The Generous Heart: The Gifts of Self-Compassion
“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and
affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as
anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
At the heart of every spiritual tradition, we find the teaching of compassion. Through the gate of compassion, we enter the wider conversation with all life. Compassion binds us with all things through the shared encounter with suffering. But what of self-compassion? Too often our caring is reserved for those outside of ourselves, as though we haven’t earned the right for kindness. We encounter judgments and resistance to gestures of mercy. Yet, every one of us knows loss and defeat, loneliness and failure. We hurt and harm others, are hurt and harmed by others, and often close our hearts to the world, choosing self-protection as a way of life.
Bringing compassion to our suffering is a healing move. It helps us remember “our place in the family of things.” We gradually emerge from the shuttered world of self-scrutiny and make our way back into the fuller embrace of our belonging.
These weekends focus on slowing down and cultivating inner and outer practices that foster self-compassion. By working with the edges of our judgments and the rejected pieces of our interior life, the—"outcast brothers and sisters,”—we recover the vitality that is ours when we touch our suffering with mercy and forgiveness. Utilizing the potent practices of community ritual, singing, poetry, writing, honest words and silence, we work the ground of self-compassion, opening the aperture of our hearts to engage the whole of our existence.
affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as
anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
At the heart of every spiritual tradition, we find the teaching of compassion. Through the gate of compassion, we enter the wider conversation with all life. Compassion binds us with all things through the shared encounter with suffering. But what of self-compassion? Too often our caring is reserved for those outside of ourselves, as though we haven’t earned the right for kindness. We encounter judgments and resistance to gestures of mercy. Yet, every one of us knows loss and defeat, loneliness and failure. We hurt and harm others, are hurt and harmed by others, and often close our hearts to the world, choosing self-protection as a way of life.
Bringing compassion to our suffering is a healing move. It helps us remember “our place in the family of things.” We gradually emerge from the shuttered world of self-scrutiny and make our way back into the fuller embrace of our belonging.
These weekends focus on slowing down and cultivating inner and outer practices that foster self-compassion. By working with the edges of our judgments and the rejected pieces of our interior life, the—"outcast brothers and sisters,”—we recover the vitality that is ours when we touch our suffering with mercy and forgiveness. Utilizing the potent practices of community ritual, singing, poetry, writing, honest words and silence, we work the ground of self-compassion, opening the aperture of our hearts to engage the whole of our existence.