Every time my cousin walks by a mirror and gets a glimpse of herself, she says, “I look terrible.” My neighbor’s been a lawyer for decades and told me recently whenever he makes a mistake he immediately says to himself, “You’re so stupid.” And a dear friend secretly believes that no one could like her — including her kids — because, she told me, “I’m annoying and needy”.
Sadly, it’s very acceptable in our culture to talk to ourselves cruelly, and mistreat ourselves in ways we wouldn’t dream of doing to others. That’s why this month, we’ll explore the roots of self-criticism, self-judgement, shame, and blame, and make a choice to change it. You’ll learn how you to become a good friend to you, with traditional and effective Buddhist tools to rewire your heart and mind to become softer and more compassionate and create harmony in your most important relationship—with yourself.
Each week I’ll share a meditation that will help you learn to cultivate patience, lead with clarity, and nurture a kind and accepting attitude towards your thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Plan to listen and practice everyday, and use the exercises and contemplative prompts to support your efforts. And let’s start checking in with each other via the Substack Chat my friends — more on that below!
Let’s Chat: A New Way to Connect in 2025
The Substack Chat is separate from the comments section below each newsletter. You can access our chat from the Meditation with Heart page, or via the Substack app, which you can download from here.
My intention for this newsletter has always been to help you truly take care of yourself through wisdom and compassion. Today, there are five thousand of you taking this journey with me, reading and meditating together every month! A community like this is valuable, and that’s why I really want to know you better and want you to know each other better too. When loving and wise people come together, we can be a force for good and collectively help foster a world of peace and good sense.
Substack’s Chat feature is a simple and powerful way to access the power of this community. It’s designed to foster real-time conversations with all of Meditation with Heart’s members. It functions similarly to a group messaging app, but it’s tailored for Substack writers and subscribers.
We can use the Meditation with Heart chat to keep our meditation practice steady, and to share our challenges and achievements. I hope you’ll post often and let us know how your mindfulness and self-compassion practice is going, and allow this amazing community to give you (and receive from you) love and support.
Also — since you can post photos to our Substack Chat — show me what’s important to you! Post pics of your home, the view from your window, your hobbies, doodles, your meditation seat! (Warning: be prepared for many photos of my darling little Rigel cat — I’ve posted one already!)
See you tomorrow for Week 1 of Why Am I So Hard on Myself? Until then, may you be safe, feel steady, and rest with ease.
Metta+++,
Kim✨
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