"The root of compassion is compassion for ones self." -Pema Chodron
* Recall being with someone who really loves you--the feeling of receiving caring activates the deep attachment system circuitry in your brain, priming it to give compassion.
*Bring to mind someone you naturally feel compassion for, such as a child or person you love-- this easy flow of compassion arouses its neural underpinnings (including Oxycontin, the insula [which senses the internal state of your body] , and the PFC), "warming them up" for self compassion.
*Extend this same compassion to yourself-- be aware of your own suffering and extend concern and good wishes toward yourself; sense compassion sifting down into raw places inside, falling like a gentle rain that touches everything. The actions related to feeling strengthen it (Niedenthal 2007), so place your palm on your cheek our heart with the tenderness and warmth you'd give a hurt child. Say phrases in your mind such as "May i be happy again. May the pain of this moment pass."
*Overall, open to the sense that you are receiving compassion--deep down in your brain, the actual source of good feelings doesn't matter much; whether the compassion is from you or from another person, let your sense of being soothed and cared for sink in.
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