G'day,
My name is Rachel Grace.
Thanks for joining me for this practice.
I invite you to take a moment now to prepare for this practice by finding a posture that supports you to be both alert and relaxed.
Allowing your eyes to gently close or softening your gaze down to the floor in front of you if that feels right for you.
We'll start the practice with the ring of a gong.
GONG Let yourself settle in by taking a few big breaths in and out.
GONG Allowing your breath to be natural and gentle in its own rhythm.
GONG To set a steady foundation of focus and calm before we begin the self-compassion practice,
I invite you to take the next few moments to bring a relaxed and focused attention to your preferred anchor.
Whether that's paying attention to the sensations of the flow of breath,
Or awareness of sounds arising and falling away,
Or feeling the different kinds of physical sensations in your feet and hands right now.
Whatever your preferred primary anchor is,
I invite you to settle your attention there now.
And each time you notice that your mind wanders,
Gently return your attention to your anchor.
Noticing where your mind is,
If your attention has drifted from your anchor,
Gently returning your attention there now.
GONG Self-compassion practice can sometimes be challenging.
If feelings of irritation,
Anger or upset arise during this practice,
And that can happen,
It's okay.
But if those feelings start to get overwhelming,
Then just remember you're welcome to take a break.
Set the instructions aside and simply return to your anchor to rebalance before deciding whether to rejoin the practice,
Or set it aside this time.
We begin the practice of self-compassion by making contact with a difficulty that is here for you right now,
Or is present somehow in your life at this time.
Bringing one area of difficulty to mind now to focus on in this practice.
Nothing too overwhelming or traumatic,
Just something that is in the mild to moderate range of difficulty.
Bring this situation to mind and connect now with how this challenge is affecting you.
The first step in offering self-compassion to yourself within this challenge is to simply acknowledge that this is a moment of suffering.
So I invite you to silently repeat to yourself phrases of mindful acknowledgement that support you.
Some options for these phrases are,
This is a moment of suffering.
This is stressful.
This is painful.
This hurts or this isn't easy.
Repeating some phrases of mindful acknowledgement for yourself now,
Recognizing and acknowledging the difficulties that you're facing.
The second step is to connect with a deep recognition that difficulties arise for everyone.
The details differ but everyone suffers pain and loss in their life.
To practice this second step of self-compassion,
I invite you to silently repeat to yourself phrases to connect with the reality that you share the experience of suffering with all other human beings.
You can choose whatever phrases suit you but some options are,
Suffering is a part of life for everyone.
Other people experience these kinds of emotions too.
I'm not alone in experiencing this type of pain.
Silently repeating these phrases to yourself now.
The third and final step of self-compassion is to respond to suffering with words and acts of self-kindness.
So I invite you now to bring both your hands together and place your hands over your heart or some other place on your body that feels soothing and comforting.
And take a moment to notice how soothing it can feel to do this.
Either keeping your hands in that soothing position or allowing your hands to return to their original resting position,
I invite you to ask yourself,
What kind of words do I most need to hear right now as I sit with this challenge?
And then silently,
Intentionally directing those words to yourself.
Examples of phrases that you could use are,
It's okay,
I care about you,
May I begin to be kinder to myself,
May I learn to accept myself more as I am,
May I be willing to forgive myself,
May I be strong.
Silently repeating these phrases of self-kindness to yourself now.
If you're having difficulty finding the right words,
You can imagine that someone that you care about is facing the same difficulty as you.
What would you want to say to them?
See if you can offer the same message to yourself as you would to a friend.
If strong reactions arise to this practice like thoughts of unworthiness or feelings of anxiety,
Anger or fear,
And you start to feel overwhelmed,
Remember you can return to your anchor at any time.
Otherwise you can use any strong feelings that emerge as part of this practice to become part of the practice.
You can acknowledge those feelings,
You can recall that others experience those kinds of strong thoughts and feelings too,
And you can offer yourself soothing touch and words of kindness in response to this experience of suffering.
Continue to offer yourself words of kindness,
Being a friend to yourself.
Take a moment to notice if this practice has impacted you in any way.
Has there been a shift or change in the state of your body or mind?
Either way it's okay,
Just notice.
As we approach the end of our practice now,
I invite you to join me by taking a nice deep breath in,
Filling the lungs right up,
And then exhaling gently and slowly,
Releasing all the air from your lungs.
And to finish this practice I will ring the gong three times.
Allowing your eyes to open,
Gently bringing your attention back up into the environment around you.
And take a moment now to appreciate yourself for the dedication to your own well-being that you've just demonstrated.
Each time you practice you are changing your brain for the better,
And you're building your capacity to handle life more skillfully,
So well done.
May mindfulness positively impact you,
What you do,
And all of those around you.
Thank you for practicing with me,
I hope you will join me again.
