Pema Chödrön: Cultivating Loving-Kindness Toward Yourself

Whatever our religious and spiritual tradition and practice, I've found that cultivating loving-kindness towards ourselves is the foundation of evolving and growing consciousness, kindness, tenderness, and love — and how it is that we are able to experience these qualities in the way that we live our lives. May we all be blessed with rooting into practices which nourish and deepen our capacity for kindness, a quality so needed in our hurting beautiful world. 🙏 Molly

Photo by Molly

Cultivating Loving-Kindness Toward Yourself

Some people find the teachings I offer helpful because I encourage them to be kind to themselves. The kindness that I learned from my teachers, and that I wish so much to convey to other people, is kindness toward all qualities of our being. The qualities that are the toughest to be kind to are the painful parts, where we feel ashamed, as if we don't belong, as if we've just blown it, when things are falling apart for us. Maitri, or loving-kindness, means sticking with ourselves when we don't have anything, when we feel like a loser. And it becomes the basis for extending the same unconditional friendliness with others.

 

 — Pema Chödrön

From The Pocket Pema Chödrön

and from

Practicing Peace In Times of War