Compassion Meditation Techniques

Meditating on compassion is a great way to build your compassion for others and improve your relationships with others. Compassion is an emotion that allows you to identify with the feelings and struggles of others. Being compassionate in your interactions with others will typically breed a positive atmosphere that will be more productive for everyone involved.

Location

• When attempting to meditate it is best to try to find a quiet relaxing environment. Meditation can be done inside or out as long as there will be no intrusions or interruptions. It is also preferable to have little to no background noise, as all of these things can pull your mind out of the desired state of relaxed focus.

  It is also important to be as comfortable as possible while meditating, so your body will not constantly be complaining about the position it is in. The common visual of a person meditating is sitting cross-legged with a straight back; if this position is not comfortable for you try sitting in a chair or against a wall for support.

Technique

• To begin meditating, first try to relax. A common technique for this is to focus on slowing the breath. Simply being mindful of slowing your breathing or actually counting the length of your inhalations and exhalations both work. You then want to get yourself into a positive state of mind. Envision being filled with light during every inhalation, feeling surrounded by white light, or becoming a bright light yourself. Whatever technique produces the calmest, most positive feeling is the technique you should use. It may take time to get into the right state of mind, so be patient with yourself.

  Once you have achieved the appropriate state of mind, begin to focus your thoughts on compassion. Any relationship or memory you can think of to bring you to that state of mind will work. Some people will think about their kids or pets; others may think of something nice someone did for them. The specifics are not as important as getting yourself to the feeling of compassion.

  When you achieve the feeling of compassion from your train of thought, simply try to sustain that feeling for as long as possible. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the feeling of compassion. The longer you can maintain the feeling, the more familiar you will be with it and able to conjure it in your daily interactions.