Settling into a seated position,
Making adjustments to become comfortable,
And at the same time,
Attentive and alert.
Breathing through the body with a kind attention,
Finding any places of tenseness or tightness,
And allowing them to soften.
Turning attention now to your soothing breathing rhythm.
Taking a slightly longer breath in through the nose,
Noticing all sensations as this breath travels down the back of the throat,
Down into the lungs,
And then gently riding the flow back up and out through the nostrils once again.
Focusing in on the sense of the body slowing down,
Through the breath slowing down just slightly,
Allowing the muscles of the face to relax,
Unhinging the jaw,
Softening the cheeks,
Allowing the eyes to rest,
The brow to let go a little,
Melting the forehead,
And then bringing a slight friendly expression to your mouth,
Spreading gently through your lips,
The cheeks,
And then bringing this expression even to the eyes,
Pausing here,
Drinking in the open,
Receptive,
Friendly rest generated by your warm expression.
At any time during this practice,
If your mind wanders away,
Without giving yourself a hard time at all,
Just kindly bringing it back.
And now exploring your intention for this practice of developing a compassionate self,
How do I want to benefit those I care about?
How will deepening compassionate qualities help my relationship with myself and my inner critic?
What would I like to happen in my sense of purpose and meaning in my life or my interactions with all people?
And now,
Just like an actor would in preparing for a new role,
Engaging your imagination to create the character of a compassionate self,
Who you would be at your compassionate best.
Not worrying about if you think you're really a compassionate person or not,
But just allowing your imagination to surprise you with what it can create in your mind's eye.
Tuning in again to your caring facial expression,
Considering a warm tone of voice,
The motivation to be helpful.
Perhaps calling to mind a time when someone you care about was struggling and you felt compassionate towards their distress,
The strong desire you had that they recover or be free from their suffering.
Focusing into a greater degree on your longing to be of help or to be of support to them,
And on a lesser degree on their difficulty.
Bringing your remembered feelings of concern,
Care,
And friendliness,
And a desire for their well-being as best you can right here into the present.
And now settling in with this memory and the compassionate character's qualities,
Spending some time here,
Imagining yourself as one with the qualities of a deeply compassionate person.
And now spending time imagining the more specialized characteristics of a compassionate person,
The emotional agility and resilience they possess from being able to turn toward the suffering of yourself and others with understanding that it's hard out there and we're all doing the best we can really.
Realizing that we're physically hard-wired to run from pain,
But that we're also created with a great capacity to move toward pain,
Feeling great reward in soothing,
Bringing help and kindness to suffering in others and in ourselves.
The strength and resilience is part of compassion.
And now maintaining your warm facial expression and kind tone of voice and feeling this strength and resilience in your body posture,
Gently and playfully imagine yourself for the next moments as this confident,
Strong,
Emotionally resilient,
Compassionate person.
Noticing now how you feel from imagining yourself with this desire and capacity for bringing help and understanding to suffering.
Another defining quality of compassion is kindness,
The desire to contribute to the well-being of others.
Your motivation to act and speak in a way that promotes happiness,
Flourishing and growth,
That deep commitment to prevent and alleviate suffering.
Imagine yourself with an open heart and mind,
How you would express and extend yourself with compassionate kindness.
And seeing how others respond to you as your kind,
Compassionate self.
Recognizing another defining quality of compassion is wisdom.
Your experiences in life have taught you much.
Being able to use this wisdom to approach distress with thoughtfulness,
Reflection and insight.
The wisdom of acting within your own limits to benefit the lives of others while also caring for your own needs.
The wisdom that recognizes the need for compassionate correction,
Being aware of your own mistakes,
Trying to improve and make amends for them,
But not to be angry or critical towards yourself in this circumstance.
Continuing to hold your warm facial expression,
Expressing in a caring voice your confident,
Strong wisdom,
Allowing imagination to visualize yourself with your wisdom towards others and within for the next few moments.
Noticing how you feel now as you embody the kindness,
Strength,
Resilience and wisdom of your compassionate self,
Your aspiration of being helpful,
Supportive,
Caring,
And let others be relieved of their distress.
Perhaps feeling the pleasurable and rewarding feelings of compassion,
As well as the soothing and calm that accompanies it.
And now focusing your compassionate mind on someone you care about,
Perhaps a child or a friend or partner or parent,
Calling them to mind and seeing them with your kind facial expression,
Speaking in your warm tone of voice and manifesting your commitment,
Wisdom,
Kindness and strength,
Allowing your compassionate presence to hold them with all your desires for them to be free from suffering,
For their well-being and for their happiness.
Expressing these desires on the out-breath,
May you be free from suffering and then say their name.
May you be happy,
Say their name.
May you flourish and may you find peace,
Say their name.
For the next several moments,
Repeating these four wishes,
They be free from suffering,
That they flourish,
That they be happy and find peace,
Just remembering the phrases as best you can.
And pausing to take in the feelings this has generated from focusing compassionate feelings on someone you care about,
Notice its effect on your body and mind.
And now bringing all the qualities of your compassionate image toward your own self,
Moving in close with this sense of kindness,
Courage and wisdom,
Imagining yourself with these qualities,
Envisioning yourself from the outside and keeping your warm tone of voice,
Your friendly facial expression,
And directing this next offering toward your own self.
May you be free from suffering,
Say your own name.
May you be happy.
May you flourish.
May you find peace.
Really allowing your heart to be soaked through with desire for your own well-being.
Continue to experiment by repeating these phrases again or other phrases that ring true for you by experimenting with the pronoun I.
May I be free from suffering.
May I be happy.
May I flourish.
May I find peace.
And as you experiment with the pronoun I or saying your own name,
See which one becomes more natural or feels more true.
Recognizing the more you engage in this practice,
Imagining the qualities of your compassionate self,
Marinating in the desires of kindness and care and well-being for yourself and others,
The more they will feel familiar to you and the more they will become comfortable and second nature.
And as this meditation comes to a close,
Recognizing this practice has the potential to bring a compassionate mindset and a caring commitment to all aspects of your life.
