Bell seeing if we can begin by just letting our attention kind of settle into the present moment.
And I'm gonna invite us to place our attention in our hands.
So no matter where the hands are positioned right now,
Seeing if we can become aware of the sensations that are coming from the inside of the hands,
Inside of the palm of the hands,
For example,
The left hand,
The right hand.
And then letting awareness spread to the other parts of the hand like the fingers.
So what sensations are showing up for you right now?
Maybe it's the contact point between the hand and whatever it's touching.
Maybe it's sort of tingling or vibration coming from the inside of the hands.
Maybe the blood pulsing through the fingertips or other parts of the hand.
Maybe warmth in some parts,
Coolness in other parts.
And then keeping the attention in the hands.
If the hands are not touching a part of the body,
Then just making sure they are.
So it could be touching the abdomen or the chest or the legs or any other part.
And then just noticing that maybe picking one hand in particular,
The left or the right one.
And then noticing that when we kind of rest attention at that contact point,
We can feel the hand both from the person touching,
So offering touch from the perspective of the hand,
And then receiving touch from the perspective of the part of the body that's the hand is touching.
So just noticing those two perspectives right now,
Touching and being touched.
And then for the rest of this meditation,
Seeing if you can kind of rest your attention there.
So keep part of your attention in your body at the point of contact between one of your hands and then the part of the body that it's touching.
So as you keep your attention there,
I'll invite you to bring to mind someone that you deeply care about.
It could be a person,
Someone in your family,
A child,
A parent,
A spouse,
A sibling.
It could even be a pet,
A dog,
A cat.
It could be a really good friend.
And just bringing that person to mind.
And then identifying something in that person or that animal that's imperfect.
Some mistake they did,
Some way they came short,
Some failure they might have experienced,
Something they might not like about themselves,
Some of their own insecurities.
And seeing if you,
The compassionate friend or sibling or parent or child,
Can offer compassion to that person.
So imagining that the hand where your attention is,
The hand is your hand and then the body part that it's touching is that person's body.
And then we're offering a gentle touch.
We're offering heat,
Warmth,
Kindness,
Understanding.
And perhaps imagining what you would say to that person.
Like,
It's okay,
I'm there for you.
You're only human.
Everyone makes mistakes.
No one's perfect.
And I love you just the way you are.
Keeping some of your attention in the hand.
And then some of the attention,
Being aware of what shows up in the rest of your body as you take this perspective of the compassionate person,
The person who's understanding and present and accepting and kind.
What does it feel like to be that person,
To be there for someone,
To reassure someone?
To be on the giving end of that compassionate touch.
And maybe noticing how that touch is received also.
The reaction of the other person as he or she notices that you are there for them,
Unconditionally loving.
And on the next out-breath,
Letting go of the image of this person and bringing your attention back to the hand.
The contact point between the palm of the hand and the part of the body touching.
Feeling the warmth,
Feeling the tingling,
Pulsing,
Whatever sensations of it.
And as you keep your attention there,
Seeing if you can bring to mind this time someone else.
Someone else that's imperfect,
That makes mistakes.
And this time choosing someone that's very familiar to you,
That is yourself.
So perhaps imagining yourself in front of you as though you were looking in the mirror.
And then bringing to mind some aspects of yourself that are imperfect.
Some shortcomings,
Some mistakes,
Inadequacies.
Things you might be embarrassed about or ashamed of.
Things you might not like about yourself.
And as you think of those things,
Being aware of what shows up in your body,
In the rest of your body.
Like if it is shame or guilt or embarrassment or anger,
Like where is that showing up in your body?
And perhaps moving the hand now to that area in the body where the pain is showing up.
And then bringing your attention to the hand in the same way,
Just the point of contact.
And then noticing that the hand is your hand.
And then the part of the body that the hand is touching is also your body.
And practicing being at once the person who is offering compassion and then the person who is receiving compassion.
So receiving that warmth,
That kind and caring touch.
And then receiving the words that come with it.
Words that you might have identified with the other person.
Such as,
I see you.
I see you're suffering.
I'm there for you.
It's okay to make mistakes.
It's okay to be imperfect.
I love you unconditionally.
I'm there for you.
It's going to be okay.
Whatever the thing you would say to someone who's having a difficult time.
And receiving those words,
Receiving that touch.
Just keeping that attention right there,
The contact point between the hand and the body.
And then noticing that the hand is your hand.
And then seeing if you can kind of let the warmth coming from the hand there spread into the area underneath the hand.
And slowly spread through the other different parts of the body.
Until you feel the body as a whole kind of filled with that warmth,
With that caring touch.
With a touch that says,
It's okay to be me.
With all my faults.
A touch that says you are perfectly imperfect.
And just breathing with this body,
However it's feeling.
Feeling that there's a part of ourselves that can be compassionate and supportive to another part of us that's hurting.
A touch that says it's okay to be me.
