So this is the Compassionate Self Meditation and it's adapted from a meditation by Paul Gilbert who's the creator of compassion focused therapy.
And this is a visualization.
So if visualizations are challenging for you,
Please just as best you can be open to whatever happens and be kind to yourself and trust that you're having exactly the experience that you need to have right now.
So to begin,
Please find a comfortable seated position.
And then when you feel comfortable,
Letting your eyes close either partially or fully.
And then taking three easy breaths.
And then putting a hand on your heart or in some other soothing place as a reminder to bring not just awareness but kind,
Loving awareness both to yourself and to your experience.
And you can let your hand stay here or you can let it rest in your lap,
Whatever feels right.
And beginning now to really notice your breath,
Noticing the rhythm of your breathing,
Noticing the breath moving in and noticing the breath moving out.
Perhaps noticing that the body is nourished on each inhale and how it relaxes with each exhale.
And continuing to follow the breath.
And now in your mind's eye,
I'd like you to use your imagination.
Firstly,
To see if you can identify a place where you feel safe and where you feel a deep sense of belonging.
A place where you can be completely present.
So this might be indoors,
It might be an outside space in nature,
It might be a place you've been before or it might be a place you're just discovering for the first time right now.
Just allowing your mind to create this space around you.
Finding this place as clearly as you can.
Noticing the temperature,
Quality of light and anything else that stands out to you about this place.
And imagining that you are sitting in this place.
This place that's here just for you where you can feel safe and calm.
And then sitting across from you in this place,
You see a version of yourself that embodies compassion.
This version of yourself may look just like you or it may not.
Just for now noticing this compassionate self,
Taking in whatever you can sense and see in this compassionate self.
And then gently,
Just for a moment,
Allowing your eyes to meet the eyes of your compassionate self,
Knowing that this self embodies all the qualities of compassion.
Just taking this being in,
Breathing in the presence of this compassionate self.
Feeling in a sense of deep kindness,
Feeling the warmth and real presence and a sense of deep care and connectedness.
You feel other qualities too.
You sense wisdom,
Clear seeing,
Discernment,
Aliveness and creativity,
A willingness to not know,
A respect for boundaries and a love of connection,
Awareness,
A kind of openness and hospitality,
An authority and confidence,
A complete commitment to be helpful,
Specifically to be helpful to you,
To be on your side,
To remind you that you make sense,
That you're whole,
That you're not broken and that you belong.
You can sense the ways that these qualities together give your compassionate self a kind of essence,
A unique essence and imagining what that essence looks like.
Maybe it has a color or texture or maybe it's invisible.
Imagining what it might be like if you could just pour that essence,
The essence of this compassionate self inside of you.
Imagining that you could fill yourself up with the essence of this compassionate self.
Imagining that you could be this compassionate self.
Just imagining the same way you might pour a pitcher of water into a glass.
The essence of your compassionate self could just pour in just like that,
Very gently through the top of your head and fill you up from your feet,
Up through your legs and trunk,
Your chest,
Arms and head.
Realizing how you feel,
Maybe you can feel yourself being filled with the essence of your compassionate self.
The self that has authority,
Confidence,
Discernment,
Wisdom,
Kindness,
A sense of interconnectedness,
A commitment to be helpful and fully 100% committed to your wellbeing.
So just noticing how you feel in your body,
Maybe noticing any shifts in your posture and then imagining that you could see yourself from the outside embodying this compassionate essence.
Imagining what your facial expression might be.
And remembering that your compassionate self sees things clearly.
It understands how we have evolved over hundreds of millions of years and that our nervous system is wired for survival and it has all sorts of reactions that we don't consciously choose.
It knows that so much of what's challenging and difficult in this life is really not our fault.
And the compassionate self recognizes that we can let go of blame.
And then putting a hand on your heart and repeating silently to yourself,
May I remember my compassionate essence.
May I be filled with loving kindness and compassion.
May I be present and aware.
May I be awake and wise.
May even the parts of me that resist compassion be at ease.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
And taking some time to rest now in the essence of your compassionate self.
And two,
Imagining what it would be like if you were moving through your day as this compassionate self.
Imagine caring for yourself and others.
Imagine being on your own side.
Seeing this compassionate self in action.
What sorts of things does it do?
What sorts of things does it say?
And then for now,
Letting go of these images.
Letting go of this safe place.
But maybe not letting go of this compassionate essence.
Maybe letting it be here.
Letting it continue to fill you.
Even as you feel your feet on the floor.
And even as you bring your attention to your breath.
Even as you bring awareness to your body and notice how you feel.
Not worrying that there's no particular way that you're supposed to feel right now.
Just allowing yourself to be exactly the way you are as best you can.
And then as you feel ready,
Gently opening your eyes.
