Free 15 Minute Guided Imagery Script for Self-Compassion [PDF]

Make yourself comfortable, and close your eyes. 

Take a slow deep breath, and let go of any tension, as you feel yourself sinking into the surface you’re resting on, becoming still more comfortable and relaxed. 

Take another slow, deep breath, and release your thoughts, letting them drift far away. And take another slow, deep breath, and know that in this moment, all is well.

Imagine you’re walking along a quiet path through the woods, on a beautiful, spring day. 

The trees form a canopy of bright new leaves, making lacy patterns against the sky. 

And the ground beneath your feet is layered with old brown leaves and twigs from years before, sweet wildflowers, and little mushrooms popping up here and there. 

All is calm, and you’re taking your time to walk along, observe nature, and spot squirrels and chip monks running by, commuting from tree to tree.

Up ahead you can see an old stone wall winding its way along the path, all shades of brown and gold, covered here and there with soft green moss. 

A few small birds are flying in and out of the trees nearby, or hopping about on top of the wall. 

There’s an enchanting feeling in the air, and you have the uncanny sense that you’re not quite alone here.

Out of the corner of your eye you begin to catch a glimpse of two or three small people sitting on the wall by the path up ahead, but as you look toward them they disappear. 

As you start to look away, you can almost see them again, or feel them. 

And as you come closer you start to hear bits of conversation. 

They’re talking about someone… saying

“So worried all the time. That dark cloud has to go. ‘I’m bad, I’m bad, I’m so bad’. So sad! What can we do?”

“Tickling? Would that work?” 

“No, too unpredictable.”

“Oh, I know,” one of them says, “Hugs. We’ll use hugs.”

“No, that won’t work,” another one says, “You know we can’t actually touch a human. Maybe a distraction. We could use butterflies!”

“Too flighty,” another one says. “We should use buttercups.” “Hey, how about we just say ‘Lighten up, Buttercup’.”

And they all burst out laughing.

And at that point you realize two things. 

One, you’ve just come upon some kind of wood elves, fairies or odd little angels, and two, they’re talking about you. 

They seem to think that phrase, “Lighten up Buttercup” is hilarious, and soon they start saying it to each other, and making up songs about it.

“Lighten up buttercup”. 

“No, you lighten up. Ha ha!”

But as you come up along side them they all become very quiet. 

You try not to look directly at them, because it makes them harder to see. 

And they’re looking all around too, trying not to look at you, as if they didn’t want you to know they were just talking about you. 

But as soon as you pass by, one of them giggles, and then the others start laughing, and soon they’re all singing again… “Lighten up, buttercup, lighten up.”

There’s a fallen log a little way up the path, and that looks like a good place to rest for a while, and as you sit down you notice a little spring just behind it, with water falling down over rocks into a tiny pool, making a sweet, trickling sound. 

You can still hear the wood fairies singing “Lighten Up Buttercup” down the way, but it’s in the background now, and it’s actually kind of enjoyable. 

You do feel a little lighter, as a matter of fact.

As you sit and relax, consider something in your life that you’re not happy about, that you tend to get down on yourself for. 

Summarize the situation to yourself in one sentence. 

For example, “I lost my temper today at work.”

Now say that same sentence to yourself, and end with, “but it’s OK,” as in “I lost my temper today at work, but it’s OK.”

Take a slow, deep breath, and as you exhale, allow in the idea that whatever happened in that particular situation, it’s OK.

Now allow yourself to relax into the feeling that it’s OK.

Consider another situation in you tend to give yourself a hard time about. 

Summarize the situation to yourself in one sentence, and end with, “but it’s OK.”

Take a slow, deep breath, and as you exhale, allow in the idea that whatever happened, it’s OK.

Allow yourself to relax into the feeling that it’s OK.

Now review one or two other things you generally give yourself a hard time over. 

With each one, summarize the situation in one sentence, end the sentence with “but it’s OK,” take a deep breath, and let in the idea and the feeling that it’s OK. 

Take some time to do this, now.

Imagine yourself floating, it could be in a pool on a rubber raft, in the ocean, or in the air. 

All around you are feelings, thoughts, words, sights and sounds that reflect the idea that you’re OK, and all is well. 

Spend some time here, just being, just floating, as you feel all the stress you’ve accumulated over time beginning to soften, and melt away.

Take some time to listen to the following affirmations, and allow them to resonate deeply within.

Today I’m being kind to myself.

I’m easy on myself when I make a mistake, and make it OK.

When things don’t go my way, I breathe, relax, and treat myself with dignity.

I’m doing my best, and respect myself not matter the outcome. 

I do what I can to take pressure off myself, and live in peace.

I work in harmony with myself, gracefully accept my faults, and celebrate my successes.

I will always be a work in progress, and can relax about my growth. 

I’m a good person, doing my best, and I’m OK.

Look into the future, at a situation you may find challenging, where you’d normally give yourself a hard time. 

Imagine yourself giving yourself a break instead, and making it OK. 

Take a moment to do this now, with one or more possible situations.

As you walk back along the path, approaching the forest elves on the wall you can hear them talking again, this time saying things like,

“Look how much better!” 

“Wow, what happened?” 

“See, it worked, we did it!”

And after you pass by, on the way out of the woods, you can hear one of them call after you, “Hey Buttercup! Remember to lighten up,” and they all crack up laughing and talking again.

It will soon be time to bring this journey to a close. 

But first, take a moment to thank yourself for giving yourself this gift.

Bring your awareness gently back to your physical surroundings.

Take your time, and when you’re ready, open your eyes, and feel awake, alert, and refreshed.

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This script has been crafted with love and formatted in a clear, organized layout, making it easy to read aloud for individuals or groups. It is suitable for personal and professional use, including YouTube videos and monetization, and for voiceover recordings.

Use this script to lead your own meditation, edit or alter the script to suit your needs, use it in courses you create and sell, or use it privately with your clients.

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