Universal Compassion Meditation

In these unsettled and challenging days, it is easy to lose compassion - for yourself as well as others. Please spend this time restoring yourself to love and gratitude for all you are, all that life is.
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Transcript

So in the world of being really emotional and having a lot going on personally,

I think it's very much a match for what we have going on in the world.

And there's just a lot that for most people is just kind of upside down and sideways and on angles and we're learning to navigate literally uncharted waters.

And I think a lot of us have been emotional for a whole bundle of reasons in or whatever we assess to being emotional about whether it's something personal going on in our lives or somebody who's sick.

I've gone through that with people I know who have gotten very ill from coronavirus and people who have died or I have a thing where I can't wrap my brain around how many people.

The news keeps talking about how we're approaching 100,

000 here in this country,

But it's more like 130,

000 because of the numbers of people who likely had COVID but it wasn't reported as that or had medical ailments that were exacerbated because of this virus or people who didn't go into a hospital with whatever they had going on because they were afraid to go in because of the virus.

And then died.

So I have,

I can't get my head around the number of people who are sick and who have died.

Like I can't fathom that number of people.

It's more people than who have died from the United States in all of the wars that we've had since the last 60 years.

Everything.

And it's not the most number of people who have died in something happening.

But I don't have it like it's just this number.

There's a piece of me that goes to it's like one by one,

An individual life.

Somebody who has a mother,

A father,

A brother,

A sister,

A son,

A daughter,

Friends,

Times that many people.

All of these precious sacred lives.

So I sometimes plunge into grief and it's a little hard to breathe.

And I know that I'm not the only one who feels this way.

And then there are things like with me,

I have something that's kind of a big deal happening in my personal life.

People have stuff happening in their personal lives with their mothers,

Their fathers,

Their brothers,

Their sisters,

Their daughters,

Their sons,

Their aunts and uncles and cousins,

Whoever.

It's,

There's still stuff happening.

Our businesses,

Our money,

Our lives.

And one of the things that I have witnessed has been a kind of polarization of compassion.

And so I wanted to talk a little bit about compassion today.

The polarization and compassion that I've witnessed,

And I'm going to guess that you have too,

But I really,

Truly welcome your comments,

Has been people who have even more compassion.

And people who seem to have none.

People who are highly judgmental,

And then people who are highly judgmental of the people who are highly judgmental.

And whatever your personal opinion is,

We should open,

We should stay cloistered,

Whatever it is,

In that polarization,

People are highly judgmental.

And in that high judgmentalism,

There is a dearth of compassion.

And I have been guilty of that as well.

I have been,

I've spoken words like that,

And I have witnessed and agreed with words like that.

And I think it would be really beneficial for us to all take a breath and remember compassion.

The people say and do what they say and do as the best that they can be in that moment in time.

And it may not be you,

May not be me,

Or what we would say,

Or how we would say it,

Or what we would do,

Or how we would do it.

But it would absolutely be the best they could do at that moment in time.

And so I am working on me to deepen,

Widen,

Broaden,

Heighten,

Being compassion,

Not just the capacity,

But to actually be that.

I believe that we all have infinite capacity for infinite compassion.

And in my ego,

I have not always been that.

I have judged those who judge.

I have condemned people who give bad advice.

I have been vocal about people operating from inside of survival and ego.

Of course,

It's my ego survival that has me judge that,

Which is ironic and true.

And that would be all of us.

So compassion is one of the gateways to just simply being being.

And I wouldn't do it in order to just be.

I would do it because honestly,

When I'm not being compassion,

I don't think I like me very much.

I am not the best me I can be when I lack compassion.

So I did meditate this morning actually twice,

But I will be meditating with you.

I just won't go unconscious so I can keep leading you through this meditation.

Today it is a universal compassion meditation.

Glasses off,

Have your body in a comfortable,

Well supported position,

Sitting down,

Lying down,

Whatever it is.

Make sure you're completely cushioned.

Make a nest.

Have it be firm.

If you need firm software,

You need soft.

Have it be that if you're sitting that your back is supported.

If your head is going to drop down,

Please let it drop down.

If it needs to go back,

Please make sure you have something behind your head to hold it.

Make sure your shoulders,

Elbows,

Arms,

Hands,

Hips,

Lower back,

Knees,

Ankles,

Feet,

Whatever it is that you need with your individual precious body,

Whatever that precious body needs to be supported,

Please give your body that.

This is not going to be how long can you grit your teeth and make it through in terms of this meditation.

This is having zero attention on your body.

To do that,

Have your body fully,

Fully supported.

Now just allow your body to sink into being fully supported.

And breathe.

Just breathe.

And now let your body sink into being supported even more.

Let the weight of your body,

No matter how much or how little or how much in the middle of that you weigh.

Let the full weight of your body sink into however or wherever you are sitting or lying down.

And breathe and sink a little bit more,

Letting go completely,

Holding onto nothing,

Letting it all go.

You have done all that you could to get your body positioned in a way that it is fully supported.

You have nothing left to do.

Just let go.

