So once you've found a really comfortable position,
Take a few deep breaths.
Just settle again into your body,
Into this present moment.
You might choose to put your hand over your heart,
Wherever it's comforting or soothing.
Just as a reminder as we head into this practice that we're going to bring some affectionate awareness to your experience and to yourself.
I'm going to invite you to please bring to mind someone whom you are caring for in your life who is exhausting you or frustrating you.
Someone who you know is suffering.
This could be a friend,
Could be a colleague,
Could even be a student.
But somebody whom you have to spend some time caring for as well.
Then I'm going to invite you to try and visualize this person and this caring situation in your mind.
If like many other human beings you have many people popping into your mind right now,
Let's just choose one to work with for this situation,
For this practice.
See if you can clearly visualize just one person and the care situation and allow yourself to even feel a bit of the struggle in your body or your heart of what comes up with this relationship.
I'm going to read you some words and I'm going to invite you to just let them gently roll through your mind as I offer them to you.
Everyone is on their own life journey.
I am not the cause of this person's suffering,
Nor is it entirely within my power to make it go away,
Even if I wish I could.
Moments like this are difficult to bear,
Yet I may still try and help if I can.
Take another moment of awareness of the stress you're carrying in your body.
Just inhale fully and deeply,
Drawing compassion into your body,
Filling every last cell of your body with compassion,
With kindness,
With care.
Just letting yourself be soothed by this practice of inhaling deeply.
Let yourself be soothed by this practice of giving yourself the compassion you need.
And then as you exhale,
Sending out the compassion that's associated with the person who's part of this discomfort.
Letting the exhale roll off your breath and sending out compassion.
And then continue breathing compassion in,
Compassion out,
Allowing your body to gradually find its natural breathing rhythm.
Just letting your body breathe itself,
Just finding your breath.
You might try offering yourself the words,
One for me,
One for you,
In for me,
Out for you.
And as you find this breath,
Just occasionally scanning your inner landscape,
Noticing if there's any distress,
Just responding by inhaling compassion for yourself and exhaling compassion for another.
And if you find that anyone needs extra compassion,
Yourself or the other,
You can focus your attention and breath in that direction.
Again,
It could be two or three big breaths in for ourself first and then breathing out for another.
It could be one breath in and sending lots of care and compassion on that out breath to this being.
Or let your breath just find its natural rhythm.
Just noticing how your whole body is caressed by these waves of breath.
You see how your whole body is being caressed by these waves of breath.
These waves of kindness.
Noticing how these waves make up an entire ocean of compassion,
A limitless,
Boundless ocean,
An ocean that can embrace all suffering,
Yours and others.
There's deep capacity.
Just holding that all with care,
Being oh so gentle with yourself.
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to do,
Just riding these waves of compassion.
In for me,
Out for you.
One for me,
One for you.
And I'm going to invite you to listen to these words once again.
Everyone is on their own life journey.
I am not the cause of the world.
I am not the cause of this person's suffering,
Nor is it entirely within my power to make it go away,
Even if I wish I could.
Moments like this are difficult to bear,
Yet I may still try to help if I can.
Taking one or two big deep breaths and then very gently letting go of the practice,
Allowing yourself to be just as you are in this moment.
When you feel called to gently open your eyes.
