7) Other 'on the spot' practices
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- Category: Connect
- Published: Tuesday, 02 March 2021 18:42
- Written by Cherry
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Practices that can be used in times of difficulty and challenge are a useful addition to longer, more formal meditations.
> One such is the 'Self-compassion practice' from Kristin Neff. Kristin distinguishes three components to self-compassion that offer a different route from the usual flight, fright or freeze reactions to stress.They can sometimes be presented in a different order but the main elements are commonly presented as:
1. Mindfulness ... this helps us see more clearly what is happening ... and how we can choose how to react. The words ''This is a moment of suffering" can be silently uttered to acknowledge the pain or difficulty of what is happening right now ... we can notice and hold in awareness what is happening in our bodies and minds right now .. then we move to -
2. Common humanity ... this is the simple realisation that suffering is part of being human .. it helps us against the drift to self-isolation ... we share this suffering with others ..we could say inwardly, "I am not alone in this" ... before moving to -
3. Self-kindness ... we can offer ourselves a moment of kindness ... rather than self-criticism, we can be gentle and kind ... we could offer the words "so may I treat myself with kindness"
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> "Just like me" is another 'on the spot' practice - this time from Kelly McGonigal. On recognising, for example, being with challenging behaviour from another, we could 'come to' and say inwardly something like,
"Just like me, this person wishes to be happy, healthy and free from suffering" ...
This simple phrase, reminding us to take perspective, can help soften us when we're revving into reactivity .. so our physiology can calm down and we can maybe choose a wiser path..
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