Compassion Meditation

This short meditation will guide you in growing compassion for yourself and others. It's full of guided imagery and descriptions that make it easy to follow along. It can help children notice their emotions and learn to direct positive thoughts and well-wishes to self and others.

Transcript

Hi there,

My name is Susan Guttridge and I'm so pleased you're here,

Taking a break from your day and choosing me to read to you.

Today I'll be sharing with you a meditation designed to help you grow compassion toward self and others.

If the word compassion is new to you,

I'll start out with a definition.

Compassion is about caring for others,

Treating them with kindness,

Trying to understand how they feel rather than guessing or judging.

During our time together today,

I might switch between saying the word compassion and also saying loving kindness.

Being able to connect with compassion and loving kindness is a very important skill for life.

When we are frustrated or worried,

We can start to view the world through the lens of that frustration or worry,

Thinking that everything around us will lead to more frustration or worrying about everything.

I once had a pair of sunglasses and when I put them on,

Everything had a yellow tint.

You couldn't tell that from looking at them because the lenses just looked like regular glasses,

But when I put them on,

It changed the way the world looked around me.

Worry and frustration can be a lot like that.

When we put on the sunglasses of worry or frustration,

It changes the way we see the world.

For me,

I could easily take off my sunglasses and the world would return to its regular color and brightness.

We need a way to do that when it comes to worry and frustration so that you can return to seeing the world around you with a clear,

Open-minded view.

A habit of connecting with compassion can create that for you.

There are things that will still make you feel frustrated and that's really an important emotion to listen to.

The emotions of frustration and even anger tell us that something doesn't feel right,

That something feels uncomfortable for us and we want to speak up to make it better.

Worry is also important because it can help us prepare and be ready for tough situations.

Too much of those emotions can make us feel overwhelmed and even feel out of control.

So to take off the glasses,

We can use this practice of compassion to help our thoughts become more balanced,

To use our words to be kind to ourselves,

To help us see our options,

And to connect with the people that can help us.

To help you grow a habit of compassion,

I'm going to list off some statements.

After each one,

I will pause and all you have to do is wish these things for yourself.

Reflect on your own wish to be happy,

Thinking about the ways that you are kind and your generosity,

Or think about the ways that you'd like to show kindness and generosity.

Picture living the statements as you think of them.

What would each one look like if it were true in your life?

Use your very best imagination,

Slowing your thoughts,

Connecting with curiosity and even hopefulness.

Thinking of yourself now,

The first statement is,

May you be filled with loving kindness.

What would that look like for you?

Maybe being kind to yourself with your thoughts and your words and your actions.

Maybe living that and being kind to others with your thoughts and words and actions.

Imagine that being true in your life now,

Being filled with loving kindness.

The second statement is,

May you be safe from danger.

Reflecting on that now.

What would that look like for you to be safe as you go through your day?

Being protected,

Safe in your thoughts,

In your actions and in your emotions.

Imagine that being true in your life now,

Being safe from danger.

The third statement to reflect on is,

May you be well in your body and your mind.

What would that look like for you?

Perhaps it would be feeling healthy and strong in your body and in your mind.

Perhaps it would be being kind and accepting of your body and your thoughts.

Perhaps it would be being curious and not judging.

Being a friend to your body,

Your thoughts,

Your emotions instead of critical or harsh or mean.

Imagine now that being true in your life to be well in your body and your mind.

And the fourth statement to imagine being true in your life is,

May you be at ease and happy.

What would that look like for you?

To be at ease,

I think,

Invites a calmness,

A sense of confidence.

Maybe I got this or I can get help with this if I need to.

Maybe it's being able to have a moment of happiness,

A laugh or a smile despite what might be going on that day.

Just picturing that being true in your life now,

Being at ease and happy.

Taking a big breath and letting it all go.

Let's tune into the love that can really be all around you.

One way to do that is by directing all those same loving kindness statements to someone else in your life.

The person doesn't have to be with you.

We can wish these thoughts for someone just by thinking of them.

Think for a moment now of who you would like to wish compassion for,

Who you'd like to send it out to.

Maybe it's a family member or a friend or even a pet.

Picture that person now in your imagination.

As I list all those same statements,

Repeat them and genuinely wish them for the person or the pet that you're thinking of.

Picture each statement being true in their life in whatever way feels right for you.

Know that you can wish these things without actually saying them out loud.

You just have to picture the person and wish the thoughts.

Thinking of that person now and wishing to them,

May you be filled with loving kindness.

May you be safe from danger.

Wishing that person or pet and wishing them wellness in their mind and body.

And the fourth statement,

May you be at ease and happy,

Wishing that for them now.

It's kind of comforting,

Isn't it,

To let all that compassion into your heart.

I always find it makes my heart feel warm and gives me a feeling of being connected to others,

Not so separate.

Maybe it feels like that for you,

Too.

Let's take a moment to grow that compassion from ourself beyond the person that you were just thinking of to all the living things in our world and even including our planet.

Let your awareness include all the people,

Our earth and the plants,

Animals and all the living things.

Allowing your compassion,

Your love and kindness to be present,

To radiate outward from yourself toward the whole world around you.

Repeat these statements after me,

Just in your thoughts,

Sending your compassion to all the living things in our world and even to our planet.

May you be filled with loving kindness.

May you be safe from danger.

May you be well in your body and your mind.

May you be at ease and happy.

Breathing in,

Exhaling out.

Linger here a moment longer,

Without judgement and just with love and kindness in your heart.

Noticing your breath as you inhale and you exhale out.

If it's okay,

Touch your hand over your heart and let this be an anchor into your compassion,

Kind of like a way to remember to carry this with you forward throughout your day.

Today,

Tomorrow,

Every day.

This compassion practice can help you grow loving kindness for yourself and others.

I'd love to invite you to use this practice a few times each week and notice the impact it can have on you and the way you start to feel around the people you care about.

You could do this like a scientific experiment,

Noting when you use it,

What's going on around you,

Your observations and what's different because you took a moment to grow your compassion.

Noticing how you start to feel over time in your thoughts,

In your body and in your emotions.

For example,

Does this practice of growing compassion start to ease moments of frustration or worry?

Does it enable you to take off those glasses that were tainting the way you were seeing things to be curious?

Thank you for listening and for being here today with your kind,

Courageous hearts.

Reviews

Asmr-y voice and i almost fell asleep

-This Users Son