Every day it seems to become more apparent to me how deeply healing a practice of self-compassion is. During the difficult moments in life at times it seems as if we’re wired to have a neural reaction of kicking ourselves while we’re down. The result? We stay down with a greater feeling of unworthiness, more hurt, bigger wounds and a bleeding heart. Life is harder from this place and makes us more prone toward stress, anxiety, depression, and addictive behaviors.

Self-compassion is a 180° shift when we understand that we’re wounded and extend ourselves in some way toward self-care.

Here’s a picture with a quote that speaks to this:

I want to give you a simple self-compassion practice today, but first do the best you can to set any judgments and expectations aside and allow your experience to be your teacher.

• Practice right now, nestling your hand into your heart until it finds a comfortable fit.
• Take a few deep breaths into your heart area.
• Just feel the warm connection for a few breaths and let it be.

As you practice this, you’re priming your mind to be more aware of your heart where compassion lies and therefore your brain is more likely to access it during the difficult moments.

What would the days, weeks and months ahead look like if you added more self-compassion into your life?

As always, please share your thoughts, stories and questions below. Your interaction creates a living wisdom for us all to benefit from.

Source: The Now Effect: How a Mindful Moment Can Change the Rest of Your Life

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Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. is author of The Now Effect, co-author of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Mindfulness Meditations for the Anxious Traveler: Quick Exercises to Calm Your Mind, the Mindful Solutions audio series, and the Mindfulness at Work™ program currently being adopted in multiple multinational corporations. Join The Now Effect Community for free Daily Now Moments, Weekly Updates and tips and free access to a Live Monthly Online Event with Elisha Goldstein, PhD. He is a clinical psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles.

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    Last reviewed: 25 Oct 2012