Compassion Archive

Self-Esteem vs. Self-Compassion: Understanding the Difference

Explore self-compassion as a nurturing approach to self-worth, distinct from self-esteem’s evaluative nature, and see how to practice inner kindness.

Kindness Meditation Script for Your Thinking Mind

Be kind to your mind with this kindness meditation script. Download this script to use when working with others or in your personal practice.

A Loving Body Scan Self-Compassion Meditation Script

Practice letting go of self-judgment and offering your body kindness with this self-compassion body scan. A self-compassion meditation script PDF for you or to share with others.

A Compassion Meditation for Emotions

Learn how to bring care and kindness to all of your emotions with this compassion meditation for emotions. Download now for personal or professional use.

The Blanket of Love: A Self Love Meditation Script

Wrap yourself in The Blanket of Love, a self love meditation script to support self-compassion. Use this practice for yourself or to guide others.

An Intention Meditation Script for Self-Compassion

Deepen your heartfelt intention for self-kindness using this intention meditation script. Download today for personal or professional use.

A Meditation For Self-Care And Caring For Others

In this guided meditation for self-care, we pause to wish ourselves well, and then send these same wishes to others. We learn that by giving, we receive.

A Breathing Self-Compassion Meditation Script

This guided meditation script combines breath awareness with compassion for the self. Use it to help yourself or someone else cultivate self-compassion.

• Dr. Gabor Mate

Self-Compassion Guide for Mindfulness Teachers

Feel more self-compassion as a mindfulness teacher by using insights from Dr. Gabor Maté’s compassionate inquiry.

Mindful Compassion: Living with Fullness, Connection, and Awareness

Can we live with compassion without practicing mindfulness? Do both need to exist to lead an engaged and present life?

Identifying Self-Judgment and Bringing in Self-Compassion

This meditation is to support us in identifying our self-judgment and then bringing self-compassion to meet it.

Directional Compassion

This meditation is a gentle reminder that even if we are physically alone or feel like we are the only one to face this challenge, we are never truly alone. Our experience is common to all of humanity.

Self-Compassion Pause

Let’s take a moment to pause – to tune into our experience with presence, curiosity, and self-compassion.

Compassion for the Whole Body

Hello, and welcome to this gentle guided meditation practice that will invite you to cultivate compassion for your whole body.

Meditation with a Pet

Meditation with a Pet. This isn’t a formal meditation, but more of an experience that can be done in the company of a pet, familiar with you.

Loving Kindness Meditation Script

Loving Kindness Meditation Script. Motivate the mind “To be kinder, both to myself and others.” Or, “to accept myself as I am, and life as it is.”

Loving Kindness – The Child

Loving Kindness – The Child. Children and babies have an extraordinary way of bringing us into the present moment – that’s where they dwell!

Sleep Meditation – Compassion for Friend

Sleep meditation – Compassion for Friend. Today, bring to mind someone from your life who you care about and you know that there’s difficulty.

Sleep Meditation – Compassion for Friend and Self

Sleep Meditation – Compassion for Friend and Self. Today, we’ll expand and move our compassion outward onto a broader range.

Mindfulness Body Scan for Self Compassion

Mindfulness body scan for self compassion. The intent is to send words of loving kindness to our body & deepen acceptance & awareness.

The Mother Meditation Guided Script

The Mother Meditation invites you to consider the possibility that you have lived countless past lives, and that in each of them you had a mother.

Cultivating a Stable Mind

Cultivating a Stable Mind. With equanimity practice, you cultivate a state of mind that is both grounded and flexible, esp in the midst of intense emotional experiences.

Forgiveness Meditation

Meditation Script Forgiveness Meditation. It may seem daunting to forgive people, and instances of your past that hurt you. But its actually very easy.

Intention to be Happy

Intention to be Happy. The practice of Metta, or loving-kindness, can help you respond to your own mind with friendliness. With a caring and gentle heart.

Making Room for Pain or Discomfort

Making Room for Pain or Discomfort. You tense the body when struggling, trying to get rid of the unpleasantness. Instead, you can make room for the pain.

Recognition and Care for Those Who Frustrate You

A Meditation Script: Recognition and Care for Those Who Frustrate You. You can open the heart and train it to respond with care for those who frustrate you.

Reduce Envy And Celebrate Others

Reduce envy and celebrate others. This guided script is a celebration of loving-kindness. It wishes the abundance of goodness and love for all beings.

8 Meditation Scripts for Stress

8 Mindfulness Exercises for Love and Compassion. Where we come into greater resonance with this powerful force of love that rests at the core of each of us.

Mindful Media

Mindful Media. Media is a major stressor. This script (that reads like an exercise) helps its readers and listeners to engage more consciously with media.

8 Mindfulness Exercises for Love and Compassion

8 Mindfulness Exercises for Love and Compassion. Where we come into greater resonance with this force of love that rests at the core of each of us.

