Make Friends with Yourself

(waves breaking) Now that we found our heart centers, the next skill is to make friends with ourself. So snuggle in, find your seat. Big, deliberate inhale. Exhale, let it happen. Soft belly.

Let your elbows be heavy. Easy back of the heart, and let your skull find her balance point. Next step, let your attention find your heart center. And as we explored in the last episode, maybe that's your physical heart, your spiritual heart, or your true heart. Feel the movement of your breath in this region.

And from here with as much heartfelt feeling as is possible, we begin to practice wishing ourselves well. And one of the suggestions is to start to tenderly offer the mantra on the exhale of may I be well and happy. So gently feel the inhale at the center of your heart, and on the exhale maybe you hear the words may I be well, may I be happy. Maybe you want to actually say them out loud. So the mantra's riding the breath.

So as you inhale, it's quiet, and on the exhale, may I be well, may I be happy. Inhale, and as you exhale say or mentally hear may I be well, may I be happy. And the exact wish is tweakable, so you might find yourself more inclined towards may I be happy and free. May I be happy and peaceful. The exact translation of the genuine wish for your well being can be refined.

But the real skill here is to hold your attention on yourself, and as truly as you possibly can, with as much heartfelt sincerity, can we practice wishing ourselves well. Resistance is natural. Disagreement is natural. Let the mantra help carry you. Let the mantra help focus you.

Continue like this. We need to be friends with ourselves on this path. We really can't wish another well without the ability to wish ourselves well. Really you might trail off. Just let yourself come back to the heart and the genuine wish.

Yes. Beautiful, last few moments. After your next mantra, relax for a few beats. Soft in the belly, soft in the heart. And just rest in the effects of this tiny, little practice.

This is your homework for the day. So often the temptation is to be cruel to ourselves, to beat ourselves up for the simplest, tiniest things. So when you catch yourself beating yourself up unnecessarily. May I be well, may I be happy. May I be happy, may I be free.

See how it goes. Thank you.