Self-Compassion On The Spiritual Path

Being human, and walking a spiritual path, can be challenging. On this journey, self-compassion is one of the most important qualities to cultivate. Self-compassion allows us to work with the challenges of being human, as well as the challenges of the spiritual path, in ways that allow us to continue to grow and transform. To be truly useful, self-compassion must be combined with wisdom. When compassion and wisdom are balanced, our potential is unlimited.

This is a 30-minute talk, followed by a 25-minute guided meditation.

Transcript

The topic for tonight's class is self-compassion on the spiritual path.

And I chose this topic because I've received a couple of emails in the last few weeks from people that had questions related to this topic.

And I think that it's a very important theme in today's times particularly,

But probably always historically as well.

Self-compassion is such an integral part of the spiritual path.

It's such an integral part of being human if we want to cultivate our humanity.

It can be really hard being human.

There's just so much that we experience being embodied beings.

I sometimes talk about what I refer to as the art of being human,

Which is learning how to be individuated beings with a separate sense of self and other that are immersed in this relative world of duality.

And yet still while maintaining our ability to relate at this relative level,

At this relative level,

Maintaining a connection to that deeper source within that connects all of us across space and time.

Because there is this transcendent unity that we are all a part of and expressions of.

And we are able to cultivate a connection to that even while experiencing ourselves as individuated beings.

But in order to do so,

We have to learn to soften into the present moment to be with ourselves as we are in each moment.

And that entails a great deal of self-compassion.

Because as I said,

It can be really hard at times having these experiences at a dualistic level,

All of the sensations,

The emotions,

The relationships,

All the trials,

The suffering,

The joys,

The variation that there is living a human life.

We need to learn to make space for all of that if we wish to live fully.

Because it's an interesting thing that we cannot selectively shut down our ability to experience.

We can't selectively decide,

You know,

I just am going to resist and I'm not going to experience the sadness or the pain,

But I still want to fully experience all of the joy and happiness.

If we begin to shut down to the experiences of life,

We shut down to all of it.

And so in order to stay open,

In order to keep our hearts open,

It is so important to cultivate self-compassion.

As I've been speaking,

I've just been speaking about the importance of cultivating self-compassion to live a human life.

I would say that in certain ways,

It can be even more challenging to cultivate self-compassion as a spiritual practitioner.

Because as a spiritual practitioner,

Regardless of the lineage or the religion that you belong to,

Or tradition,

We often end up creating expectations for ourselves that if I'm to be a good Buddhist or a good Taoist or a good Christian,

That there is some certain way I should be all the time,

That I should always be kind,

That I should always be peaceful,

That I should never get angry.

It can be easy to have these expectations when one is on a spiritual path.

And then when we have a human moment and we get angry or upset or irritated,

It can be easy to judge ourselves,

To feel guilt or shame for having had that human moment,

To think that maybe we're not a good Buddhist or a good Christian.

And so on the spiritual path,

It is so important to cultivate a broad and deep sense of self-compassion,

To understand that even though we might be on a path,

Even though we might be growing spiritually,

We are still human.

We still have moments of emotion.

We still have vestiges of ego and conditioning and habituated tendencies and patterns that will emerge often when we least expect it.

And that's okay because that's part of the path.

That's part of learning and growing is to have those moments and then to make space for them and to reflect and to see how we can become better.

You know,

If we were all already perfect,

If we were all already perfectly enlightened beings,

There wouldn't be any need to be here.

In my experience and perspective,

So much of the purpose of being embodied human beings at this level is to learn and to grow.

But we can only learn and grow through making mistakes,

Through being wrong,

Through not knowing at times.

And it's through those moments that we are offered that opportunity to become better.

I like to say that we are all perfection in process.

We are all perfect exactly where we are at in each moment.

And we are all in process of growing and unfolding and becoming better,

Becoming different,

Changing,

Learning,

Transforming.

And so this skill and ability of self-compassion is so important on the spiritual path.

To make space for ourselves,

To move beyond judgment and guilt and shame and have an honest accounting of where we are at.

Because it's only by being where we are at that we can change and grow.

If we're always trying to be somewhere else,

If we think we're supposed to be up here and we're actually right here,

Then we can never actually move from here to here.

It's a process.

It takes time.

Another reason why self-compassion is so important as a human and on the spiritual path is because it's only through cultivating self-compassion that we can truly be compassionate with others.

The way a person acts towards others is often a reflection of how they relate to themselves.

