October 23, 2018 Group Meditation Part 1 of 2

This 33-minute mindfulness meditation was given October 23, 2018 by Freeman at the Boundless Love Project’s Group Meditation. After doing this meditation, we suggest you listen to the talk that followed it, Loving Intentions Carry Us to Unconditional Love. This talk is the forth talk in the series, Being Medicine: How to Heal Yourself and the World.

Balancing Compassion Meditation

This meditation is created for activists, reformers, teachers, counselors, therapists, medical professionals, parents, grandparents, helpers, and healers of all kinds. As healers, we face the suffering of others, and this can be challenging for us. Therefore, it is important that we distribute our compassion equally between ourselves and the other.

If we give compassion exclusively to those we help, we will become overwhelmed, fatigued, and burned out. If we give compassion exclusively to ourselves, we become apathetic, cold, and ineffective to those we seek to help.

This balancing compassion meditation is designed to remind us to distribute our compassion equally in a balanced way, to ourselves and to those we help.

Available in Varying Lengths

Start by doing a longer version (29, 31, or 33 minutes long) to get a feel for this meditation. Then feel free to practice with the shorter meditations. We have balancing compassion meditations in the following minute-lengths: 15, 18, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, and 33. You can access them all on our Guided Meditation Page.

Thanks to Dr. Kristin Neff

Our thanks and appreciation goes to Dr. Kristin Neff for teaching this meditation at the Mindful Educators Summit put on by Mindful.org and The Awake Network. Dr. Kristin Neff is the author of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, and Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. Learn more about her research and work at her website self-compassion.org or at the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion’s website Centerformsc.org.

Meditation Script Intro

We provide this script as reference material for students, and as a helpful aid for meditation teachers who would like to use this meditation with their students.

If you are considering using this meditation script to lead others in meditation, we encourage you to have a bare minimum level of experience and competency in meditation that allows you to be very calm, focused, and mindful while leading the meditation.

As for recommended experience, we suggest having one or more years of daily meditation practice and completing one or more 10-day long meditation retreats.

Balancing Compassion Meditation Script – 30 min

We do this practice out of love and compassion for all beings and all life everywhere, including our own.

May we know the peace of accepting the truth of reality as it is.

May we know the security of having our intentions arise from unconditional, boundless love.

May we know the freedom of renunciation which liberates us from greed.

May we know the joy of living skillfully for the benefit and welfare of all beings and all life everywhere.

May all beings and all life everywhere be loving, peaceful, compassionate, and joyful.

Breath Meditation

Peacefully position yourself in a stable, comfortable manner.

Breath in through the nose deep into the belly.

Allow your breaths to be slow, soothing, and effortless.

On the inhale, feel the energy and life in the body.

On the exhale relax and calm the body.

Gently rest all of your awareness on feeling the sensations of breath.

Body Scan

Take a few seconds and compassionately scan your body inviting those areas that are tight or stiff to relax and soften.

Gently and slowly make any adjustments to your head and torso so they are well balanced, and so your back and neck are as relaxed as possible.

Kindly invite your whole body to be relaxed and soft.

Anchor Your Awareness on Your Heart Area

With great kindness, rest your awareness on your heart area, the space in and around your physical heart. Feel all of the sensations in the heart area: the expansion and contraction of the breath, the warmth of the heart, or a soothing spaciousness, nothingness, or ease. Unless otherwise instructed, patiently anchor your awareness on the sensations of the heart area during this meditation.

Letting Go of Clinging to Be Peaceful

During this meditation, let go of the need to do, achieve, or accomplish anything, including the desire to do this meditation correctly.

If any emotions arise during this meditation, gently allow them to arise and pass away without acting them out or trying to interfere with them.

With patience and peace, allow everything to be as it is. Allow everything to unfold as it unfolds.

Choose A Suffering Being You Want to Help

Calmly bring to mind someone you know who is suffering that you either help or want to help. This could be a student, a client, a patient, an animal you are rehabilitating, a friend, a family member, one of your own children or grandchildren, or someone else you know and work with.

Visualize or have a sense of this being in front of you.

With a calm and balanced mind, and an open heart, gently remind yourself of the struggles this being is going through.

Wise Reflections

I am going to say some wise reflections. Kindly repeat them silently to yourself in the presence of your suffering being.

Gently notice whether the mind agrees or disagrees with them, and how they feel in the body when believed.

Everyone is on their own life journey, including you.

I am not the cause of your suffering, and I don’t have the power to make your suffering go away, even though I wish I could.

Suffering is difficult to bear. I will try to help you if I can.

Taking care of my needs, allows me to better care for your needs.

Let those words sink deeply into you.

Once more:

Everyone is on their own life journey, including you.

I am not the cause of your suffering, and I don’t have the power to make your suffering go away, even though I wish I could.

Suffering is difficult to bear. I will try to help you if I can.

Taking care of my needs, allows me to better care for your needs.

Breathing in Self-Compassion

Gently imagine yourself with the suffering being. Calmly focus on feeling your breath, especially all of the sensations of the in-breath.

As you breathe in, imagine breathing in compassion for yourself. Acknowledge that helping this suffering being is hard for you. There is suffering present. Breathe in some kindness, care, and warmth for yourself.

Let a compassionate, one-word blessing ride on your in-breath. This blessing represents something you need: Strength. Patience. Compassion. Support. Wisdom. Or some other quality of your choosing.

