Feb 6, 2023
Tonglen is a practice developed in Tibetan Buddhism for cultivating compassion. As the 7-minute supplemental audio explains it is also the basis for the Receiving and Giving Compassion practice offering our Mindful Self-Compassion classes. In some ways Tonglen is more...
Dec 30, 2022
One of the things I so appreciate about training in mindfulness and self-compassion is how it helps bring things to light for me. Mindfulness has the potential to help me notice and understand what my mind is up to. Self-compassion can help me meet my suffering with...
Nov 5, 2022
This month I’m excited to share how another huge support for us in times of stress and distress is compassion. The practices featured in our Mindful Self-Compassion program complement and support mindfulness practices to bring additional healing, understanding,...
Sep 28, 2022
16 Science-Based Reasons to Try Loving-Kindness Meditation By Emma Seppälä | October 1, 2014, Mindful Magazine Many of us have heard of meditation’s benefits. We may have even tried meditation once or twice. And many of us will have found it hard and concluded that...
Sep 28, 2022
Loving-Kindness Meditation by Tim Burnett, 2018 Recent research suggests that the mind is “primed” to be more loving, kind, and compassionate but that our educational systems and culture don’t give us many opportunities to develop this. Our culture tends to view...
Sep 28, 2022
Maintaining a daily practice – a few suggestions Question subjective experience in meditation Recognize that the mind desires pleasant experience. Don’t assume that difficult or unpleasant conditions during meditation mean it “isn’t working.” Meet “what...
Aug 1, 2022
If you’ve completed a Mindfulness Northwest multi-week course or attended a meditation retreat, you have likely practiced walking meditation. It is a foundational meditation practice, but at first glance, might be viewed as simply a break from sitting....
Jun 4, 2022
Photo by Sonia Lynne Sia How comfortable are you with changes to a usual routine? For instance, our childhood caregivers likely taught us to wash our hands before eating or to remove our shoes before entering a house. Maybe at school our teachers encouraged us...
Feb 23, 2022
Soften, Soothe, Allow is a practice for working with difficult emotions arising from life’s challenges. In this practice from our Mindful Self-Compassion program you’ll bring to mind a life challenge and explore the emotions that arise around it and how to use a...
Sep 28, 2021
This core meditation for our Mindful Self-Compassion program connects compassion practice with a feeling of equanimity. Loosely based on the Tibetan Buddhist Tonglen meditation, Giving and Receiving Compassion involves inviting the feeling of receiving all that you...
Sep 28, 2021
The practice of Affectionate Breathing is a core Mindful Self-Compassion practice. This practice "warms up" the core mindfulness practice Awareness of Breathing by bringing elements of self-kindness and inviting a feeling of being nurtured by the breath. Affectionate...
Sep 16, 2021
The Self-Compassion Break is a core part of our Mindful Self-Compassion program. It helps you to understand the benefits of Mindful Self-Compassion as you apply the three aspects of MSC to a problem you're facing. In the Self-Compassion Break you explore (1) mindful...