If we're hard on ourselves,

If we judge ourselves,

If we point out all of our flaws,

Then we're going to often act the same way towards others.

We're going to be harder on others.

When we get to know ourselves more deeply,

When we make space for self-compassion,

We also simultaneously make more spaciousness for others to be where they're at.

When we allow space for ourselves to make mistakes,

It's easier to be where we are at.

When we allow ourselves to make mistakes,

It's easier to forgive others for their mistakes.

This is all part of the process of growing.

On the spiritual path,

There's a number of obstacles we can encounter that self-compassion can help us with and help us to overcome.

One of those obstacles is,

Regardless of what tradition we might study or practice,

We often encounter stories we read about or hear about these amazing enlightened beings,

Saints and sages,

Buddhas,

Bodhisattvas,

Great yogis,

People who have attained such a high degree of self-realization and enlightenment that they are beacons of light for all of humanity.

When we hear these stories or read about these amazing beings,

It gives us a sense of being.

It gives us something to aspire to.

It can inspire us to practice,

To work hard,

To realize that there is something that we can do,

That we can become,

To bring greater light and love and joy into the world,

To help diminish suffering.

And,

Simultaneously,

Being aware of these amazing beings,

Sometimes that can make us feel like we're supposed to be that way.

And many of us,

Or most of us,

Are not there yet.

And that's perfectly okay and natural,

But it can cause us to be hard on ourselves.

To feel like we should be more like that.

And we might forget that those beings might have had lifetimes of work,

Of engaging in practices to eventually attain to that level of enlightenment.

There are cycles within life and across lifetimes.

There are times of being more introverted and more extroverted.

There are times of working more inwardly on oneself,

And times of doing more out there in the world to help others.

And both aspects are necessary.

It might be that those people that we see and idealize that are out there doing so much to help others in the world,

They might have spent several lifetimes being hermits and being inward.

And that was a necessary part for them to eventually reach a point where they could become these great beacons of light for the world and for humanity.

You know,

A seed does not suddenly sprout into a full-grown tree.

There are all these stages and states in between that are necessary for that transformation,

For that growth,

For the tiny seed to become the giant tree.

And sometimes we forget that that is all part of the process.

And so what I would say is most important is being without the seed.

What I would say is most important is being with ourselves where we're at and making space for that self-compassion.

The greatest thing we can do for ourselves and the world is to be who we are in this moment and to allow that to come forth.

And from that place,

We can learn and grow to trust the process.

Now,

When I say be who we are,

That can be a tricky thing because part of truly being who we are truly being who we are means moving beyond the conditioned ideas of the ego,

Of the reified sense of self-identity that so many of us have.

That's where a lot of the work is,

Is to understand that there is the sense of self that may be more of a concretized self-identity of habit.

And then there's a deeper layer of self.

And this is why we need to have compassion for ourselves because it's really hard working with these different facets,

Being multi-dimensional beings that have so many different aspects to our lived experience.

The emotional self,

The physical body,

The mind,

The spiritual self,

The relational self,

How we relate to others,

Our professional lives,

All of the different roles we take on as family members,

As fathers,

As sons,

As daughters,

As mothers,

As siblings.

All of these different roles carry different levels of conditioning.

And so in order to sink beyond all of that conditioning into our core,

Into the light that is our true nature,

We need to be very gentle with ourselves and understand that there are complex dynamics occurring all the time.

And yet,

As we soften,

As we take time to breathe,

To become more present,

To experience the moment-to-moment play of sensations and thoughts and emotions,

Slowly those ripples will slow down and we'll begin moving towards a deeper stillness within.

This is why the practice of meditation can be so useful because with meditation,

We create a time to set aside,

To be with ourselves as we are,

And to slowly work through those layers,

To let some of the grosser outer layers of resistance,

Of tension,

Begin to subside,

Begin to soften into the light in our center.

And here again,

For meditation practitioners,

One thing that we have to be careful of is sometimes we can think that we're supposed to meditate every single day,

Or we're supposed to meditate for a certain amount of time,

And if we're not careful,

We can start to accrue guilt when we miss days,

Or we miss a day,

Or we miss a day,

Or we miss a day,

Or we miss a day.

Don't meditate for as long because we have school or work or other obligations.

And so again,

Self-compassion on the spiritual path to make space for the fact that there are cycles even within meditation practice.

There are times when we will be more regular and consistent,

And maybe we meditate every day twice a day for months and months,

But usually for most of us living lives in the mundane world with other obligations,

There will be periods when we might not meditate in a formal seated fashion for weeks or months.

