
Isolated,
Inadequate.
How do you feel when you think about this inadequacy?
Can you locate these sensations in your body?
Perhaps there's a tightness in your throat or a tension in your shoulders,
A clenching of the jaw.
Maybe there's a tingling in your stomach or a heaviness in your heart.
What emotions do you feel when you think about this mistake or inadequacy?
And where can you feel these emotions in your body?
Once you've located them,
Just allow them to be there.
These are natural emotions that arise for all of us when we judge or criticize ourselves.
Just notice them.
Simply noticing what you are feeling and where those feelings are located in your body.
Get in touch with how much suffering is caused by our own self-judgment and criticism.
Our feelings of not being good enough.
Some of our greatest suffering is caused by our own suffering.
Some of our greatest suffering is caused by our own suffering.
Some of our greatest suffering is caused by our own mind,
By this belief that we should somehow be perfect.
Now,
Taking your right hand and gently placing it over the left side of your chest,
Over your heart,
In a calm,
Soft,
Comforting manner.
Can you sense your heart right now?
See if you can let your heart be moved by how difficult your emotional experience is when you think about this thing that makes you feel bad about yourself.
Now,
We're going to repeat some phrases,
Some phrases of self-compassion that acknowledge that you're an imperfect being,
That see that you're trying your best but that no one is perfect.
Not one person on this planet is perfect.
We're all inadequate in some way.
We all have our failures and make mistakes.
I'll say some phrases and then you can repeat them silently to yourself,
Offering them up.
These phrases are,
May I be safe,
May I be peaceful,
May I be kind to myself,
May I accept myself as I am.
May I be kind to myself,
May I accept myself as I am.
Feeling the warmth of your hand on your heart,
May I be safe,
Feeling the warmth of your hand on your heart,
May I be safe,
May I be peaceful,
May I be kind to myself,
May I accept myself as I am.
Keep repeating these phrases silently,
Really trying to connect with the intention behind the words,
The intention to offer yourself kindness,
The intention to be kind to yourself,
The intention to offer yourself kindness,
Compassion,
Acceptance,
Just as you would to any other human being who is suffering.
If you find there is some resistance building to offering yourself these phrases,
Try,
May I learn to be safe,
May I be kind to myself,
May I be peaceful,
May I learn to accept myself as I am.
Try,
May I learn to be safe,
May I learn to be peaceful,
May I learn to be kind to myself,
May I learn to accept myself as I am.
As your mind wanders,
As it inevitably will,
Just return to repeating the same phrases,
May I be safe,
May I be peaceful,
May I be kind to myself,
May I accept myself as I am.
Try,
May I learn to be safe,
May I learn to accept myself as I am.
And every time your mind drifts,
Just noticing it and leading it back,
Giving yourself the same loving kindness and support as you would to a dear friend or loved one.
And if you feel that you are not in love,
As you would to a dear friend or loved one,
May I be safe,
May I be peaceful,
May I be kind to myself,
May I accept myself as I am.
Remembering that everyone is in the same boat,
Everyone feels inadequate in some way,
Everyone makes mistakes,
Everyone fails.
This is the human condition,
This is normal.
This is something that we all share.
May I be safe,
May I be peaceful,
May I be kind to myself,
May I accept myself as I am.
And remembering all your fellow humans who also struggle with self-judgment the way you do.
Remembering that you are not alone,
You are not alone,
You are not alone,
You are not alone,
You are not alone,
The way you do.
Let's make some changes to our phrases slightly,
Just so that we can begin to include everyone.
Repeating,
May we all feel safe,
May we all be peaceful,
May we all be kind to ourselves,
May we all accept ourselves as we are.
Gently repeating these phrases as we begin to repeat them.
Let's make some changes to our phrases,
May we all feel safe,
May we all be peaceful,
May we all be kind to ourselves,
May we all be peaceful,
May we all be kind to ourselves as we are.
Gently repeating these phrases silently.
Now I'd like you to think of a situation that has been causing you suffering,
That you don't necessarily blame yourself for.
Maybe you have a loved one who is sick,
Or something is going wrong in your life due to external circumstances,
Something that's hard to bear.
Offering yourself self-compassion for this too.
Our suffering comes from two main sources,
From us not being as we want,
Or for our lives not being as we want.
So thinking of this aspect of your life that's causing you pain,
Bringing this situation to mind,
And then repeating the following phrases.
May I be safe,
May I be peaceful,
May I be kind to myself,
May I accept my life as it is,
May I be safe,
May I be peaceful,
May I be kind to myself,
May I accept my life as it is.
Repeating the phrases silently to yourself,
Soothing and comforting yourself through the difficulties of living a human life,
Really feeling your tender concern for yourself and your suffering,
Just as you do for others.
May I be safe,
May I be peaceful,
May I be kind to myself,
May I accept life as it is.
Again,
Putting your hand on your heart or feeling it again if it's already there,
And just becoming aware of what the compassion itself feels like.
Maybe there's a tingling or a warmth in your heart,
Maybe it's vibrating in some way.
Notice the good qualities of an open heart that is filled with compassion,
With beautiful qualities of care and gentleness and kindness.
Noticing the joy of compassion,
Of tenderness,
Of connection and open heartedness.
This is also part of the human experience.
And then thank yourself for being a good and supportive friend,
Acknowledging that you showed up and given yourself real time.
When you feel ready,
You can drop your hand to your side,
Becoming aware of the soles of your feet on the ground,
And gently start to open your eyes,
Noticing how your mind and body are feeling.
