Welcome to your practice of loving-kindness.
I'm inviting you to find your most comfortable seat and taking this moment to adjust your position and to find as much ease as possible.
Once you find yourself settled,
Allowing the eyes to close if it's your new practice,
And we will begin by three full breaths at your own rhythm.
When you are ready,
Breathing in deeply,
Maybe pausing at the top of the inhale and when you exhale,
Exhaling slowly all the air from your lungs,
Releasing any obvious tension in the body and mind.
Doing so two more times.
Even when this is complete,
Allowing your breathing to come back to its natural rhythm.
Really noticing your breath coming in and leaving your body.
Now gently moving your attention onto your whole body,
Noticing any sensation in the body from the touch of the body with the chair or the cushion,
From the touch of your clothes,
But also where there's no contact of the body with anything.
And see if you can soften a little bit in this moment,
Allowing your body to take room,
Allowing your body to be present fully here and now.
And now gently bringing your attention onto your heart space in the middle of the chest,
Noticing first this space within.
You might become aware of your heartbeat or not.
And how does your heart feel today?
Is it tight?
Is it open?
Is it close?
Is it an in-between?
Simply notice without judging anything.
As much as we want to have our heart open 24-7,
It's actually impossible.
Because we need to care for ourselves and sometimes it's easier or better to just close a little bit and come back to ourselves.
Your heart functions like a little valve that opens and closes.
So notice how it is in this moment.
And invite first into your awareness something or someone that you are grateful for.
And bring this into your mind-heart as vividly as possible.
And notice how bringing this experience to mind is also changing something inside of you.
There might be a softening,
Some emotion,
A smile maybe coming onto your face.
And for whatever you bring to mind,
Take this moment to say thank you in your own words.
And letting this go,
Let's now begin our practice of metta,
Loving-kindness.
I'm inviting you to bring to mind an image of yourself.
It may be an image of you right now in this moment or an image of you younger as a child maybe.
So see if you can picture yourself as vividly as possible.
Losing maybe some good qualities of yourself.
It can be the way you look if you like the way you look.
It can be your kindness.
It can be your care for others.
It can be remembering a good deed or a good word.
Simply bring some appreciation about yourself here and now.
For our practice of loving-kindness I will share a few phrases that I'm inviting you to repeat silently after me.
If the words do not resonate,
Please use your own.
It's all about the intention.
If it feels comfortable you can also bring a hand or two onto your heart space.
Only if it feels comfortable.
Let's begin.
May I be well.
May I be at ease and live in peace.
May I be free from suffering.
May I feel loved and cared for.
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be at ease and live in peace.
May I be free from suffering.
May I feel loved and cared for.
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be at ease and live in peace.
May I be free from suffering.
May I feel loved and cared for.
May I be happy.
And noticing how you feel,
If anything.
Noticing also the absence of anything.
Everything is fine.
You are safe.
Simply letting go of this image of you now bring to mind an image of a loved one,
Someone that you have a very easy relationship with.
Can be a friend or a family member,
But also a pet,
If it calls you.
And bringing this being into your heart-mind as vividly as possible.
Sometimes it can be easy to simply mentally repeat their names.
Or remembering something that you've done with that person or this pet that brings you joy.
And noticing how it feels to be in their presence.
And let's begin.
May you be well.
May you be at ease and live in peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel loved and cared for.
May you be happy.
May you be well.
May you be at ease and live in peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel loved and cared for.
May you be happy.
May you be well.
May you be at ease and live in peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel loved and cared for.
May you be happy.
And taking this moment to notice any sensation or feeling arising in the body without judgment.
And gently letting go of this being.
Now let's bring to mind someone that we have a neutral relationship with.
By neutral I mean that we're not emotionally involved with it.
So it can be once again a fellow human or a pet.
So simply bring that person or animal to mind.
Might be the dog of your neighbor.
It might be someone that you see on the street.
It might be a cashier.
Anybody that you know of but are not emotionally engaged with.
So bring this person as vividly as possible in your mind heart.
And let's begin.
May you be well.
May you be at ease and live in peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel loved and cared for.
May you be happy.
May you be well.
May you be at ease and live in peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel loved and cared for.
May you be happy.
May you be well.
