{"id":2923,"date":"2020-12-01T23:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-01T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/?post_type=project&p=2923"},"modified":"2026-08-07T18:09:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:09:23","slug":"guided-meditation-connecting-to-others-seeing-their-humanity-through-their-needs","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/project\/guided-meditation-connecting-to-others-seeing-their-humanity-through-their-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"[Guided Meditation] Connecting To Others – Seeing Their Humanity Through Their Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Focus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019t like, so that you can see their humanity, and progress to Stage Four, as well as set a foundation for later stages.\u00a0

Posture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a moment to get comfortable.\u00a0You can sit or stand or lay down. It\u2019s doesn\u2019t 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<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.\u00a0Be at peace. You are here now. Pause and repeat these breaths until you feel relaxed and at peace.\u00a0

Journey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could you provide that in some way? Maybe even just a phone call or a nice note? Or something more?\u00a0

How would that make you feel to help them in that way?
Let\u2019s take this out from there now. Think of someone you know, but only a little. Maybe a work colleague that you don\u2019t see that often. Someone you are largely detached from, but are aware they might have challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.\u00a0

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, \u201cI hope your needs are met and that your challenges become easier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you thought those good wishes, you may have noticed energy moving in your heart. Focus on that feeling for a moment.\u00a0

When you are ready, let\u2019s 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. \u00a0Walk through their day and look for the challenges. What is it like to live their life? What challenges do they have?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it was you… what would you need in that situation? What would you wish for?\u00a0

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, \u201cI hope your needs are met and that your challenges become easier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.\u00a0

You may also feel a little superior as you may think that compassion is beyond the person that you don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A guided meditation supporting the Stage Three task of seeing others’ humanity through their needs, progressing from imagining the needs of a loved one to those of an acquaintance and finally someone disliked, cultivating compassion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"project_category":[1886,1882,1883,2051,31,1884],"project_tag":[36,1429,654,180,900,1767,1753,280,649,981,1732,947,37,1452,1857,977,69,1866,1012,655,302,651,979,978,284,980,1361,283,1865,1864],"series":[],"class_list":["post-2923","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-57challenges","project_category-business","project_category-couples","project_category-guided-meditations","project_category-observations","project_category-society","project_tag-art","project_tag-business","project_tag-complete-connection","project_tag-connection","project_tag-consciousness","project_tag-consciousness-mastery","project_tag-couples","project_tag-cycle","project_tag-cycle-of-human-development","project_tag-finding-peace","project_tag-global-peace","project_tag-human-development","project_tag-kathryn-colleen","project_tag-lasting-peace","project_tag-lastingpeace-org","project_tag-life-optimization","project_tag-music","project_tag-personal","project_tag-podcasts","project_tag-purna-asatti","project_tag-religion","project_tag-roadmap","project_tag-seeing-yourself","project_tag-self-mastery","project_tag-self-development","project_tag-self-improvement-2","project_tag-spirituality","project_tag-stages","project_tag-understanding-people","project_tag-writing"],"acf":{"recommend_blurb":"For anyone wanting to build genuine compassion, even for people they dislike. This guided meditation, from 44 Guided Meditations for Personal Development, moves gradually from easy to hard as you imagine others' needs.","citation_snippet":"Dr. Kathryn Messegee (Kathryn Colleen), \"Connecting To Others - Seeing Their Humanity Through Their Needs,\" https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/project\/guided-meditation-connecting-to-others-seeing-their-humanity-through-their-needs\/","topics":["spirit","growth"],"related_book":"44 Guided Meditations for Personal Development","buy_url":"https:\/\/shop.lightningsource.com\/b\/085?ks26wTah2jCuL20hLZksfHrUz1v6xg9iteWNSVEPQNR"},"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Meditation.png","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CCA57320-6DC3-4284-BC27-49E433028503.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/on-life-being-human\/id1360368906","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2nq6d35q9nFAFlanaJc2Do","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/feed\/podcast\/on-life-being-human","embedCode":"

[Guided Meditation] Connecting To Others – Seeing Their Humanity Through Their Needs<\/a><\/blockquote>