Bell sound First,
Get into your favorite meditation posture.
Make sure you feel comfortable and ready to sit for some time.
Next,
Start to focus on your breath.
You can notice the contact point between the air and your nostrils or your mouth when you inhale.
Notice the coolness of the air as you inhale.
Notice the warmth of the air as you exhale.
You can notice the rhythm of your breath today.
The rate at which your chest or belly rises and falls with each inhale and exhale.
You can notice where your breath is stopping today.
Is it stopping in your chest or even at your throat?
Is it getting all the way down into your belly?
Just noticing where it stops today.
Let's take a few moments to take a few deeper breaths.
Trying to get the air as deep into your belly as possible.
Imagine your belly like a balloon you're trying to inflate.
With each inhale,
Try to fill it as fully as you can.
Even holding the air in your belly for a few moments before you release and exhale.
Now start to feel any sensation in your body.
Notice any feeling or sensation that comes up.
You can even ask yourself the question,
Where do you feel the day?
Where in your body are you feeling the day today?
By now you should feel more relaxed as you notice yourself easing into the meditation.
Trusting the process and trusting in whatever comes up for you.
Whatever insights come from within.
Now I'd like you to start to think about qualities in yourself that you like.
It can be physical aspects of your body,
Accomplishments,
Attitudes you hold,
Some of the ways that you think,
Ways that you behave,
Things that you do or have done.
Pick just one of these positive qualities to focus on.
Picture this quality,
This aspect of yourself.
Then notice any sensation or feelings that come up in your body related to it.
You can place a hand where you feel the most sensation related to this positive quality.
Through your hand ask the space in your body,
Why do you admire this quality in yourself?
What joy has this positive quality brought you?
What joy has it brought others?
What has it done for you in your life?
Allow yourself to take a few more moments to just breathe into this beautiful quality within yourself.
Allowing yourself to feel love and appreciation for yourself in this quality.
Putting those feelings aside for a moment.
Now I'd like you to think of qualities in yourself that you typically don't like.
Qualities that you may want to change.
Again,
They can be physical aspects of your body,
Things that you feel that you've failed at,
Attitudes you hold,
Ways that you think,
Ways that you behave,
Things that you do or have done.
In your mind,
Just notice what comes up on this list for you.
Trying to be gentle with yourself but fair and honest with yourself.
Now I'd like you to pick just one of these qualities to focus on for a little bit.
One quality that you have been struggling with,
Perhaps even recently.
Picture all that you can around this quality.
Need details about it.
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Behaviors that come up around it.
And then notice any sensation in your body that comes up as you think about this quality.
Notice how it's making you feel.
Once you can feel sensations in your body related to this quality,
Take your right hand and place it where the sensation feels the strongest.
Take a few moments to just be with this feeling,
With this dis-ease.
You can breathe into it a little bit.
Notice how it feels.
Notice anything you can about the nature of this feeling and describe it a bit the way a poet might.
Does it feel sharp,
Round,
Heavy,
Blunt,
Dull,
Forceful?
Does it prickle or is it smooth?
What color might it be?
Through your hand,
Start to send compassion towards this place in your body.
Send love and kindness toward this feeling.
Let this space in your body know that you are there to listen to it.
This time you want to try and understand how it feels.
It may be difficult if it's a quality you strongly dislike.
You may notice your mind tries to wander,
To move away from focusing on the discomfort.
If that's the case,
On your next breath,
Just gently guide yourself back toward noticing the sensation itself and try to stay with it as best as you can.
Now,
Through your hand,
Ask this space in your body the following questions.
What is it that you don't like about this quality?
Why do you feel it is negative?
Whatever answer came up,
Just put it aside for now.
Let it go just for the moment and ask this place in your body again.
What is it that you really do not like about this quality?
What is it that really bothers you about it?
Once more,
Whatever answer came up,
Just put it aside for now and ask this place in your body one more time.
What is it that you really,
Really do not like about this quality?
What is it that actually really bothers you about it?
Just trust whatever comes up.
Now,
Ask yourself the following.
What are you protecting yourself from by exhibiting this quality?
What has this quality done for you in the past?
