Jun 20
I awake feeling under the weather. Today is not the day for pushing myself, or ignoring my needs. I start the day extra-slow, permission to go easy on myself. My chosen practice is self-kindness, so it doesn't have to look like my usual morning meditation.
The practices of mindfulness and self-kindness enable me to find a different response to experiences of shame. It's a very individual (and messy!) process, but if it's helpful, here's what un-shaming looks like for me.
Discovering self-kindness can enable us to cope better with difficult feelings like anxiety, sadness or shame. But how do we start to build this practice? This month I’m offering a 4-week plan to get you started.
I think our desire for instant success (understandable as it is) can make it harder to access the powerful benefits of self-kindness meditation. I wanted self-kindness to make difficult feelings like anxiety and shame go away. And fast. But it's interesting that the things that have helped me the most have taken longer to take effect than other things that have helped to a lesser degree.
Mindfulness doesn't remove discomfort so that we're 'fixed' and never feel it again. In this human life, we're going to keep on experiencing the unpleasant, the difficult and the challenging - alongside what's beautiful, moving and enjoyable.
