Welcome to this meditation on loving kindness.
As we begin,
Let your eyes close and begin to relax,
Letting go of anything you may have brought with you to this time.
Take a deep inhale and on the exhale,
Just let it go.
Let it release.
Let your body relax.
Let the mind relax.
Let there be nothing of concern during this time.
Begin to pay attention to the breath as it flows in and out,
Bringing in ease on the inhale,
Letting go of any extraneous thoughts,
Tension,
Anxiety on the exhale.
Take a couple breaths into the heart center.
Deep,
Relaxed,
Easeful breaths.
Now call to mind someone you love very dearly.
In your mind's eye,
See the face of that beloved one.
Silently speak their name.
Feel their presence.
See if you can.
Feel your love,
Your care,
Your concern for this being.
Breathe in and on the exhale,
Breathe it out like a current of energy coming through you.
Out to them,
Wishing them well,
Wishing them good health,
Love,
Ease,
Peace.
Let yourself feel just how deeply you want this person to be free,
Free from fear,
Free from suffering.
Feel how intensely you wish this person to be released from all things that hold them back.
Perhaps say to them in your own words,
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May your body be healthy.
May your heart be full of love.
May your mind know peace.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
And just see how you can connect to this current of energy,
This mighty current that comes in from we know not where out through the human heart into the world.
Continue to feel into that warm,
Loving kindness energy,
That flow coming through the heart.
See in your mind's eye now all those with whom you share your daily life,
Family members,
Close friends,
Colleagues,
The barista at the coffee shop,
The people you live and work with.
Let them appear now as a circle around you.
Behold them one by one.
Silently speak their names.
Feel their presence.
Feel the energy of each person.
And now send to each in turn that same current of loving kindness.
May you be well.
May your heart be full of love.
May your mind know peace.
Just send it out and notice what that's like for you.
If it's difficult with some of the individuals,
Let yourself be aware of that energetic signature of conflict or difficulty,
Whatever it is for you and send the current anyway.
You who I find a little bit difficult.
May you too be filled with loving kindness.
Now allow the circle to grow in your mind to allow wider concentric circles of your relations,
Your acquaintances,
People you see but don't know and let this warm healing current of loving kindness flow out through your heart on the out breath to all of them as well.
Pause on their faces as they appear in your mind and wish them.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be free from suffering,
Free from pain,
Free from loneliness,
Free from chaos.
May your heart be filled with love.
May your mind know peace.
Expanding the circle into wider and wider circles.
Take in now in your imagination all those with whom you share this planet.
All beings.
Though you have not met,
Your lives are interconnected in ways beyond our knowing.
And so to these beings as well,
To all that call Earth home,
Direct that same beautiful current out through the heart,
Out in to the world.
Send loving kindness.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be healthy.
May their hearts be full of love.
May their minds be at peace.
May they all be released from pain and suffering.
Let us include in our embrace all those restless spirits who roam the Earth in suffering,
Shut down,
Broken,
Confused.
In the Buddhist tradition,
We call them hungry ghosts.
But however you conceive of them,
Those restless spirits,
May they all be filled with loving kindness.
May they find rest.
May they find peace.
May they too dissolve into love,
Bliss.
Now by the power of your imagination,
Move out beyond the planet into the universe,
Into other solar systems,
Other galaxies,
Other fields of being.
Our loving kindness is not limited by distance.
And so we turn to face the universe and send loving kindness to whatever beings there may be.
Star beings,
Planet beings,
Conscious beings.
We don't know,
But we just send the current out to them all.
May all beings,
Wherever they may be,
Be filled with loving kindness.
May they be healthy.
May their hearts be full of love.
May they know peace.
And just rest in that experience,
In that embrace of the universe for a moment.
Just allow it to,
Allow yourself to feel that.
And now from out in the great interstellar distances,
I invite you to turn and behold our planet Earth,
Your home.
You see it suspended there in the blackness of space,
A beautiful blue marble.
Can you sense its vibration?
Can you sense its intelligence?
Can you sense the love of the earth?
Slowly approach it,
Drawing near,
Near,
Returning to this part of it,
This part that you call home.
And as you approach your home,
Let yourself see the being you know best of all,
Inside and out,
The person it has been given you to be in this lifetime.
You,
Yourself,
The one hearing this meditation,
You know yourself better than anyone else.
Know your pain and hopes,
Your need for love.
You know how hard you try.
Let your face appear before you now.
Feel its presence and speak your name in love.
Send now that same loving energy out of your heart to yourself,
Expressing how deeply you desire that you be free from fear,
Free from suffering,
Free from pain.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be healthy.
May your body be strong.
May your heart be filled with love.
May your mind know peace.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May your body be strong and vibrant.
May your heart be full of love.
May your mind know peace.
And just let yourself rest for a moment in the place you've created through this meditation.
Just rest for 30 seconds,
Letting yourself be with anything that may come up.
And as you're going through the day,
Anytime you think of it,
You can always drop into that heart space and send yourself,
Send another,
Even send all beings loving kindness.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May their bodies be healthy and strong.
May their hearts be full of love.
May their minds be at peace.
