A warm welcome to our final practice together,
Where we will continue to connect with our inner well of compassion and send it out into the world in the form of loving kindness.
After all,
We don't just meditate to alleviate our own suffering.
We meditate so that we can show up more fully in the world.
This practice is a celebration of our ability to share what we have cultivated within.
Enjoy.
As always,
Settling in,
Closing down your eyes and allowing your awareness to land on the ebb and flow of your breath.
Breath rolling in… Rolling out.
Like the vast oceans.
With each full cycle of breath.
Noticing yourself arriving.
Arriving in your body.
In your skin.
In this moment.
Reminding yourself that you deserve this time.
And that you are safe to drop a little deeper in today's practice.
Softening the space above your eyes.
Your jaw.
Allowing your shoulders to roll down your back.
Noticing a gentle opening of your chest.
And your heart.
And now together,
Let's send our compassion out into the world.
Beginning by inviting someone that you love or are fond of.
Past or present,
To appear in your mind's eye.
As you breathe connecting with this person.
Their character.
Their good intentions.
Perhaps some memories you have shared.
And acknowledging that this person is human.
And part of being human is experiencing challenges,
Both big and small.
And in recognition of our shared humanity.
Let's offer this person these words.
Repeating silently in your mind after me.
May you respond to life with a wise and open heart.
May you learn and grow from your challenges.
May you live in peace.
May you receive the compassion I am sending you.
Allowing yourself to really feel these words in your body and in your heart.
Perhaps noticing a softening.
And opening within you.
And now buoyed by this sense of love and shared humanity.
Allowing someone you feel neutral about to come to mind.
Perhaps a colleague.
A friend of a friend.
Someone who works in your local shops.
Trusting whoever emerges.
And offering this person these same words of loving-kindness.
May you respond to life with a wise and open heart.
May you learn and grow from your challenges.
May you live in peace.
May you receive the compassion I am sending you.
Noticing how it feels in your body.
How it feels in your heart to extend your loving-kindness to this person.
As the energy of loving-kindness builds within you.
You become capable of sending your well wishes further.
And so in this moment,
Allowing your compassion to greet people who share different opinions to you.
People who act in ways you would not.
Perhaps thinking of one person,
Maybe a group of people come to mind.
And together,
Let's offer these people our well wishes.
These universal gestures of compassion.
Repeating silently in your mind after me.
May you respond to life with a wise and open heart.
May you learn and grow from your challenges.
May you live in peace.
May you receive the compassion I am sending you.
And noticing that far from being a soft practice,
That compassion and loving-kindness require a certain inner strength and groundedness.
Breathing deep into this inner strength,
This spiritual maturity you have cultivated over the last seven days.
Moving in your own way into the writing element of this practice where together we'll explore three journaling prompts and transform the powerful energy of compassion into action.
Writing prompt one.
Think of someone you know who is having a hard time at the moment.
For a few minutes,
Write them a letter of compassion.
One that acknowledges their life circumstances,
That sends them support and friendship.
You don't ever need to send this letter.
The power is in the writing.
Moving now to writing prompt two.
Think of someone who triggers you,
Gets under your skin.
Who brings out the more judgmental side of you.
As best you can,
Explore this person with compassion.
Seeing if you can soften the judgment or sense of reaction,
And instead understand their world with more curiosity and heart.
Finally,
How can you turn the energy of compassion into real action?
What is one small action you can take this week to contribute to the world?
Make it specific.
The more detailed,
The more likely it is to happen as you are creating new neural pathways.
That close the gap between imagination and reality.
I'll leave you for a minute here.
Amazing work today.
Take a deep breath.
Place your hand on your heart and offer yourself a smile.
For your willingness to cultivate compassion and to share it with the world.
I hope this 7 day experience has expanded your understanding of compassion and increased your capacity to feel it.
Without the accompanying sense of overwhelm.
Grounded compassion holds us steady and enables us to be of service to the world.
It's been my pleasure to share this experience with you.
