Be Kind to Yourself Too!

Integrating loving-kindness into your everyday life can provide quick results that benefit yourself, and others.
It's often easier to extend a helping hand or a thoughtful word to a friend or even a complete stranger, but what goes on in your head? What recurring thoughts do you have that you don't want and how can you get rid of them?

Loving-kindness directed to friends, family, yourself, and even strangers fosters self-care and improves connections while extinguishing doubts, anxieties, and even anger.

You can learn to express loving/kind thoughts and actions but it is also important to permit yourself to receive love/kindness in return.

A new perspective
This open-hearted way of living permeates all aspects of your life and interactions with the world around you; from what you eat, from your loving respect of animals, to caring about the environment, and embracing non-violence.

When you interact with another person, or even a group, your intention will show via your thoughts through the language that you choose to use, to your tone of voice. Building and living your life upon the strong foundation of love and kindness provides a steady stepping-stone to increase your well-being, happiness, and self-compassion.

When you catch yourself in the throes of another self-depricating thought, replace it with one or all of the following affirmations instead.

Meditation
The following meditation helps to bring positive changes to the area of your heart and can be repeated as often as you wish throughout the day.

When seated in your meditation pose you can focus on the phrases by repeating them.

If concentration is challenging, you may like to try repeating them when walking and synchronize them with each step that you take.

In addition, one or more of the phrases can be written down and placed where you can see them often.

With continued use, you clear away the clutter of thoughts and emotions that you do not want and act instead from a clear place of kindness that was within you all along.

May I be safe

May I be happy

May I be well

May I be at peace