Kindness To Ourselves And Others

Hello and welcome to our guided meditation for today.

My name is Amy Ballantyne and I am honored that you are watching this guided meditation and participating in it.

And it is my hope that in sharing this I can help bring a little bit of calm,

Peacefulness,

Even stillness into your day.

If you are practicing this meditation in a seated position,

I invite you to ensure that your feet are flat on the floor,

That your back is fully upright,

That your chin is in line with the floor,

And your hands are palms facing up or down or clasped to see if you are comfortable.

If you are participating in this meditation lying down,

That you have something underneath your head and neck and something underneath your knees perhaps to help you feel more comfortable.

Palms facing up or facing down is fine.

When you feel ready to do so,

I invite you to close your eyes and begin to tune in to your breath,

This beautiful life giving air.

On your next inhale I invite you to lengthen that breath for the count of 4,

3,

2,

1 and exhale for the count of 4,

3,

2,

1.

Again extending that inhale for 3,

2,

1 and lengthening the exhale for 3,

2,

1.

Continuing to breathe in this way,

Trusting,

Trusting,

Listening to the words,

Knowing that it is fine if your mind wanders,

That you come back to the sound of my voice and come back to your focus on your breath.

During this meditation I will allow for some quiet meditation and I will signal you to that when it is time.

Bringing your attention down to your feet on your next inhale,

Letting all of your stress flow out of your toes,

Out of your heels,

Relaxing those ankles,

Flowing that relaxation up your legs,

Unlocking your knees,

Releasing your hamstrings,

Quads and glutes,

Fully relaxing here,

Relaxing your pelvis so that your entire lower half is feeling very comfortable,

Very calm,

Very relaxed.

Breathing into this lovely sensation as your attention flows up through your abdomen,

Relaxing and releasing,

Unclenching all of these muscles in your torso,

Having your attention flow up to your chest and your shoulders,

Relaxing here,

Having your shoulders fall down and back.

Feel this beautiful sense of relaxation flow all the way down your arms,

Unlocking your elbows,

Releasing your hands,

Unclenching your fingers,

Feeling that flow,

Feeling the flow of energy as you release and relax.

Relaxing your neck,

Releasing here,

Relaxing and breathing into your jaw,

Unclenching your teeth,

Relaxing your tongue,

Relaxing all the muscles around your face,

Around your mouth,

Cheeks,

Your eyeballs,

Your forehead,

Relaxing the muscles of your scalp,

Feeling fully relaxed from head to toe,

So much that you feel the sensation of relaxation flowing as you review all of the areas of your body,

Ensuring that relaxation is brought to every single within you.

Breathing here,

Feeling that flow of energy in your body.

On your next inhale,

I invite you to see a beautiful bright white light pouring down into the top of your head,

Into the crown of your head,

Filling every cell it touches,

Your head and neck,

Flowing down your shoulders,

Down your arms,

All the way to your fingertips,

This bright white light filling.

It fills up your chest and your torso as it flows all the way down,

Igniting every cell it touches as it flows all the way down through your pelvis,

Through your legs,

To your feet,

So that every cell is vibrating,

Every cell in your body is lit up and connected and it continues to pour into the top of your head and all the way down to the bottom of your feet and out the bottom of your feet grow the most glorious roots,

Grounding you and connecting you to the earth.

I invite you now,

When you feel ready,

To see a beautiful pathway,

A pathway of stamped concrete and each of the stones stamped into this concrete that is leading you to the left and along a bend,

Along either side of the stamped concrete is long grass.

This is a new path for you and every step that you're walking on has a word printed onto the concrete and it's a reminder,

It's like this pathway has been designed just for you.

A reminder as you walk by,

You see the word enough,

Put it on the concrete,

Continue to walk a little further and you see the word worthy and you continue to walk a little further and you see the word loved and you continue to walk a little further and you see the word grateful.

You continue to walk a little further and you see the word kind and you pause here for a moment because this is the message that you want to connect with today.

Standing with your toes almost touching this word kind that is stamped into the concrete in front of you.

Take some breaths here,

Feel the warmth on your skin,

It is a beautiful day,

The grass around you is blowing gently,

The air is fragrant.

Hear the sounds of crickets and birds,

The sky is blue and the word in front of you is kind.

Just as we all need to be reminded sometimes to be kind,

We breathe into this word and reflect on the number of moments when individuals have shown you kindness and areas where you will aim to be more kind in the future.

Breathe into this word,

This four letter word,

We are all going through so many things and we never truly know all of what another person is going through.

We view the world through the lens of our own eyes,

Through our own experiences,

Through our own opinions,

Through our own beliefs,

Never really knowing the experience of the person on the other side.

We breathe into this word kind,

It is a reminder to show love and care.

It is a reminder to share a smile.

It is a reminder to choose words that can benefit everyone.

It is a reminder.

And as you look down at that word kind,

A little bee buzzes down and lands right on the word and you smile a little,

Recognizing the symbolism right in front of you.

Be kind.

And as you take another breath in here,

Breathe in this feeling of being kind and the sun strikes a beam down right into the top of your head,

Illuminating you,

Highlighting you,

Reminding you of your greatness.

And down onto you shines the most glorious white light flowing down into your head and neck,

Flowing down all the way down your arms to your fingertips,

All the way down your chest and torso,

All the way down to your feet,

Grounding you in this moment.

Here you have a moment for some quiet meditation.

I will mind the time and let you know that it is time to move forward.

You look down one more time at the image before you that says be kind.

Turn back around and walk down the path,

Stepping on the word gratitude,

Walking a little further,

Stepping on the word worthy,

Walking still further,

Stepping on the word enough.

I invite you on your next breath in to release all images.

On your next breath in to move your hands and feet coming back into your space.

And finally,

When you feel ready to do so,

On your next breath in to open your eyes.

Thank you so much for meditating with me today.

Namaste.