Close your eyes
Breathe deep
Breathe slow
Go to that wholly safe inner placeRelax there
Breathe deep
Breathe slow
Remain safe and secure in your sanctum
Notice
There are moments between breaths
There are moments between heart-beatsSteady yourself
Breathe deep
Breathe slow
Size the moments betwixt and between
Attune yourself to that innermost voice
That force of true selfBe present
Breathe deep
Breathe slow
Discover your inner light
The divine spirit.
Guiding inborn radianceBask in sunlight
Breathe deep
Breathe slow
Release all your pain, suffering, struggle
Find solace in compassionate safetyBe safe
Breathe deep
Breathe slow
Fortify yourself for the journey ahead
Ground yourself in wisdom and faith
Know your inner worth, strength, love, kindnessBe you
© REDCAT
Breathe deep
Breathe slow
Make your peace with the ego-materialistic modern society
Realize, living your true self will be seen
as the most dangerous thoughts of all
I’ve written before about my current depression, and my fight to get real help. The machine of Swedish mental healthcare are, let’s say glacial, in it’s pace, and tend to favour pills over therapy.
Even so, while pondering which approach to therapy they might grant me. They asked if I’d participate in group Compassion-focused therapy (CFT). And I said yes, so now I’ll do eight weeks of CFT. So far, beyond trying to explain our emotion regulation systems, it’s mostly been light meditation and breath work. Which stand as inspiration for this piece.
I’ll be back to the subject of compassion and CFT later.
This weeks earthweal prompt has to do with finding hope. And even though my mind keeps spinning around the subject in all its forms, nothing coalesce and really takes shape. More work required obviously.
So instead I wrote about what helps me feel hope right now, which is meditation and breath-work.
Also posted to Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge–February 18, 2020.
The world according to RedCat 
Grateful for this poem; reads like a meditation and a powerful effort to find compassion for the self. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I LOVE this beautiful poem, truly a meditation on compassion for self, first step on the road to feeling more peaceful. Thank you for starting my day off with your calming words. Thanks also for sharing this part of your journey with us. I’m glad you are trying out the compassion therapy. It sounds like something all of us would benefit from. I so know how slow the system is. Two of my family struggle, and the system seems more geared to maintaining people rather than assisting them to regaining more fulfilling lives. Sigh. Though it sounds like your team have some helpful things to offer. Anyway, just know I understand the difficulties of the journey and I absolutely LOVE your poem. I walk in the forest a lot, and find such peace breathing with the trees.
You’ve made the poem lovely and meditative in itself, with that refrain. I think, after reading it through, it would now come easily to me in moments of stress or despair to remind myself, Breathe deep, breathe slow’ and do it along with the thought. Thank you.
This poem is a meditation in itself. I hope the compassion focussed therapy helps you. It feels as if there is too little compassion in the world sometimes, or as if compassion is frittered away clicking sad faces on facebook posts. This poem is so much deeper than that.
I found myself breathing deep and slow. It reminded me of yoga or simply meditating and finding yourself. This was truly an excellent piece. Thank you so much.