Visualization for compassion towards the self
You are sitting outside in front of a fire on a chilly night. The small fire is the only light that you can see. You are relaxed as you listen to the sound of the wood being consumed by the flames, and you close your eyes, enjoying the warmth.
As the heat seeps into your body you experience a strange shift. Your perspective changes and you now see yourself as the flame sees you… Another human sitting next to me and absorbing my warmth. I see that this one is neither a saint nor a villain, but as humans tend to do, it gives far more weight to its perceived faults than it does to its strengths. They are a bit odd, these humans, but I’m glad this one is sitting here with me. What a lovely night!
Your perspective shifts once more, and you are yourself again.
You consider what you saw from the point of view of the fire and look at yourself and the choices you’ve made from a now softer perspective. You have made mistakes but you concede that you were always doing the best you could with what you knew at the time.
You take a deep breath and with your eyes still closed, you focus on your skin being warmed by the fire. Starting at your face, you imagine that everywhere you focus, your own energy flows out from the centre of your Being and into that part of your body. And now your energy rather than being the cool, harsh energy of judgement or criticism, is nothing but the loving, warm energy of compassion and understanding.
Your attention starts at your face and slowly moves down the front of your body. Everywhere it goes, your cells soak in the energy until the entire front of your body is humming from both the heat of the fire and your own loving energy.
Now your attention turns to the back of your body as you once again start at your head and move down, pouring compassion, love, and kindness into every area of your body, until the back of your body feels just as warm as the front.
Stay with this feeling as long as you like.