And it's okay.

It's natural.

And those periods of not meditating can sometimes offer something different that then when we come back to a regular meditation practice,

We come back to it in a different way with a different understanding.

We need to be so careful about guilt because guilt can be one of the greatest obstacles to spiritual development and growth.

And if we feel guilty about not meditating as much as we think we should,

Then that will actually taint the practice for us.

We'll have negative associations with meditating instead of positive associations.

And so having self-compassion allows us to move beyond guilt.

It's the antidote to guilt.

Now,

I will say briefly,

Because people often ask about this,

I would say that there's a difference between guilt and remorse.

Guilt,

I don't think,

Is ever useful for us.

It's something that weighs us down,

Creates a lot of resistance in the body and the mind,

And it ends up blocking growth.

It concretizes the very patterns that we feel guilt around.

Whereas with remorse,

Remorse has a quality of penitence in the etymology.

And so with remorse,

We recognize that maybe we've acted unskillfully or hurtfully,

And then we take action to make changes.

And I bring this up because walking a spiritual path can be like walking on a knife's edge.

And so it's very important to find that middle path of balance.

And so when I talk about self-compassion,

I mean a spaciousness where we allow that we are human and that we make mistakes.

But on the other hand,

That doesn't mean that we have carte blanche to just do whatever we want anytime and not worry about how it affects anybody else or what the consequences are.

That would be a form of spiritual bypassing,

Where we don't take an honest accounting of ourselves and our words and actions.

Self-compassion is the opposite.

It's making space to be with all of that and to see it for what it is.

And from that place,

We can make different choices.

On this note,

Another reason why self-compassion is so important is because we all make mistakes.

Throughout our lives,

We all make mistakes.

We all act in unskillful ways.

We all say things that maybe we wish we hadn't afterwards.

We cause hurt and pain to those that we care about.

And often,

When we're younger or before we have a spiritual practice,

We may not be as aware of some of the mistakes that we've made.

We may not realize how unskillful or self-centered or hurtful some of the things we've done have been.

And what happens with spiritual practice,

With meditation,

With self-reflection,

Is that we begin to move a little bit beyond the ego.

We bring more light into our consciousness,

Which allows for a greater degree of insight.

Now,

This always sounds like a great thing when we talk about it,

Right?

Like,

I mean,

Who doesn't want more insight?

Who doesn't want more wisdom?

But when we have greater insight,

It can also bring greater insight into all of the things we've done in the past.

And so,

With greater insight,

We might have even more realization around how unskillfully we've acted in the past.

And this is another time when self-compassion is so vital,

Because otherwise,

It's going to be easy to dwell,

To get lost in guilt.

With that bit of insight that we've gained now,

We can get stuck in the past.

Feeling terrible for all of these things that we realize at a much deeper level.

We're not appropriate.

We're not skillful.

But this is simply that we've got greater insight because we've actually grown.

And so,

Having that insight into things that we've done in the past is actually a sign of how much we've grown since that time.

The fact that we have greater realization of the full impact and consequences of our words and actions.

And so,

We have to have self-compassion.

And again,

This isn't about bypassing and saying,

Oh,

None of that matters.

It's okay.

It's about being honest with ourselves.

And now,

With this greater level of insight,

Making a commitment to do better.

But we can only do that if we have the self-compassion to be present with all of that without sinking into guilt or shame or self-judgment.

You know,

The etymology of compassion is to be with suffering.

It's not about trying to take away suffering,

Necessarily,

Although that's a natural outcome of being with suffering.

But compassion itself simply means to be with suffering,

Whether of ourselves or of others.

To make space for it.

To be present with it as it is.

And it's through being present with suffering as it is that we're able to unleash the transformative potential of suffering,

Of difficulty,

Of hard experiences,

Of pain,

Of loss.

Being human,

We're all going to have experiences of suffering.

We're all going to have times of being unskillful.

And if we're not careful,

That can cause us to shut down.

Compassion and self-compassion are the antidote to that.

They are how we are able to make use of those difficult experiences in a way that brings meaning to them,

So that we come out of those experiences a different person.

It's through having self-compassion that we give ourselves permission to change.

You know,

I believe it was the psychologist Carl Rogers who said something to the effect of,

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am,

Then I can change.

We need to make space to be who we are.

We need to make space to be who we are,

To be present with ourselves,

With all that that entails.

And the more we're able to do that,

The faster we transform and grow.