May you be at ease and live in peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel loved and cared for.
May you be happy.
Begin letting go of this experience,
Coming back to your body and your breath.
Noticing any sensation,
Emotion or thoughts arising with the experience.
Once again with no judgment.
Allowing things to be as they are.
When we practice loving kindness we also practice these words of Neem Karoli Baba that says do not throw anyone out of your heart.
It's a difficult practice at times but not impossible.
Do not throw anyone out of your heart,
Not even yourself.
For this next step I'm inviting you to bring to your mind heart someone with whom you have a more difficult relationship.
Not only taking the most complicated and difficult one but bringing to mind someone that you believe you can work with in this present moment.
Knowing that every moment is different.
So see if you can bring this person to your mind and heart.
Maybe allowing yourself to appreciate something about them can be as simple as you like their smiles or the way they dress,
The way they stand in line.
Nothing to help you soften your heart a tiny tiny bit.
And if nothing comes to mind simply recognize that it's okay.
And let's begin.
May you too be well.
May you too be at ease and live in peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel loved and cared for.
May you be happy.
May you be well.
May you be at ease and live in peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel loved and cared for.
May you be happy.
May you be well.
May you be at ease and live in peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel loved and cared for.
May you be happy.
And maybe allowing a full breath.
And with the exhale releasing this person,
The experience,
Any tensions,
Taking this moment to connect with your heart,
Body,
And mind.
And noticing what is there for you in this moment without judging with kindness and acceptance.
Now let's bring to mind all the people that you love and appreciate.
All the pets you love and appreciate.
See if you can bring them all into your heart space.
Maybe you have to make room and expand.
And see if you can picture them as vividly as possible.
It can be helpful maybe to murmur their name in the background of your head.
And noticing how it feels to have all your loved one in one space.
The space of your heart.
Here.
Now.
Within.
And let's begin.
May you all be well.
May you all be at ease and live in peace.
May you all be free from suffering.
May you all feel loved and cared for.
May you all be happy.
May you all be well.
May you all be at ease and live in peace.
May you all be free from suffering.
May you all feel loved and cared for.
May you all be happy.
May you all be well.
May you all be at ease and live in peace.
May you all be free from suffering.
May you all feel loved and cared for.
May you all be happy.
And coming back to your senses.
Noticing any sensations,
Feelings or thoughts without judging.
Allowing everything to be as it is.
And now,
Let's bring into our heart all the people from the state you live in or from the country you're from.
Just imagining the presence of all these people surrounding you.
Chatting with your loved one.
And let's send them some good wishes.
May you all be well.
May you all be at ease and live in peace.
May you all be free from suffering.
May you all feel loved and cared for.
May you all be happy.
May you all be well.
May you all be at ease and live in peace.
May you all be free from suffering.
May you all feel loved and cared for.
May you all be happy.
And breathing in,
Allowing yourself to be with the experience of sharing good wishes.
And now,
Let's imagine that we send all of these good wishes to the whole planet,
To all sentient beings in this realm and all other ones.
Sending good wishes for peace in the world.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be at ease and live in peace.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings feel loved and cared for.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings everywhere be well.
May all beings everywhere be at ease and live in peace.
May all being everywhere be free from suffering.
May all beings everywhere feel loved and cared for.
May all beings everywhere be happy.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be at ease and live in peace.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings feel loved and cared for.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be happy.
Gently breathing in and out.
Taking a moment to rest into your heart.
Remembering that you are part of all beings and as much as anyone else in the universe,
You deserve your care and love.
May all beings be happy.
And when you're ready with your next exhale,
Maybe bringing down your hand if you rested on your heart.
Taking this moment to notice your body in space.
Any sensation,
Feelings,
Emotions or thoughts arising and passing away.
And maybe before we end our practice,
See if you can invite a smile into your being.
A gentle smile in your heart,
In the corner of your eyes,
On your lips.
And maybe taking this moment to appreciate the time that you take for yourself and to practice.
Maybe saying thank you to life and her teachings.
In your own times,
Simply coming back,
Bringing some gentle movement in the body,
Opening the eyes when you are ready.
And welcome back.
And see if you can keep a little bit of this openness of the heart into the rest of your day.
Until we meet again,
Please take care.
