Hello and welcome to this Babyloss kindness to others practice.
My name is Lucy and I'm a Babyloss mum and this meditation has been recorded to support the Babyloss community and to bring a little bit of ease because walking and navigating life after Babyloss is so hard and these practices can really help just to bring a little bit of comfort.
So finding somewhere then to rest comfortably and you can do this meditation in any position that you'd like to.
If you're feeling particularly sleepy today I would recommend that you do find an upright seated posture and just making sure that you are comfortable so using any cushions or blankets if needed and really having this word comfort in your mind but also recognizing that you might be here today with a little bit of physical pain too so just making yourself as comfortable as best as you can.
Bringing in those foundational attitudes of mindfulness such as kindness,
Compassion,
Acceptance,
Beginner's mind,
Letting go and recognizing that this is not about emptying the mind or even feeling a particular way.
Mindfulness is just about showing up exactly as you are,
Seeing what you find.
So connecting then with this moment,
With this moment today,
This present moment.
Tuning into what you can hear wherever you are.
So if you're listening with headphones you may only be able to hear the sound of this recording but if you're playing this meditation and you're able to recognize that there are other sounds in your environment then just tuning into those these sounds which are real in your moment,
In this present moment.
Sounds can be really helpful in anchoring us into the present moment so we can focus on what's real.
Very often when the mind creates stories and we find that we time-travel into the future or even the past,
Tuning into what we can hear helps us to connect to the present moment because those sounds are real and getting a sense of the whole of your body,
The whole of your body resting here,
The shape of your body,
The weight of your body.
Getting a sense of what it feels to be in your body now.
How you feel emotionally today,
How you feel physically and also how the mind is.
So are you finding that your mind feels or seems quite busy or are you here today with a with a very calm state of mind?
And then getting a sense of your breath.
So as your body moves with your breath noticing the movements in your body.
So the breath can be obvious in different areas of the body,
It doesn't always have to be around the nose or the mouth or the chest.
So where in your body today does your breath feel obvious to you?
Where do you notice your body moving as you breathe?
And can you get up close to those sensations,
Those movements that you feel?
So if you're noticing movements in say for example the back of your body,
Do you notice the movements in the back of your body,
The sensations in this area?
Changes in temperature,
The way that maybe your clothing moves with your body as you breathe.
So we're aware of the breath but we're also aware of everything else that's happening.
We're aware of the movements that are happening,
We're aware of the changes in sensations,
Anchoring into the present moment,
Connecting to the breath.
And whenever the mind wanders off,
Which it definitely will do because this is what happens,
We just gently and very very kindly,
In a very very kind way,
Bringing our attention back,
Back to the breath,
Back to the sensations,
Back to this moment.
And this is the practice.
So this practice today is all around kindness to others.
Now in our suffering it can seem very impossible to look outward,
Especially when we may spend so much time focusing inwardly on how we are and how horrible this is.
But this kindness to others practice can actually help us to feel less alone.
It can recognize that we're not alone in our suffering and that there are others that are suffering too.
And this can in fact bring some comfort.
It can promote many feel-good hormones in our body.
So I'd like you to,
In your mind,
Still having this awareness of your breath in the background,
But in your mind I'd like you to bring to mind somebody who you know in the baby loss community who is suffering.
Now you may not have connected with anybody who has experienced the loss of a baby.
So if this is true for you then maybe just get in a sense that there are others too.
There are others in the world too who also suffer in a similar way to you.
I'd like you just to bring into your mind either,
If you know what this person looks like,
Then you can bring in that image.
But also if you're not really sure,
If you can't connect with anyone in particular,
Just get in a sense of a kind of essence of others.
So like a recognition that there are others too.
And I'd like you just to think about some very kind and compassionate words that you would say to another person in your shoes.
Words that may bring comfort.
Words that may help that other person feel seen and heard and validated.
Things like,
I'm here for you.
Things like,
I care about you.
I understand.
You're not alone.
And it's almost like when you say these words you imagine that these words are directly being received by the other person.
And sometimes people like to imagine also sending out a sense of kindness and care and love and support to other people.
And this can sometimes be in the form of imagining maybe a white bright light shining on this other person that represents care and kindness and support,
Understanding,
Validation.
It might even be in the form of imagining holding another person's hand.
Or even writing these words on a pebble and handing this pebble to that other person.
So there are different words that we can use.
There are different imagery that we can use.
But this is about sending out that kindness to another.
Even whilst you are suffering,
Recognizing that you are not alone and offering support to another.
How does it feel to extend your heart out to another person?
How does it feel to show compassion and care?
Do you feel anything in your body?
Do you imagine this?
So remember mindfulness is just about recognizing what we find in the moment.
So it's not necessarily,
We're not trying to make ourselves feel a particular way.
We're just being curious.
We're just noticing what's happening as each moment passes by.
What sensations are there?
What emotions are coming up?
And all the while we're bringing in a very kind acceptance and allowing of whatever's there just to be there.
And recognizing that we are indeed separate from our thoughts.
We can learn to acknowledge that a thought is just a thought.
We can learn to accept that a feeling is an experience that's happening in our body.
Well mindfulness helps us to create some space and some distance.
And within this space and distance we're able to feel a little bit more in control so that we can learn how to respond rather than just react with our automatic reactions which many of us as human beings do.
Habitually that's normal.
So just for a few more moments just imagining sending out this kindness,
These well wishes to another who's suffering.
Recognizing that this person suffers like you and you're not alone.
And then in your own time then,
If the eyes have been closed today,
Just gently opening the eyes and letting in that light.
The light of the world.
The light of the environment that you're in.
Moving the body.
Taking a stretch.
And just maybe before moving on to whatever it is that you are planning to do next,
Just maybe just sit in a little bit.
Sit in just for another a minute or so in stillness.
Feeling grateful that you have taken the time today to practice.
So I am sending all my love to you.
Whoever you are.
Wherever you are in the world.
And you take care.
