Discover Self-Compassion with the Loving Kindness Meditation
with this mindful meditation and journal practice
“Remember that if you really want to motivate yourself, love is more powerful than fear.”
― Kristin Neff, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Something I hear often when I mention self-care is “I don’t know how to care for myself” with an underlying, unsaid “I don’t deserve it” or the stickiest limiting thought, “I’m not good enough”.
How often do you think, “I’m not good enough”? As you start the process of creating new beliefs for yourself (how about, “It’s possible I’m good enough” for a start??) engaging in mindful self-compassion practices will help you along the way.
One of my favourite meditation practices is the Loving Kindness meditation. There are many versions of this meditation, and I’ve got one here for you to try.
As we go through the meditation, you’ll be invited to say the following words to yourself, first towards yourself, then towards someone/something you love, someone you feel neutral towards, someone you find challenging, and finally to all sentient beings in the world.
May I (he/she, they, all) be safe and protected from all harm
May I (he/she, they all) be free from emotional and physical pain and suffering
May I (he/she, they, all)be truly happy and deeply peaceful
May I (he/she, they all) live with ease and joy all of my days
You can listen to the meditation here:
Once you’ve finished the meditation, I invite you to get out your journal and explore one or more of the following:
What are 3 things you’re grateful for right now?
What does kindness mean to you? Is it different for others than it is for you?
What is the kindest thing you can do for yourself? For others?
Write down at least 10 ways you can be kinder to yourself.
Write down at least 10 things you love about yourself.
In what area of your life do you want to grow and change? How can you support yourself in creating that change?
I encourage you to practice loving kindness towards yourself regularly. Once you’ve written that list of ways you can be kinder to yourself and things that you love about yourself, you can come back to those lists on the days you need them.
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I’d love to hear from you so please send any comments or questions to me at sharon@sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com. Feel free to share this email with anyone else who may be interested.
Please check out The Journey Within podcast at:
What is stopping you from living your best life? Get out your journal and a pen and take the new quiz on my website to find out:
Are you interested in learning more about life change & mindset coaching from a mind/body perspective? Please email me at sharon@sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com for more information or to schedule a free introductory consultation to see if coaching is right for you. You can also visit my website coaching page.
"I felt at complete ease with Sharon from our first conversation. She has a wonderful, gentle but firm way that made me focus on my thoughts / feelings so I could remove / change to move forward with a completely different feeling to what felt like obstacles. It was great having regular coaching that gently kept me accountable to actioning and moving towards my goals. Sharon has vast experience in so many areas, I felt that makes her an amazing coach.”
— Michelle Carney, East Galway, Ireland
You can access your free Find Your Inner Coach Guide including a guided visualization and journal prompts here:
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