1. Mindfulness, self-compassion, suffering and healing
In this clip, Dr. Ruth Buczynski interviews Dr. Christopher Germer
about the relationship between mindfulness, self-compassion,
suffering and healing.
2. Exercise: Visualising a compassionate self
• Think of the most meaningful qualities of a compassionate individual
Some essential qualities:
• Genuine wisdom and maturity
• Strength
• Warmth and kindness
• An aversion to making judgments
• Responsible
• Desire for positive change
3. Exercise: Visualising a compassionate self
Imagine your behavior being informed by these qualities. Imagine you are growing in wisdom and maturity. Sit
quietly while concentrating on your breath. Once sufficiently relaxed or calm, imagine yourself as a supremely
compassionate person. Imagine all of your characteristics, your attitude, and your behavior. To guide your
imagination, try focusing on a few specific facets of compassion:
• You are calm and wise
• You are sensitive
• You are capable of tolerating and thriving even in times of hardship
• You are warm and kind
• You enjoy being helpful and you want to relieve suffering
Use your posture and facial expression to reflect an attitude of compassion:
• Pay attention to your body
• Feel the warmth and expansion in your body
• Think about how fulfilling it feels to be kind
4. Exercise: Visualising a compassionate self
REVIEWING THE EXERCISE
• What was it like to do this exercise?
• What kind of feelings emerged?
• What could you do to become more like the person you imagined in this exercise? What kind of actions
could you take?
THE GOAL OF THE EXERCISE
• The goal of the exercise is to make the image of a compassionate self more concrete. The exercise can help
you imagine what it feels like to be self-compassionate and live more in line with this notion.
• Note that the point of the exercise is to help you envision and understand what those qualities might look
or feel like instead of identifying what compassionate qualities you possesses or lack. More importantly,
you should realize that you are capable of acting in a compassionate fashion. You may even begin to
understand how compassionate behavior may positively influence the people around you while
encouraging your own personal growth.
5. Homework
• Do the exercise “three-minute breathing space” about three times a day.
• Become aware of the critical voice in your head this week. Whenever you notice this critical voice,
take a moment to notice the tone of this voice. Ask yourself these questions: How do I feel now?
What would a dear friend say to me now? See if you can be gentler towards yourself.
• Do the loving-kindness meditation as much as you can this week. You may combine it with the seated
meditation or body scan. Or you can also opt for a shorter version, in which you keep a few people in
mind and wish for all of them 3 specific things without doing the elaborate meditation.
6. Log Book
Exercise Times performed
Observations or perceptions
during the exercise
Seated meditation / Loving-
Kindness Meditation
Three-minute Breathing Space
Observing the Critical Voice
5.33 minutes
Christopher Germer, PhD is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He is a co-developer of the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, co-author of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, and (forthcoming) Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program and co-editor of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy. Dr. Germer is a founding faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy as well as the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School. He teaches and leads workshops internationally on mindfulness and compassion, and has a private practice in Arlington, Massachusetts, USA specializing in mindfulness and compassion-based psychotherapy.
Invite participants to think of the most meaningful qualities of a compassionate individual. Here are some essential qualities:
Genuine wisdom and maturity
Strength
Warmth and kindness
An aversion to making judgments
Responsible
Desire for positive change
Now instruct the participants to do the following:
Imagine your behavior being informed by these qualities. Imagine you are growing in wisdom and maturity. Sit quietly while concentrating on your breath. Once sufficiently relaxed or calm, imagine yourself as a supremely compassionate person. Imagine all of your characteristics, your attitude, and your behavior. To guide your imagination, try focusing on a few specific facets of compassion:
You are calm and wise
You are sensitive
You are capable of tolerating and thriving even in times of hardship
You are warm and kind
You enjoy being helpful and you want to relieve suffering
Use your posture and facial expression to reflect an attitude of compassion:
Pay attention to your body
Feel the warmth and expansion in your body
Think about how fulfilling it feels to be kind
REVIEWING THE EXERCISE
Ask the participants the following questions:
What was it like to do this exercise?
What kind of feelings emerged?
What could you do to become more like the person you imagined in this exercise? What kind of actions could you take?
EXPLAINING THE GOAL OF THE EXERCISE
The goal of the exercise is to make the image of a compassionate self more concrete. The exercise can help participants imagine what it feels like to be self-compassionate and live more in line with this notion.
Note that the point of the exercise is to help your client envision and understand what those qualities might look or feel like instead of identifying what compassionate qualities the client possesses or lacks. More importantly, participants should realize that they are capable of acting in a compassionate fashion. They may even begin to understand how compassionate behavior may positively influence the people around them while encouraging their own personal growth.