We don't hold on to anything that doesn't benefit us,
Even if it feels like we don't like it.
So what does it do for you?
What assumptions are you making about this negative quality?
What is good about this quality?
It may not be something that you've thought of before,
But there's always a positive side.
So what is positive about you having this quality?
As an example,
Let's say you feel like you're lazy and you always wanted to change that.
What is good about being lazy?
It may mean you aren't afraid to take a rest and be gentle with yourself.
Those are really great things,
Too.
Finally,
Ask yourself,
What would you lose about yourself if you gave up this quality?
What would the negative impact on you and your life be?
Take a few deep breaths now.
Allowing some of those insights to settle.
Now I'd like you to picture someone else who struggles with the exact same quality that you do here.
Imagine that they strongly dislike this aspect of themselves.
They are desperate to change it,
But it doesn't seem to go away.
They are consistently in a state of resistance towards this quality.
They struggle and suffer because of it.
Now picture that person standing in front of you.
Perhaps even picturing them as a child,
A child who really does not know what to do with this quality that they dislike so much.
Imagine yourself sending them compassion,
Sending them kindness.
With every exhale,
Imagine sending them pure,
Cleansing white light.
Breathe toward them.
And as they breathe in,
Watch as the light fills them and eases them,
Cleanses them.
Fills the darkest spaces of their body.
And as they exhale,
They exhale all of that negativity,
All of that struggle and dislike as black smoke.
The white light continuing to fill them,
Allowing them to release this negativity as black smoke.
You inhale the black smoke,
Knowing that it can't hurt you.
Within your body,
You can transform it into that pure white light.
You can inhale the black smoke,
Transform it,
And send it back as pure,
Cleansing white light.
Take a few moments to go back and forth,
Inhaling black smoke,
Sending back pure white light to this child,
To this person.
Now,
Notice this person in front of you is at ease.
They are smiling.
They feel light.
They feel pure and radiant.
In their eyes,
You can see that they are so grateful to you for this feeling,
For no longer feeling the distress and dis-ease of that negative quality anymore.
They feel nothing but joy and love for themselves.
They feel a smile of contentment across their face.
Letting go of the image of the child.
Imagine you now inhaling pure white light.
Imagine on every inhale,
Pulling in more of this healing white light.
Imagine it filling you,
Working its way into every nook and cranny of your body,
All of the spaces.
And on each exhale,
You gather up all the negativity,
All the struggle,
Suffering,
Dis-ease with this negative quality that you felt,
And breathe it out.
Let it just evaporate,
Disappearing into thin air,
Letting it go.
Do this for a few moments,
Inhaling the pure white beautiful light and releasing the black smoke on each exhale.
Notice yourself feeling more at ease and lighter with each breath.
Now in your mind,
Take a few more moments to remember all those good qualities you remembered about yourself earlier.
You can even add a few new ones if they've come to mind.
To your heart,
Send yourself some gratitude.
Thank yourself for all that you do and all that you bring to the world.
Thank yourself for all the greatness that you bring to each day,
The beautiful energy that you add.
Give thanks to yourself that you've been able to cultivate such greatness,
Such admirable qualities within yourself.
Be grateful for your own beauty,
For your own ability to love,
For your ability to give,
And for the fact that you are wonderful.
Accept love and return.
Finally,
Place your right hand over your heart and send the following words of love and kindness toward yourself.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy and safe.
May I love and accept myself just the way I am.
May I be free from suffering.
May I be an example of peace.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy and safe.
May I love and accept myself just the way I am.
May I be free from suffering.
May I be an example of peace.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy and safe.
May I love and accept myself just the way I am.
May I be free from suffering.
And may I be an example of peace.
Finally,
Take a few last breaths during this meditation.
Allow yourself to feel this new love for yourself.
Even if it starts small,
Focus on any sensation you can find in your body of self-love.
Knowing that you deserve to feel this greatness.
You deserve to love yourself.
With that,
Conclude by asking yourself the question,
What do I now know?
What did I learn from this experience?
You can continue to think about your answer to that question.
Or just focus on the feelings of self-love.
To the chime of the meditation bells.
At the end of the third bell,
You can gently open your eyes and come back to the room.
