Cultivating Compassion

The 1st and 2nd Questions can work with are:

In this moment, what am I experiencing?

For this moment, can I let this be here?

The 3rd Question is: “For this moment, can I touch this with compassion?”

This is the exact opposite of the unconscious, reactive mind.  That level of mind is so unbelievably cruel, comparing ourselves and others to some mythical idea of what we should be.  Here is a wonderful quote from Wayne Muller that speaks to this:

“The greatest barrier to our own healing is not the pain, sorrow or violence inflicted upon us as children.  Out greatest hindrance is our ongoing capacity to judge, to criticize, and to bring tremendous harm to ourselves.  If we can harden our heart against ourselves and meet our most tender feelings with anger and condemnation, we simultaneously armor our heart against the possibility of gentleness, love and healing.”

The conscious mind is kind, understanding, inclusive and spacious.  We are not so much cultivating this kind of mind as we are uncovering it — seeing and letting go of the layers upon layers of reactivity within us. And the key is compassion, including compassion for the judger that has been trying so hard to protect us.