Before starting this meditation,
Bring to mind someone towards whom you feel a great amount of love,
Someone you wish to be more empathetic towards.
If you have a childhood picture of this person,
Gaze at this picture for a few moments.
If you don't have a picture,
Bring to mind a vision of this person as a young child.
If you have a picture,
Keep this close by.
As we begin this meditation,
Keep in mind what John Eaton said,
Empathy is the love fire of sweet remembrance and shared understanding.
Now take a deep breath in through your nose and sigh it out through your mouth.
Do this again,
Breathing even more deeply.
Begin to find a comfortable position and gently close your eyes.
Allow your body to completely relax.
Feel it melting like a block of ice.
Eyes soften,
Jaw drops,
Tongue moves away from the roof of the mouth as the whole face begins to relax.
Let go of any tension you have in your shoulders and feel your shoulder blades release down your spine.
Systematically move down the body,
Noticing and releasing tension as you go.
The stomach,
Hips and low back,
Legs,
Knees,
Ankles,
And toes.
Whole body is relaxed and yet alert.
Bring to mind the childhood version of the person you truly care for,
The person you wish to be more empathetic towards.
Place your left hand on top of your heart and your right hand on top of your left.
Notice how the love you have for this person feels in your heart.
Consider this young child in your mind's eye and hold them in your attention for a little while.
As you think about this young child,
Keep in mind what John Eaton said,
Empathy is the love fire of sweet remembrance and shared understanding.
Now look back and imagine a day in that person's childhood,
A day when their true essence was shining through,
A day when they were carefree and innocent.
Bring this day to life by envisioning what this child looked like,
Their hair,
Their small body,
Their environment.
See their smile and their carefreeness.
Notice the clothes they were wearing.
Were they indoors or outdoors?
Who were they with or were they alone?
What were they doing?
Picture this scene in as much detail as you can.
Now place yourself in the scene as an onlooker.
Add sounds,
Smells,
Textures and flavors into the scene.
With all of your senses coming alive,
Experience this scene in as much detail as you can.
Now bring your full focus to the child you're emphasizing with.
See and feel their true essence,
The beautiful soul they were born to be.
Imagine them looking over and notice how excited they are to see you.
Imagine they run over to say something.
What are they saying to you?
What would you like to say to them?
Tell them what you're feeling.
See yourself giving them a warm embrace and a tender,
Very tender kiss on the brow.
As you're embracing the child,
See them start to grow and morph into the person they are today.
Give them another tender kiss on the forehead.
You both embrace and are laughing and crying tears of joy.
Keep holding this vision in your mind's eye for a little while,
This vision of the two of you embracing,
This vision of them as a child and an adult all at once.
Remember they are still that child,
That true and beautiful essence and spirit is still part of the adult you know and love today.
Feel this childhood essence in your body,
In your breath,
In your heart and stomach.
Feel and experience it all over your body.
Feel this essence with all of your senses.
As you go about your day,
When conflict arises with this person,
Take your senses back to the vision of you tenderly kissing this child's brow.
Take your mind back to the embrace,
The laughter and the tears of joy.
Bring this vision and experience to mind before any interactions and remember what John Eaton said,
Empathy is the love fire of sweet remembrance and shared understanding.
Remember that your loved one still holds that childhood essence and beautiful spirit.
Remember that they are afraid of something just like you are.
If you have a childhood picture of this loved one,
Please open your eyes and look at this picture and if not,
Keep your eyes closed for another moment and envision this loved one as a young child.
When you're ready,
Please take your time getting back to your day and please make it a beautiful day.
