Greetings <<First Name>>,
This week we held the intention of holding compassion for yourself. But perhaps it's easier to start with compassion towards someone else in order to develop the ability to lend it back towards yourself.
"Realizing that the other person is also just like me is the basis on which we can develop compassion.” —His Holiness The Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Begin by becoming aware of an individual that you may not know or someone you don't care for. Then silently repeat these phrases while imagining this person:
-This person has a body and mind, just like me
-This person has feelings, emotions, & thoughts, just like me
-This person has experienced physical & emotional pain & suffering, just like me
-This person has at some time been sad, disappointed, angry, or hurt, just like me
-This person has felt unworthy or inadequate, just like me
-This person worries & is frightened sometimes, just like me
-This person will die, just like me
-This person has longed for friendship, just like me
-This person wants to be content with what life has given them, just like me
-This person wishes to be free from pain & suffering, just like me
-This person wishes to be safe & healthy, just like me
-This person wishes to be happy, just like me
-This person wishes to be loved, just like me
Then...
-I wish this person to be free from pain & suffering
-I wish this person to be peaceful & happy
-I wish this person to be loved, because this person is a fellow human being,
Just Like Me
**from the book, Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying, by Mirabai Bush and Ram Dass
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