Week 1
Below you will find the video lecture for Week 1. In this lecture, you will learn about compassion and self-compassion: what they are and what they are not. There are two assignments for this week, and they are outlined below. Links to guided meditation practices for this week as well as the workbook are available below.
Assignment 1. Introspection
Observe yourself in everyday life and detect instances of self-compassion or lack of it. Note what you observe in this journal.
Pay attention to how you protect yourself, do you push yourself too much, how many times you allow others to breach your boundaries, how often you speak your mind, what do you do when you pick/pull to alleviate your suffering and take care of the damage you created, what’s your self-talk like, etc.
Assignment 2. Meditation practice
Practice meditation at least once per day. If you want to challenge yourself, do it twice! Record your impressions in the workbook after every sitting.
Two short meditations are provided for the first week, so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. We will move on to more complex practices next week. You can either start with a “standard” breathing meditation or an introductory practice called Owning Your Worth. Each meditation is about 5 minutes long.