Mindful Self-Compassion or “MSC” is an empirically-supported 8-week training program developed by Drs. Chris Germer and Kristin Neff. It helps participants cultivate the mental and emotional habit of mindful self-compassion by learning the process of infusing our moment-to-moment experience with kindness, especially when we feel frustrated, hurt, inadequate, or overwhelmed. Mindful self-compassion is the first step in emotional healing—being able to be-friend oneself, turn inwardly and acknowledge our difficult thoughts and feelings with a spirit of openness, curiosity and love, rather than self-judgment, or self-criticism.Perhaps most importantly, cultivating self-compassion means that we honor and accept our humanness. Things will not always go the way we want them to. We often encounter frustrations and losses. We make mistakes and bump up against our limitations, or fall short of our ideals. This is the human condition, a reality shared by us all. The more we open our heart to this reality instead of constantly fighting against it, the more we will be able to feel compassion for ourselves and all our fellow humans.
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