CHAPTER 10: CULTIVATING SELF-COMPASSION
The good news is that we can strengthen our compassionate mind via imagining practices that are designed to cultivate feelings that help to soothe and calm us and the qualities that will help us to tolerate and cope with stress, suffering and all our busyness. Do not worry if you do not notice anything happening to begin with – it can take time and practice, just like all the exercises in this book. Have a go at practising this some more now.
Practice 10.6: I haven’t got time for this! Compassion for you ▸ Find a quiet space where you are unlikely to be disturbed. ▸ Begin slowly to engage in soothing rhythm breathing. ▸ If, at any point during the exercise, you find your mind wanders, sim-
ply allow space for this distraction and then, with the next out breath, bring your focus gently back. ▸ Bring your attention to your posture. Notice the strength in your body as it is grounded to the floor beneath it. ▸ Create a half smile to signify warmth and kindness. ▸ Begin to imagine a time when someone was very supportive of you. They were non-judgemental, they listened to you, cared about you and wanted to help you. ▸ Recall where you were at this time and what was happening around you. Look around your image and notice what you can see. Notice, too, what you can hear. ▸ See if you can really hear what this person said to you. Particularly notice the tone of their voice and the words they say to convey that they cared about you and understood what you were going through. ▸ Recall their body language and whether they did anything else to express compassion towards you. ▸ Acknowledge what emotions this person had for you. Notice how you feel in response to this. Acknowledge what it feels like in your own body for them to express these emotions towards you. See if you can 151
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