Good morning. I’m very excited to share this practice with you because it’s an example of how this compassion practice becomes an exercise in writing and grammar, thus temporarily drawing the focus away from the main objective, to build compassion, and breaking the hypnotic feel the practice can get once it feels so repetitive that the words start to lose their meaning. We will dive deeply into how to work with the practice in this way over many sessions, but for now, here is what I’ve been working on for the past week or so:
I practice compassion for that presence that I feel
With compassion, I free that presence from suffering
With compassion, I help that presence find peace and feel safe in this world
With compassion, I create contentment in the place where I connect with that presence
With compassion, I inspire that presence to flourish
With patience and good humour, I welcome the imperfections of that presence
With sympathy, I feel for the suffering that’s felt in the place where I observe that presence
With empathy, I mind what that presence is feeling and try to understand why
For that presence that I feel, I seek wisdom
I nurture a broad perspective
I foster gratefulness
And I acknowledge that suffering and difficulties are part of what’s felt in the place where I connect with that presence
Down the road, I’ll explain more about the thinking behind my invention of this practice. What’s important to see now is that certain parts of the base practice are open to modification, while others are meant to stay static. What changes and what doesn’t is something I’ve decided on through years of experimentation. These are not rules set in stone, but when working with and re-writing the practice, it’s important to find balance between consistency in how the practice lives in our minds and small evolutions that re-engages our thinking and emotions. Thank you for practicing with me today and in the coming sessions😄
Photo by Shiyu Zhang