It's when we deny or push down or resist or have guilt about who we are or about things about who we are or about things that we've said or done,

That we actually prevent ourselves from growing.

To be useful,

Compassion and self-compassion always need to be combined with wisdom.

We need wisdom to be able to discern ways in which we may have been unskillful and to see how to do better in the future.

We need wisdom to add that little bit of an edge,

A little bit of a kick in the butt,

So to speak,

To ourselves.

Because if we have all compassion with no wisdom,

That's where we can fall into spiritual bypassing and just say that everything's okay and not actually have the motivation to change.

Wisdom is what adds that edge to help us stay centered.

Compassion and wisdom keep us balanced on that knife's edge.

With wisdom,

We can have greater mindfulness about where the motivation to speak or act is arising from.

And we can see whether it's coming from a place of pure intention or if it's coming from a place of ego,

Of fear,

Of attachment,

Aversion,

And ignorance.

And this level of discernment helps to create the spaciousness that we need to take an honest accounting of ourselves.

And to be okay with where we're at,

We need compassion.

And with those two combined,

Our potential is unlimited.

We can reach full enlightenment in this lifetime.

It just takes dedication and practice.

Another reason why we need self-compassion is because we live in difficult times.

It's really important to recognize the macro environment in which we are immersed and in which we live on a relative dualistic level and to understand the impact that that has on us.

We are in an unprecedented place and time in the history of humanity.

It affects our ability to engage deeply in spiritual practice.

Let's be honest,

The outer world and what is occurring at the level of humanity in modern times is not necessarily the most conducive to a deep spiritual practice.

The outer world right now inundates us with all of the news and social media.

There's all of these things that try to pull us to focus on the exterior world rather than turning the gaze within to the inner world.

And so it becomes that much harder to make that commitment and dedication to the spiritual path.

And it can also make us be harder on ourselves.

It can also make us be harder on the world.

And instead of looking within,

It can be easier to judge the outer world and point out all the things that are wrong.

But that's really just an expression of the fact that we aren't finding that wholeness within.

It's a normal time for us to be focused on the outside world and the inner world.

It's a normal tendency as humans to try to find happiness through things in the outer world,

Through trying to have the outer world be a certain way,

To believe that if just X,

Y,

And Z were the case with the outer world and with my relationships,

That everything would be great.

But that's a delusion that has plagued humanity probably since our inception.

And that's what spiritual paths are the antidote to.

There's so many different spiritual paths,

But underneath the outer exterior and how they are presented,

They're all gesturing towards the same truth.

That we can find that happiness that we're looking for within when we turn the gaze within,

When we find that peace and wholeness within ourselves.

And as we do so,

We have a greater impact on the outer world without even trying to change anything at all.

But in order to do that,

We need that self-compassion.

We need to be gentle with ourselves for the fact that we do live in challenging times.

In Buddhism,

They say that we're in a degenerate age.

And in such an age,

It is more challenging to focus on spiritual practice.

And so we need to be gentle with ourselves.

I truly believe that the greatest gift we can give the world is to find that peacefulness and wholeness within ourselves.

In so doing,

We can radiate that out,

And we can affect the entire world without trying to change anything at all.

But it all starts with self-compassion.

It's hard being human,

And it's even harder trying to walk a spiritual path.

And so we need to be gentle with ourselves.

Trying to walk a spiritual path.

And so we need an extraordinary amount of gentleness and compassion for ourselves on this journey.

For the meditation practice today,

We'll start with a pranayama from the Sufi tradition called the purification breaths,

In which we use certain breathing patterns combined with visualization of colors and the elements to purify all the different impressions associated with the elemental energies.

This is one way to start to clear away the kind of grosser levels of mental chatter and impressions and emotions that affect our ability to sink into a deeper place within ourselves.

After that pranayama,

We'll move into a meditation that involves working to soften and release any physical tension within the body so that we can then soften into that place of light within.

As we regularly touch into our inner light,

It becomes easier to bring forth the true essence of compassion.

So if you will,

Please find a comfortable and stable posture for meditation.

You can be seated or lying down.

The most important thing is that you're able to let go of any unnecessary tension.

As you settle into your posture,

Become aware of the solidity beneath you,

Supporting you and holding you up.

And allow yourself to rest in that solidity,

In that support.

Bring awareness to the natural movement of the breath.

We will now begin the purification breaths.

The first element of the purification breath is the breath of the mind.

The first element of the purification breath is the breath of the mind.

The first element is earth.

Its color is yellow.

Inhaling and exhaling through the nose.

