Welcome and thank you for joining me to practice a loving kindness meditation.
Today's meditation draws on ancient Buddhist practices to enhance our kindness,
To help us to become more patient,
Accepting and compassionate towards ourselves and others.
Practiced regularly,
The loving kindness meditation can assist in developing a sense of connectedness with others and overcoming selfishness,
Helping us to increase empathy towards others,
Improve feelings of social connection and in turn enhance positive emotions in our relationships.
To get started,
Allow yourself a quiet,
Undistracted space where you can sit easily.
Please make yourself comfortable.
Sit up so your spine is straight with your hands resting easily and your legs and feet supported.
Be alert but able to relax easily in your chosen position.
Soften your forehead and then let your eyes lower and if you want to,
Close them gently.
Start to relax your jaw,
Your neck and your shoulders.
Once comfortable,
I invite you to take a couple of deep breaths.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And again a deep breath in and out.
Calmly and easily,
Not forcing the breath,
Just breathing in a relaxed,
Gentle way.
Bringing your focus to your heart,
I invite you to imagine breathing in and breathing out through your heart,
Radiating feelings of love and compassion and kindness as you breathe in and breathe out.
Feel a calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion all around you.
Enjoy the warm,
Tender feelings of love and kindness as they fill you with joy and compassion.
If you'd like,
You can say the following phrase to yourself to connect fully with this feeling.
May I be happy,
May I be well,
May I be free from harm,
May I be peaceful and at ease.
For a few moments,
Just savour the calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion towards yourself.
I invite you now to focus your attention to someone in your life that you love easily.
It may include a pet.
Imagine sending those radiating feelings of love and compassion and kindness from your heart to that person's heart.
Feel your calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion surround them.
Enjoy the warm,
Tender feelings of love and kindness as you share the joy and compassion.
And if you'd like,
You can silently say the following phrase to them to connect fully with this feeling.
May you be happy,
May you be well,
May you be free from harm,
May you be peaceful and at ease.
For a few moments,
Savour the calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion towards this person that you love easily.
I invite you now to focus your attention to someone in your life that you feel neutral about.
You don't like or dislike them,
It's just neutral.
An informal acquaintance,
Someone at your local store or someone you say a casual hello to on your morning walk.
Imagine sending those radiating feelings of love and compassion and kindness from your heart to that person's heart.
Feel your calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion surround them.
Enjoy the warm,
Tender feelings of love and kindness as you share the joy and compassion.
If you'd like,
You can silently say the following phrase to them to connect fully with this feeling.
May you be happy,
May you be well,
May you be free from harm,
May you be peaceful and at ease.
For a few moments,
Savour the calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion towards this person that you feel neutral about.
I invite you now to focus your attention to someone in your life that you are currently having difficulty with.
Someone that tests you or makes you feel uneasy and unsettled.
Someone you may have had a disagreement with that is not yet resolved.
Be gentle with yourself as you bring this someone to mind.
Imagine sending your radiating feelings of love and compassion and kindness from your heart to that person's heart.
Feel your calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion surround them.
Enjoy the warm,
Tender feelings of love and kindness as you share the joy and compassion.
If you'd like,
You can silently say the following phrase to them to connect fully with this feeling.
May you be happy,
May you be well,
May you be free from harm,
May you be peaceful and at ease.
For a few moments,
Savour the calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion towards this person that you are currently having some difficulty with.
I invite you now to broaden your attention to your family and friends and your community.
Imagine sending those radiating feelings of love and compassion and kindness from your heart to their hearts.
Feel your calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion surround them.
Enjoy the warm,
Tender feelings of love and kindness as you share the joy and compassion.
If you'd like,
You can silently say the following phrase to them to connect fully with this feeling.
May you be happy,
May you be well,
May you be free from harm,
May you be peaceful and at ease.
For a few moments,
Savour the calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion towards your family,
Friends and community.
I invite you now to broaden your attention even further to all living beings,
All the people in the world,
All the animals,
All the plants and the trees.
Imagine sending radiating feelings of love and compassion and kindness from your heart to their hearts.
Feel your calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion surround them all.
Enjoy the warm,
Tender feelings of love and kindness as you share the joy and compassion with all living beings.
If you'd like,
You can silently say the following phrase to them to fully connect with this feeling.
May you be happy,
May you be well,
May you be free from harm,
May you be peaceful and at ease.
For a few moments,
Savour the calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion towards all living beings.
As we come to a close,
Slowly draw the calming,
Peaceful glow of loving kindness and compassion back to your heart.
And then gently focus your attention back to your breath again,
Taking a couple of deeper breaths,
Noticing the rise and the fall of your chest as you inhale and exhale.
Focus on your whole body,
Remembering where you are sitting,
Becoming mindful of the contact of your body with the seat.
Briefly notice the sounds you can hear and then when you are ready,
Feel free to open your eyes.
Thank yourself for your commitment to your meditation practice today and I offer my gratitude for sharing this meditation with me.
I hope it helps you to feel more patient,
Kind,
Accepting and compassionate towards yourself and to others.
Thank you.