Now bring breath into your awareness,

Just exactly as your breath is.

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

Don't try to make it different.

Just be aware of your breath.

Be aware of how breath is a circle.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Breathing out,

Breathing in.

I listened to a meditation a couple of days ago where somebody said,

Notice how there's a pause between breathing out and breathing in.

There's a pause between breathing in and breathing out.

And I don't have that experience.

So I will say at this point,

As you breathe in and out,

Just be aware that the moment breathing in is done,

Breathing out begins.

Your body actually has a very palpable shift in going from expansion to contraction,

Or from contraction to expansion.

As you breathe in and out,

Breathing out and in.

Have a continued awareness of your breath,

Breath in your nostrils and the slight way your nostrils move as you inhale and exhale.

If you do a very sharp intake,

Your nostrils will contract a little bit on the way in.

And if you breathe out really hard,

There'll be a flare as you breathe out,

Which is a little bit amazing.

It's like a counterpoint to the breath itself.

As you breathe in,

Your body expands,

But your nostrils contract.

And as you breathe out,

Your body contracts,

But your nostrils flare open.

Just notice.

Notice the feel of air cooling as it goes through your nostrils coming in.

And the feel of the air as it comes out of your nostrils and is warmer.

Feel the air in the back of your nostrils and how that air moves down your throat.

Be aware of your breath in your lungs,

How your lungs expand and contract as you breathe in and out.

Be aware of how when your lungs expand,

The muscles around your lungs relax,

Allowing your lungs to expand.

May you let go.

Feel how your belly expands and contracts with each breath.

Notice the awareness of breath throughout your whole body.

Be aware that the oxygen in your lungs goes into the blood that courses throughout the entirety of your body,

Your physical body.

And increase your awareness a little bit more,

This time bringing into your consciousness the awareness of the blood traveling through every vein,

Every capillary,

Every artery,

Every single breath.

Simply be aware of breath anywhere in your body,

Everywhere in your body.

And simply allow yourself to be here,

Breathing.

Breathing now.

And now fully be with yourself.

Bringing into your consciousness someone whom you love dearly,

Inside your own being,

Saying to that person,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

Still focusing on someone whom you love dearly,

Inside your own being,

Saying to that person,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

And now bring into your consciousness someone about whom you care deeply,

Saying to that person,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

Consciously aware of someone about whom you care deeply,

Saying to that person,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

And now bring into your consciousness someone with whom you are barely acquainted,

Perhaps a friend of a friend of a friend,

Or maybe a cashier at a store you've been to.

It could be someone you've met in passing,

Someone you've simply seen walking through your neighborhood,

Saying to that person,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

Saying to that person with whom you are barely acquainted,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

And now allow your awareness to land in a situation where you see someone you don't even know,

Walking down the street,

Noticing someone in the next car when you stopped at a stoplight,

A person across the room at a party,

At a fundraiser,

At a community event,

Somebody at a train station or an airport or a bus stop,

Perhaps somebody halfway around the globe,

Saying to that person whom you do not even know,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

And again,

To that person whom you really don't even know,

Saying to that person,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

And now bring into your consciousness your own self,

Saying to your own self,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

Saying to yourself,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

And now bring into your consciousness somebody you really don't like,

Just to be really honest about it,

Someone you do not trust,

Do not like,

Do not care for,

Is not your cup of tea,

Someone you know you avoid,

Somebody you don't like,

Saying to that person,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

Saying to that person whom you don't like,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

Focusing on your own self anew from where you are now.

Saying to yourself,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

And in knowing and recognizing that saying this to yourself is really saying this to everyone,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

And recognizing that saying this to everyone is really saying this to yourself,

May you be healthy and well.

May you be happy and filled with joy.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved.

Take in a deep breath and hold that breath.

Allow the wellness,

The health,

The happiness,

And the joy,

The safeness,

And the love to feed the body you're in.

And let that breath go.

Again,

Take a deep breath in.

Hold that breath.

Allow the wellness and the health,

The happiness and the joy,

The safeness,

And the love to feed the body you are in.

And let all that go.

Release that breath and gently open your eyes,

Allowing yourself to be present in this moment as all that you are.

Gently open your eyes and allow yourself to be present in your body in the room that you are in as you are.

So how do you feel about you?

Do you feel compassion for you?

Do you have more room for you?

With all your strengths and all your weaknesses,

All the places where you succeed and all the places where you fail.

All the places where you are just simply who you are.

Take a look at that.

More room for you means more room for you in the world.

And that means you have more room for others in the world as well.

So that's today.

May our compassion grow for ourselves,

For each other,

For those we know and those who don't know.

May we be the world of compassion within that offers the world of compassion without.

I love you.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much for spreading this kind of vibration in our world.

I not only believe but I know and there's a lot of data now bearing all that out.

It literally changes the world.

So thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity for me to come into a place more peaceful and in greater harmony for me,

For you doing that for you,

For being a part of and the whole of being that in our world and for our world.

I love you.

I bless you.

And we'll see you soon.

Have an amazing day.