Or, if you prefer, imagine breathing in a healing light that is white or golden, or a healing energy that feels peaceful, warm, and kind.

Whatever you do, as you breath in, you breathe in compassion for your own struggle.

Breathing Out Compassion for the Suffering Being

Now switch your focus to the suffering being you want to help.

Imagine that for each out breath you are breathing out compassion for the other. Let a one-word blessing float on your breath representing something they need: Love. Kindness. Health.

Alternately, you can imagine breathing out a healing light that is white or golden, or healing energy that feels peaceful, warm or kind.

Whatever you do, as you breath out, you are bathing them in compassion to help them with their own challenges and difficulties.

Balancing Compassion

Calmly and peacefully we now bring both together. Imagining yourself with the person you care for. As you breath in, breath in compassion for yourself, and as you breath out, breath out compassion for them.

Calmly offer the same blessing, light, or energy to yourself that you offer to them.

Peacefully offer the same blessing, light, or energy to them, that you offer to yourself.

Gently notice the wisdom of offering the same blessing to both of you equally.

Lovingly notice the wisdom of balancing this compassion between the both of you.

Calmly recognize that there is an unlimited supply of compassion available to you. More than enough for you. More than enough for the other being.

Check-In

Gently notice whatever is arising in you. You may be feeling compassion.

You may be feeling the peace of nothing.

You may be feeling anger or frustration. We can’t control what feelings arise, but we can tenderly and compassionately hold whatever is there in our mindful awareness.

May I be open to experiencing how it is right now.

Shared Blessings: Peaceful

Gently visualize or have a sense of the suffering being you have chosen in front of you. Let’s now offer some of the same blessings together.

On the in-breath: May I be peaceful with what I cannot control.

On the out-breath: May you be peaceful with what you cannot control.

May I be peaceful with what I cannot control. May you be peaceful with what you cannot control.

Now just shorten this to “Peaceful”

Peaceful on the in-breath. Peaceful on the out-breath.

Gently notice how this shared blessing for yourself and the other feels in your body.

Gently notice whatever is arising in you and tenderly hold it in your mindful awareness.

Setting an Intention

Calmly now send yourself and your chosen being the blessing of “Wisdom” as word, a light, or an energy.

These one-breath blessings to self and others is a practice you can incorporate into your daily life.

Practice this meditation when you face difficulties and need some compassion. You can offer your blessing to yourself, and then send the blessing outward to all other beings facing a similar challenge as you. This helps connect you with others and lets you know that you are not alone in your suffering.

Try this meditation while watching or reading the news and learning of the latest tragedy. Send a blessing to all of the victims and then to yourself, letting your blessings riding on the wave of your breath.

Try this meditation when someone you care about is suffering, whether they are with you or far away.

Try this meditation when someone around you is lost in ego and acting out.

Gently now, make a resolution to practice this meditation whenever you or someone else needs compassion.

I will try this meditation whenever I, or someone else, needs compassion.

If you find that it is difficult to do this meditation during daily life, or if you want to become more proficient in it, then practice this technique by using the balancing compassion guided meditations at BoundlessLoveProject.org.

By practicing this balancing compassion meditation on your own, you will be better able to use it, and benefit from it, in the world.

Shared Blessing: Strength

Gently now, let’s do another shared blessing to the being of your choosing.

On the in-breath: May I be strong enough to skillfully face my challenges.

On the out-breath: May you be strong enough to skillfully face your challenges.

May I be strong enough to skillfully face my challenges. May you be strong enough to skillfully face your challenges.

Now just shorten this to “strength.”

“Strength” on the in-breath for you. “Strength” on the out-breath for them.

Calmly notice how this shared blessing for yourself and the other feels in your body.

Do you feel courage? A gentle determination? A peaceful resolve?

Gently notice whatever is arising in you and tenderly hold it in your mindful awareness.

If you are not dwelling in one of the states of love, with ease and curiosity, notice what prevents you from resting in your love.

Wise Reflections

Then, once more, let these words of wisdom sink deep into your being. Repeat them silently to yourself in the presence of your suffering being.

Everyone is on their own life journey, including you.

I am not the cause of your suffering, and I don’t have the power to make your suffering go away, even though I wish I could.

Suffering is difficult to bear. I will try to help you if I can.

Taking care of my needs, allows me to better care for your needs.

Calmly notice whatever is arising in you. Hold whatever is arising with compassion, kindness, gentleness, and ease.

Compassion for All Life

Keeping a sense of this being in front of you, let this being represent all beings and all life everywhere.

With a balanced mind, and an open heart, gently reflect on the truth that all beings experience pleasure and pain, and gain and loss. We all suffer. Allow this truth to sink deep into your body and mind.

Realizing this true, breathe in compassion for yourself. Then breath out compassion for all beings and all life.

Offer your compassion as a one-word blessing, light, or energy as you did before.

Sharing the Merits of Our Practice

Continue to let your compassion radiate out from your heart to cover all life throughout the cosmos as we share the merits of our practice.

We share any merits gained from this practice with all beings and all life everywhere.

May all beings and all life everywhere be free from suffering and misery.

May all beings and all life everywhere abide in a deep and lasting peace.

May all beings and all life everywhere know the highest forms of happiness and be at ease.

May all beings and all life everywhere know their deepest essence to be: joy, peace, compassion, and unconditional, boundless love.

May all beings and all life everywhere be liberated, fully liberated, permanently liberated.