Hello everyone and welcome to this upcoming practice of loving kindness.
You see,
We all have within us this natural capacity for loving kindness.
This state that is unconditional,
Open,
Gentle,
Supportive.
And perhaps you can notice yourself feeling this energy at times for a loved one,
For yourself,
For someone that crosses your path.
However,
Often through our day-to-day experiences,
As stress arises,
When we rush through our days,
When we become hurt,
We learn to close ourselves off to this energy.
We learn to close our hearts.
And often we do this in order to protect ourselves,
To stay safe.
And as we begin this practice today,
My intention is to help you consciously cultivate this feeling within yourself.
So when it's practiced,
That it's always available to you through the highs and lows of life.
And as we begin,
Take a moment here to get yourself into a position that feels right for you.
Perhaps you want to sit down.
Perhaps you want to lie down.
See if you can create a space for yourself that feels comfortable for you.
Maybe you want to allow your hands to rest comfortably in your lap.
Or you can also bring your hands to your heart for this practice if you feel called to it.
And when you feel ready,
Start to gently close your eyes,
Beginning to settle into the awareness of your body and your breath.
Feeling into your body right now,
Noticing what's present.
And as we enter our practice for today,
I invite you to bring the intention of openness to whatever is present in this moment.
And as you notice your breath,
Notice the wave-like movements of the belly moving in and out.
Loving kindness is a natural opening of our heart to ourselves and to others.
And today,
We will begin by bringing this feeling towards ourselves,
Allowing our hearts to stay open with tenderness.
Take a moment here to allow yourself to remember and open up to your own basic goodness.
You might remember times where you've been kind or generous.
You might recall your own natural desire to be happy and not to suffer.
And if that appears difficult,
Perhaps look at yourself through the eyes of someone that loves you.
What does this person see in you?
What does this person love about you?
It may also help to use your imagination and to picture yourself as a young child standing before you,
Perhaps four or five years old,
If that allows tender feelings of kindness to flow more easily.
And as you experience this love notice how you feel in your body.
Maybe you feel some warmth or heat in your face.
Perhaps you notice a small smile arising,
A sense of expansiveness coming alive.
This is loving kindness,
A natural feeling that is accessible to all of us always.
Now rest with this feeling of open,
Unconditional love for a few moments.
Let yourself bathe in the energy of loving kindness,
Breathing it in and breathing it out,
Bringing in feelings of peace and acceptance.
We will now continue by extending words of loving kindness to yourself.
As guidance I will be offering some phrases that I've chosen for this practice.
You're always invited though to change these phrases and choose whatever words express your wishes of loving kindness towards yourself.
Now offering these words in your mind for yourself,
May I be filled with loving kindness,
May I be held in loving kindness,
May I feel connected and calm,
May I accept myself just as I am,
May I be happy,
May I know the natural joy of being alive.
And now repeating these words of friendship and kindness to yourself once again,
May I be filled with loving kindness,
May I be held in loving kindness,
May I feel connected and calm,
May I accept myself just as I am,
May I be happy,
May I know the natural joy of being alive.
Now we're gonna take a moment to open the circle of loving kindness by bringing someone who is dear to you into mind,
Someone who you care about deeply and who's been supportive in your own life.
Now reflect on this person's basic goodness,
Sensing what it is in particular that you love and in your heart feel appreciation for this dear one and begin your simple offering.
May you be filled with loving kindness,
May you be held in loving kindness,
May you feel my love now,
May you accept yourself just as you are,
May you be happy,
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now if it's possible for you,
Bring to mind someone with whom you've had a difficult relationship.
Perhaps it's been challenging to feel compassion for this person and know that it's okay that you feel this way,
But here you have an opportunity to see if it's possible to let go of any hard feelings that you may have towards this person,
Reminding yourself that this person too is a whole being that deserves love and kindness.
See this person too as someone who feels pain and anxiety,
Someone who may also suffer.
And see if it's possible to extend to this person the words of loving kindness in your mind.
May you be filled with loving kindness,
May you be held in loving kindness,
May you feel my love now,
May you accept yourself just as you are,
May you be happy,
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
And now as we bring this practice to a close,
Come back to extending kindness to yourself for a few moments,
Bathing in this energy of loving kindness that may have been generated here for yourself.
Recognize that you deserve it,
That you're worthy of it,
You're a unique expression of life.
And allow yourself this opportunity here and now just to allow yourself to be who you are fully.
And as you see yourself for the first time,
Notice the person who you've been all alone.
Take a moment to just allow that in and see how it feels.
And as we slowly come to a close,
I encourage you to express any words to yourself that may come into mind.
Maybe it's an attention for yourself to be more kind to yourself.
Maybe it's a reminder that you deserve to be loved.
Whatever feels natural to you,
Allow yourself to sink into this knowing.
And when you feel ready,
Begin to deepen your breath again.
Start becoming aware of your physical environment.
Start bringing some small movements in your hands and toes.
When you're ready,
Slowly begin to open your eyes again.
Take a few moments here to adjust back to your environment.
Just notice how you feel.
Perhaps this was a very new experience for you,
Generating that love within yourself.
Perhaps some insights have come through and if so,
I invite you to give yourself anything that feels good to you so you can integrate this experience back into your life.
I want to leave this meditation on the note that when we learn to consciously cultivate love,
Keeping our hearts open,
We may find that it becomes a strong support within our day-to-day lives.
Remember that this capacity is within all of us and until next time,
I wish you all the best.
