While we know that loved ones seem worthy of our compassion, we do not always reflect that people we do not know are just as worthy. Month Seven helps us widen the sphere of our compassion. In this guided meditation, building on Month Four and Month Five, we learn that it is possible to develop compassion for people that we do not necessarily know well.

Seven Month Compassion Series

Month Seven: Compassion for a loved one and an acquaintance

A guided meditation, building on Month Five, that takes us through a process of 'exchange', enhancing our compassion by imagining ourselves in the shoes of someone else. If following the series, practice Month Six 4-5 days per week, occasionally (as needed) practicing Month Three:Transforming Difficulty into Compassion.

Month Six: Enhancing our compassion by imagining ourselves in the shoes of someone else

A guided meditation that takes the suffering of a loved one as the basis for developing love and compassion. Lama Willa leads her students gradually through the process of connecting to and communing with a dear one, and then through the stages of practicing skylike-tonglen. This practice teaches us that we can actually 'grow' mature compassion by stages. We can become warmer and more compassionate people through the process of contemplation. If following the series, practice Month Five 4-5 days per week, occasionally (as needed) practicing Month Three.

Month Five: Suffering of a Loved One as the Basis

>This is called the "Letting Go" meditation. The "Letting Go" meditation is a practice of learning the skill of releasing the "stickiness" around thought, and learning that it is possible to let go of anything that is passing through the mind. Instead of following trains of thought, we let go of whatever arises in the mind, allowing it to self-dissolve. This practice enhances the final step of Compassion Practice, the step of "release." If following the series, alternate Compassion3 and Compassion4 for the duration of this month. Compassion4 keeps us from reifying our difficulties, and teaches us that letting go is a choice that we can always make.

Month Four: Letting Go Meditation

>In this meditation, building on Month Two: Leaning in to Life Challenges while Communing, we begin to imagine our body and mind as the crucible for transforming difficulty into compassion. Using the breath, we imagine breathing in "the difficult" and dissolving it into a sky visualized at the heart. This is a form of tong len developed by Lama Willa for her students called "skylike tong len." This practice helps us discover that we are fully able to "bear" suffering and even transform it into compassion and joy, over time. If following the series, try practicing this meditation three times a week, for the next four weeks, and working with the meditation off the cushion also.

Month Three: Transforming Difficulty into Compassion

In this meditation, building on Month One, we meditate on the fact that we are not alone in our difficulties. We are always in community. Lama Willa leads her students through the process of "communing" with others, using our own immediate state as a basis. This practice helps us develop greater connection to others when we are facing difficulties. If following the series, try practicing this meditation three times a week, for the next 4 weeks, and working with the meditation off the cushion also.

Month Two: Leaning in to Life Challenges while Communing

A guided meditation that takes your own immediate challenges in life as a basis for developing love and compassion. Lama Willa leads her students gradually through the process of "leaning in" to what is difficult, as a basis for self-compassion. This practice helps us develop greater resilience in the face of strong emotions and difficulties. If following the series, try practicing this meditation once a week for the next four weeks, and working with this meditation off the cushion as well.

Month One: Leaning in to Life Challenges

Lama Willa Miller, teacher of Natural Dharma Fellowship, shares a series of compassion meditations from the Tibetan tradition, recorded in the summer of 2012.

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Seven Month Compassion Series

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