As you inhale,

You can visualize the pure golden energy of the earth entering and filling your body.

And as you exhale out the nose,

You can release all stale magnetism,

All tension,

Holding,

And guarding that no longer serves.

The next element is water.

Its color is green.

Inhaling through the nose,

Exhaling through the mouth.

As you breathe,

You can imagine yourself immersed in a green body of water,

Surrounded by green trees and foliage,

And with a green mist hanging in the air.

And as you breathe,

You inhale green mist through the nose and exhale green mist out the mouth.

Feeling yourself become water.

The next element is fire.

Its color is red.

Inhaling through the mouth,

Exhaling through the nose.

As you inhale through the mouth,

You can imagine the pure red energy of the earth entering and the pure red energy of fire filling the lower dantian,

Second chakra below the navel.

And as you exhale through the nose,

You can feel that energy rise through the central channel.

Passing through the heart becomes purified white light.

Continuing up the central channel,

It exits the crown and purifies the energetic body.

Inhaling through the mouth,

Exhaling through the nose.

The next element is air.

Its color is blue.

Inhaling and exhaling through the mouth.

As you breathe,

You can imagine yourself expanding into the blueness of the air.

As you exhale through the mouth,

You can imagine the blue of the sky.

Feel yourself becoming light,

Becoming air.

The fifth element is ether or space.

Using a very refined and subtle breath,

Inhaling and exhaling through the nose.

Breathe so gently,

It's as if there were a feather perched on your upper lip that you are trying not to disturb.

Return to a normal breath and begin abdominal breathing.

With every inhalation,

Allow the abdomen to gently expand.

And with every exhalation,

Allow the abdomen to gently contract,

Allowing the chest and shoulders to remain relaxed and still.

As you continue abdominal breathing,

With every exhalation,

Try to release any unnecessary tension from the body.

You can even gently scan your body from head to toes.

And with every exhalation,

Just allow each area to release a little more.

As you continue softening with each exhalation,

Allow the awareness to begin to focus in the lower dantian,

The energetic center,

Two to three inches below the navel in the center of the lower abdomen.

As you continue abdominal breathing,

Allow that awareness in the lower dantian to move up through the center of the body.

To move up through the center of the body,

To rest in the heart center.

With every exhalation,

Soften your awareness into the heart center.

As you continue softening into the heart center,

Become aware of a point of light within that space.

Soften into the light.

As you continue breathing,

Allow that light to expand,

Filling the heart center.

As it continues expanding,

Allow it to move beyond the heart center,

Filling the chest and torso.

Expanding down through the hips and legs,

All the way to the feet and toes.

Allow it to expand laterally from the heart center,

Out through the shoulders and arms,

All the way down to the tips of the fingers.

And allow it to expand up through the neck,

Filling the brain and the head.

Allow this light to expand,

To fill the entire body,

Every cell,

Every organ,

Every bone.

Feel your body as pure white light.

As you continue breathing,

Allow the light to expand beyond the physical body,

Into the space around you.

Become aware of a point of light within the heart center.

Allow the light to expand beyond the physical body,

Into the space around you.

Become aware how the boundary of your physical body is an illusion.

As you rest in this light that has no beginning and no end.

As you continue breathing,

Realize that you are breathing in light and exhaling light back out.

Every breath is just the movement of light.

Know that this light is your true nature.

You are born from light.

You are light incarnate.

Light transforming,

Manifesting in various ways.

Rest in your true nature of unbounded,

Limitless light.

Bring awareness to the felt sense of the physical body.

Feel your body as light incarnate.

Feel the stability beneath you,

Supporting you and holding you up.

This is light manifest in physical form.

Manifest in physical form.

Become aware of the air around you,

In which you are immersed like a fish in water.

Realize that this air is also light.

When you are ready,

Maintain a sense of groundedness in this still presence of light.

The light of all pervading consciousness.

As you gently and slowly begin to open your eyes,

Taking in everything around you,

Letting it flow through you,

Realizing the emptiness of all physical form.

That is all light manifest in myriad ways.

If we wish to walk the spiritual path,

If we wish to be the best humans we can be,

And bring forth the beauty that only we can,

Self-compassion is so important.

It is the key to overcoming guilt,

To making space for the unknowable.

Overcoming guilt,

To making space for the human side of ourselves.

For realizing that we are all perfection in process.

Thank you all for joining me today.

