A Self-Compassion Evening
Designed by BearmoreSome days you're the one who’s been hardest on yourself.
Soften how you talk to yourself before you head into sleep. A few rounds of conscious breathing, some reading, one self-compassionate question, and a short writing session.
The runsheet
Ten minutes of slow breathing
Breath workStart with the body before the mind. Ten minutes of slow nasal breathing as the day is coming to a close. Self-compassion lands easier when the body is starting to relax.
10 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing breath work before reading (mindful)
This can be a good pairing because a calm, focused state from breath work can carry into mindful reading and sustained attention.
Easy reading for twenty minutes
Reading (mindful)Twenty minutes with a book that doesn't ask anything too much of you. Fiction or essays; nothing that’s trying to improve you.
20 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing reading (mindful) before self-guided inquiry
This works well because reading often surfaces themes that inquiry can explore more deeply.
Kind inquiry
Self-guided inquiryHelen Marie (who this Burst was inspired by) asks: what would I say to a friend who had a day like I did? Sit with it for fifteen minutes. The answer is often softer than the one you were giving yourself.
15 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing self-guided inquiry before journaling
This pairing is especially effective because writing can help capture raw ideas before they fade or turn into the same thoughts cycling again.
One page of journaling
JournalingFifteen minutes writing about what came up in your inquiry. Try writing in the second person to yourself, the way you'd write to someone you love. The writing doesn’t need to be eloquent.
15 min activityTime well spent.
1h 12m spent doing something good for yourself.
The breakdown
Burst evaluation
Wellbeing focus
About this Burst
Self-compassion here is treated as a skill you can practise. This Burst sequences four practices into an evening that meets you where the day left you. A breath round to settle to help settle, a stretch of easy reading, answer one question (what would I say to a friend in this same spot), and a short page of writing. The point is softening the voice you've been using on yourself all day.