Free Self-Compassion Exercises

There’s nothing wrong with taking care of yourself in time of suffering. Prioritize self-compassion through mindfulness exercises for your well-being.

Don’t Push

Don't Push is a book by Ajahn Amaro, the second in his series of four on the brahma-vihāras. It looks at karuṇā, compassion, through compulsive helping, numbness, and the Buddha's teaching on caring in action.

• Sharon Salzberg

Street Lovingkindness

Street Lovingkindness. A short, thought-provoking video from Sharon Salzberg on bringing lovingkindness to the stress of standing in line.

Self Compassion Break Worksheet

Practicing self-compassion is important to achieving greater clarity, compassion, & mindfulness in our lives. Try this free mindfulness exercise worksheet.

Jon Kabat-Zinn: Compassion And Mindfulness

Jon Kabat-Zinn explains why compassion and mindfulness go hand in hand, in a talk hosted by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.

Tonglen

Feeling stuck, cold, alienated, loveless, or alone? Open up yourself to love and connection with others by practicing this mindfulness exercise on Tonglen.

Letter of Self-Compassion

A free writing exercise for self-compassion: you write yourself a letter of care from the point of view of someone who loves you, or from your own wise elder.

Dear Future Generations: Sorry [Video]

Prince Ea’s video “Dear Future Generations: Sorry” is an apology letter to future generations about climate change and the planet we are leaving them.

Seeing Goodness in Others

Seeing the goodness in someone can improve your interactions and relationship with that person, and also bring out the best in him or her. Namaste!

Loving-Kindness Affirmations

A free loving-kindness worksheet with forgiveness, self-love and compassion affirmations. It begins with kindness toward yourself, then extends it to others.

Guided Heart Meditation: Metta [Audio]

Guided Heart Meditation: Metta. This is a journey that you start when you’re inside yourself, and also this journey will continue within yourself.

Meeting Mindfulness with Kindness

A mindfulness worksheet for meeting a wandering mind with kindness: a ten-minute breath practice with a warm smile and the words I am here. I am enough.

What Can We Learn Through Betrayal?

Eckhart Tolle explores what betrayal can teach us and cautions against identifying with the story the mind builds around it.

Guided Loving Kindness Meditation [Audio]

Guided loving-kindness (metta) meditation audio, with background on meditation teacher Pat Coffey.

Awakening the Heart ~ by Thich Nhat Hanh [Video]

In this video on awakening the heart, Thich Nhat Hanh describes mindfulness as the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment, and the practice of touching life deeply in daily life.

• Joseph Goldstein

Guided Metta Meditation with Joseph Goldstein [Video]

Short introductory dharma talk on Metta followed by a guided meditation with Buddhist teacher Joseph Goldstein. Some Q&A with the teacher at the end.

Simple Kindness

Simple Kindness is a free ebook by Ajahn Candasiri, published by Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. Read it here or download the PDF; the opening talk on the Four Noble Truths follows.

• Kristin Neff

How To Be Self-Compassionate

Kristin Neff: Overcoming objections to self-compassion considers–and rebuts–some of the main objections to treating yourself with kindness. Published on Oct 16, 2014 Kristin Neff, a pioneering researcher and teacher of self-compassion and co-founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, considers–and rebuts–some of the main objections to treating yourself with kindness. For another article on self-compassion, please visit our friends […]

Loving Kindness for Our Benefactor [Audio]

Loving kindness is an essential aspect of the spiritual path. Read this Guided Loving Kindness Meditation for our Benefactor, by Anushka Fernandopulle Guided Loving Kindness Meditation for our Benefactor, by Anushka Fernandopulle: Meta-practice, we’ll start with what’s easiest. And even where it seems to be easiest, sometimes it’s not easiest. So then, we’ll throw in […]

• Bonnie Duran

Guided Compassion Meditation [Audio]

Listen to this Guided Compassion Meditation. The right intention is knowing what’s in our mind and applying the right approach to whatever is in the mind. Guided Compassion Meditation by Bonnie Duran: So, we know that compassion is one of four Brahma Vihara’s. It’s a very wholesome and important mental quality. It’s actually one of the […]

Building Empathy

This mindfulness worksheet outlines a simple practice that can help us feel greater empathy for anyone we meet.

Food for the Heart

Enter your name and email address to download this ebook. Here Is Your Free Ebook: j Detachment Within Activity Given at Wat Pah Pong during the rains retreat, 1977. Take a look at the example of the Buddha. Both in his own practice and in his methods for teaching the disciples he was exemplary. The […]

Knowing the Consequences of Your Behavior

With mindfulness exercises, you can know the consequences of your behavior. The way we conduct ourselves will always shift our inner posture, changing the way we interact with the world around us.

Cultivating a Quality or Virtue

Cultivating a Quality or Virtue: a free mindfulness worksheet to download as a PDF and work through at your own pace.