Welcome. This meditation supports the Stage Three task of connecting to others and seeing their humanity through their needs. On this task, you are challenged to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, imagine their needs, and find a way to help. This is a simple enough task to do for people that you love, but it’s much harder to think this way about people that you do not like at all. This meditation will support the challenge of thinking about the needs of people you don’t like, so that you can see their humanity, and progress to Stage Four, as well as set a foundation for later stages.
Posture
Take a moment to get comfortable. You can sit or stand or lay down. It’s doesn’t matter. You can close your eyes or keep them open. Do what works for you. For this exercise, we must understand that needs include a lot of things: food, clothing, shelter, love, connection, acceptance, self-worth, new skills, friendship, feeling like you are doing a good job, and more. Keep these in mind.
Presence
Take a slow deep breath. Let it out like a sigh of relief. Be at peace. You are here now. Take another slow deep breath, and this time, send it out slowly, consciously, with purpose, all the way. Be at peace. You are here now. Pause and repeat these breaths until you feel relaxed and at peace.
Journey
We begin in the head. Place your attention there. We will start with an easy one. Think of someone you care about deeply. The first person to come to mind. What is their current situation? Consider it for a moment and imagine what it is like to go through their day. What do they worry about? What is hard for them? Take a moment to walk through their day as them.
If you were them, what would you need?
Could you provide that in some way? Maybe even just a phone call or a nice note? Or something more?
How would that make you feel to help them in that way? Let’s take this out from there now. Think of someone you know, but only a little. Maybe a work colleague that you don’t see that often. Someone you are largely detached from, but are aware they might have challenges.
Move your attention, and the thought of them, down to your heart. Imagine you are them. Ask your heart… what do they need? Take a moment to imagine their needs.
You are seeing their humanity. We all have needs. We all have challenges. Send them good thoughts, in hope that their needs will be met, and their challenges made easier. Holding their image in your heart, think to yourself, “I hope your needs are met and that your challenges become easier.”
When you thought those good wishes, you may have noticed energy moving in your heart. Focus on that feeling for a moment.
When you are ready, let’s take on a bigger challenge for ourselves. Stay with the heart. Imagine now someone whom you do not like at all. It can be someone you know personally, or a public figure. Choose one person. Remain detached… remote… imagine a day in their life. Walk through their day and look for the challenges. What is it like to live their life? What challenges do they have?
If it was you… what would you need in that situation? What would you wish for?
You are seeing their humanity. We all have needs. We all have challenges. Send them good thoughts, in hope that their needs will be met, and their challenges made easier. Holding their image in your heart, think to yourself, “I hope your needs are met and that your challenges become easier.”
Focus again on the heart. You are feeling compassion. You are seeing the humanity in others through the lens of their needs, and you are wishing good things for them.
You may also feel a little superior as you may think that compassion is beyond the person that you don’t like. Back slowly away from your judgement and any notion of better-than. You have challenges too. We are all equally human. We are equally fallible. Have now compassion for yourself in learning to have compassion for others. Send now love to yourself on your own path. Smile at your own humanity coming out in this exercise.
Return
When you are ready, bring your awareness back to your surroundings. Notice how you feel. Take this feeling with you and return to it anytime you like. Practice seeing the humanity of everyone you meet by imagining their challenges and needs. And, in this way, see your own as well.
