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  6. Burnout Meditation 05

Session 5/10

Transcript

Hi, welcome to day five. Today we are talking about compassion. When I say the word compassion, what comes to mind? Most often the term compassion is associated with kindness towards others. I’m sure we need to practice kindness with others. But what about compassion with self? What is your opinion of that? What does it mean for you to be kinder to yourself, to be compassionate towards yourself, you don’t need something from outside.

It’s a quality found within us, but is often elusive. Because down the road, we forget that we need compassion to we get caught up in our emotions, so much so that our sense of compassion gets obscured by the emotions of frustration, impatience, and worries.

Today, we will discuss that innate quality of mind and see how we can tap into it more often. Self compassion holds a different meaning for different people. In fact, it could mean something entirely different for you in different stages and areas of life. It could be something as simple as taking your medication on time, to learning to say no to someone or something which is not good for you, and setting boundaries. Our goal with this exercise is to cultivate a sense of kindness within our daily life. So what can it look like? It can look like asking for help when you are overwhelmed, or communicating what you are feeling without being judgmental towards yourself. It begins with letting go of some ideas you may have about yourself, and ends with being kinder to yourself every day without fail.

I would like to mention that self compassion doesn’t mean selfishness. It simply means to care about yourself just as much as you would care for another loved one. So if you’d like to just take a moment to get comfortable, and begin in the usual way.

With that intention in mind, I just like to make sure you’re sitting comfortably with your eyes open or closed. Just aware of the space around you. Take a moment or two to notice all the different sounds around you. Just letting those sounds come and go. And when you’re ready, starting with some deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. And now just bringing the attention back once again to the body. Noticing how the body feels in a general way. And then just scanning down from head to toe and shifting the attention to the breath. Now remember, if you can’t feel any movement in the body, gently place your hand on the stomach without changing the breath in any way. Following the natural rhythm, allow the body to continue breathing in that same way.

Now, shifting the attention to the idea of warm sunlight on the top of your head, streaming down, bringing with it a sense of peaceful serenity. And as you feel the sunlight, warming your body, just imagine any tension melting away. Now it’s flowing down through the body. Starting at the head, it continues to flow down past the neck, into the chest, through the shoulders into the hands and tips of the fingers. It travels through the abdomen, down the pelvis, into the hips, the legs, and all the way down to the toes. And now, any last bits of tension are melting away, leaving behind a calming sense of peace. As the chatter in the mind quiets down, let the mind do whatever it wants.

And now, bringing the attention back to the body. You are now starting to become more aware of the posture and weight of the body. starting to notice the sounds, smells, and beautiful space around you. And as you pause to notice how you feel, making sure that you’re not immediately analyzing or judging the experience. Just let the mind rest. Don’t fret over small details. Remember, this is a process.

Our goal is to achieve a greater sense of being. And this happens over time. As we continue engaging with the mind, we start to rediscover this feeling of ease of kindness of the patients of mind. So you may ask, how would you know you are experiencing self compassion. In essence, it’s a rather gentle feeling, constantly changing. So gentle, that you might not even experience it very intensely. But it will be there. For now. You just need to give yourself permission to feel the gentle feeling by letting go of any ideas and thoughts that stop you from being Kinder towards yourself.

And remember, the more often you can just remind yourself of this exercise. Even taking a few minutes throughout the day to do it, the more familiar it will feel and the more natural it will feel to practice ideas of mindfulness, awareness and self compassion. That’s it for today. I look forward to seeing you back here tomorrow. And we will continue our journey.

You just need to give yourself permission to feel the gentle feeling by letting go of any ideas and thoughts that stop you from being Kinder towards yourself.

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