Reviews

Exoanfing my awareness/perspective thank you 💜🙏💜

❤️🙏🏾being human and trying to be a good human is so freaking hard. Thanks for this wonderful talk. Beautifully encapsulates the struggle….and the ways to transcend it… 🙏🏾❤️🌺🌼

This was fantastic! I even took one of his quotes and put it on my journal so I will see it each day – that self compassion is the antidote to guilt. Loved the breathing and especially loved the talk on compassion! Meditation was beautiful thank you so much! Saving this and following you!

Beautiful! I learned so much from this. And as I was bathed in the light, I also spread it over someone I love who is now, alive but gone away. I bathed her and myself in expansiveness, not constriction, well-being, confidence, security in all things, warmth, and love.

What a wonderful surprise to come across this new talk and meditation, Thomas. For any of us trying to balance our human and spiritual natures, your guidance and reassurance are invaluable! Maybe the strongest message I took away from this talk is to let go of guilt, wondering whether I was making enough 'progress'. Your message that self-compassion is the antidote to guilt is so helpful :-) When we believe in what is possible, then we see the light. I will write again soon 🙏🌟🔆

Ohhh Thomas!! Another great talk followed by an incredible meditation with such beautiful guidance. Thank you 🙏🏼 for this important session on self compassion while walking the spiritual path. And helping me turn my gaze inward to find my light and connection to oneness with all. So powerful and inspiring. I’m tremendously grateful. 💖🙏🏼

This is such a helpful discussion on self-compassion on the path followed by a beautiful, purifying meditation.

Amazing as always! Such a great topic and articulated so well. Thanks Thomas 🙏✨

Thank you Thomas for adding this talk. I have noticed lately that I have had many memories coming up that I felt remorse and guilt. I am glad you touched on this and gave some insight on how to navigate them.
Peace and blessings to you.
🙏☀️

Exemplary is the word that came to mind here toward the end of this beautiful talk and meditation for me. It rounds off so much that I have learnt through the time of listening, understanding and partaking in the wisdom and insight with you through our years Thomas.🙏You know I honour you and your words through to the last…”Compassion” always for the self using wisdom within the insight. Yes…It is “hard being human.” A million Thankyous. Always….Bless..✨🙏✨😌

was this the talk you gave on zoom? I got so much more out of it listening here. No distractions I guess. There’s so much wisdom here. I’ll be listening to it a couple more times. Thank you. ✨💖🙏✨💖🙏✨💖🙏

As always, thank you.
Your teachings are like seeds planted in the fertile soil of my consciousness, growing into a garden of enlightenment.

If we want to walk on the Spiritual Path.....this meditation to me reflects true meaning of selfcompassion as it helps a student learning the difference between selfishness and self compassion as sometimes the word self used to confuse me ( even though theoretically I knew it). This softening into the light being that light, loosing sense of anything then that light helped me to be that love that softness gentleness and beyond what I am meaning to say.
Thank you Thomas as it helps me to loosen all expectation from my self and being a certain way. The word homeodynamics is settling in. Once again thank you for your help.

Hello Thomas, thank you for sharing your wisdom around the subject of self-compassion and leading me into meditation this morning. It is hard to be human and it does require a lot of compassion toward ourself, others, and the world we live in. Learning to be kind and loving with the suffering within and around us, mine and the other, without guilt, without blame, without resentment, without judgement does get easier with the practice of meditation. You have guided me the last several months toward practicing the central channel technique starting with bringing awareness to the lower dantian, the center of our energetic self. I cannot thank you enough. And today I enjoyed the variation of bringing the energy, my essence, from my 2nd chakra up to my heart and let the light in my heart grow so much that I no longer “felt” my body but became pure white light. As I am writing you, I can still experience that connection with the Dao, my true self. From that place it is much easier to experience true compassion for the self and others. I agree with you, I believe in the power we have all together to bring more compassion, love, peace, wisdom into the world by radiating outward that light we all have inside. Thank you for meditating with me Thomas. 🙏❤️

❤️‍🔥🐢🪔🕊️

Thank you Thomas.
Grattitude for your gentle strength.

Wonderful Thomas! So glad to be in your session again. Please continue to put your classes on Insight Timer!!!

A ten star dharma talk and practice! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️to listen to again and again as it contains so much wisdom - thank you 🙏

Yes, yes… absolutely! Deep wisdom and beautiful meditation.
You can be Spiritual & heartbroken
You can be Spiritual & depressed
You can be Spiritual & angry
Spirituality helps us to face the Human experience
Not suppress it.
I’ve missed you Thomas, please post more.
Love and Light always