A is for aware,
Becoming aware of what thoughts are in the mind.
As best you can,
Acknowledging thoughts as mental events,
Putting them into words.
What emotions are here?
Turning toward any sense of emotional discomfort or unpleasant feelings,
Acknowledging their presence.
What body sensations are here?
Perhaps quickly scanning through the body,
Noticing any sensations of tightness or bracing.
Where in the body do you feel those emotions?
On adding to your awareness,
Breathing.
Breathing into and out of any tight places in the body and beginning to breathe in a soothing way.
A full in breath through the nose and then a long slow exhale through the mouth.
Continuing to breathe in this way,
Almost like you're holding a cup of hot chocolate,
Breathing in to smell it and then blowing it off.
Understanding your awareness to include a sense of the body as a whole and add to awareness and breathing.
C for compassion.
Bringing a sense of your compassionate wisdom,
Recognizing that we're all just human with struggles and weaknesses and life throws challenges at us.
This is true for all of us really.
Saying to yourself that like you would a good friend,
I'm here for you.
What does that worried,
Stressed part within most need right now?
Sensing a feeling of strength with your breathing and of determination.
Saying with a friendly and caring tone of voice,
This is hard right now,
But I'm not leaving.
I'll do whatever I can to help.
Focus on a sense of commitment to think about this problem in as supportive and in as helpful and validating way as you can.
Imagining the ideal compassionate you with your wisdom,
With your breathing,
Your groundedness,
Dealing with this problem.
Maintaining a friendly,
Caring tone of voice in your mind.
And now as best you can,
Bringing this clarity and increased choice as we close into your next moments.
Next,
Please.
