A meditation for giving and receiving compassion.
Please sit comfortably,
Closing your eyes.
And if you like,
Putting a hand over your heart or another soothing place as a reminder to bring not just awareness,
But loving awareness to your experience and to yourself.
Taking a few deep,
Relaxing breaths,
Noticing how your breath nourishes your body as you inhale and soothes your body as you exhale.
Breathing in nourishment and breathing out soothing breath.
Now letting your breath find its own natural rhythm.
You feeling the sensation of breathing in and breathing out.
If you like,
Allowing yourself to be gently rocked and caressed by the rhythm of your breathing.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Now focusing your attention on your in-breath only.
Letting yourself savor the sensation of breathing in.
One breath after another.
Perhaps noticing how the in-breath energizes your body.
If you like,
As you breathe in,
Breathing in kindness and compassion for yourself.
Just feeling the quality of kindness and compassion as you breathe in.
Or if you prefer,
Letting a word or image of kindness ride on your breathing.
Now shifting your focus to your out-breath.
Feeling your body breathe out.
Feeling the ease of exhalation.
Letting your body breathe out.
And feeling the ease of the out-breath.
And now calling to mind someone whom you love or someone who's struggling and needs compassion.
Visualize that person clearly in your mind.
Begin directing your out-breath to this person,
Offering the ease of breathing out.
If you wish,
Sending kindness and compassion to this person with each out-breath.
One breath after another.
If it's easier for you,
You can breathe out to others in general rather than visualizing a particular person.
Feeling the ease of breathing out.
Now focusing again on the sensation of breathing,
Both in and out.
Savoring the sensations of breathing in and breathing out.
Trying to breathe in for yourself and out for the other person or persons.
In for me and out for you.
One for me and one for you.
And as you breathe,
Drawing kindness and compassion in for yourself.
And sending something good out to another.
In for me and out for you.
One for me and one for you.
Feel free to adjust the balance between breathing in and out.
Two for me and one for you.
One for me and three for you.
Or just let it be an equal flow.
Whatever feels right to you at this moment.
And if your mind starts to wander as it will,
Just come back to the breath.
The in breath and the out breath.
Letting go of any unnecessary effort.
Allowing this meditation to be as easy as breathing.
Letting go of any unnecessary effort.
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In an ocean of compassion.
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