Giving Yourself Compassion

To celebrate today, the Assumption of Mary, here is a visualization on self-compassion that can be used when finding oneself in a difficult situation. I found this painting in an old church in a remote village in northern Romania on the border of Ukraine. 

Visualization: 

Let's begin by taking a moment to settle our body into a comfortable position.
You may close your eyes or keep them slightly open with a soft focus looking downward a few feet in front of you. 
Allow your spine to lift and your shoulders to soften (2 seconds).
Today we will practice self compassion.
Taking a full breath in (2 seconds) and a long slow breath out (2 seconds).
I invite you to think of a situation in your life right now that's difficult.
Maybe you are feeling a little stressed or you're worried about something happening or perhaps there's tension in one of your relationships.
This practice is only for a few minutes, so choose something that isn't too difficult (2 seconds).
Bring this challenging situation to mind.
What happened or what do you think might happen?

And now that you're holding this in your mind,
I invite you to consider these things (2 seconds).

First, simply acknowledge that this is a difficult situation.
Find language that works for you to label what's happening right now.
Perhaps this is a really tough situation.

Maybe I feel a little afraid about this.​

Just bring mindful awareness to what's happening right now (2 seconds).
Next, acknowledge that difficulty is a part of life.
It's something that you've experienced before and everyone around you has experienced before too (2 seconds).
Remind yourself of our common humanity.
That difficulty is a part of our experience and like everything else, it too will shift (5 seconds).
Finally, I invite you to say to yourself from your mind,
“May I be kind to myself in this moment.” (2 seconds)