Memories of Kindness practice.
So to begin with this practice,
Checking in with our posture,
Finding a posture that is stable,
Alert,
Dignified,
With a straight back,
But also one that is kind to this body.
So a posture that is also comfortable and with a sense of ease to it.
And then placing our mind for this practice,
By setting our intention,
An intention to cultivate and explore kindness within our lives,
An intention to orient the mind towards kindness,
And then spending a bit of time reflecting on our motivation for this practice,
Why do I want to explore kindness?
How might this exploration of kindness be of benefit to us,
And also of benefit to those around us?
And then beginning to settle the mind,
So becoming aware of the breathing,
Noticing where we can feel the breath in the body,
And breathing in a little bit deeper than normal,
And trying to keep the in-breath and the out-breath of a similar length and rhythm.
And to help us do this,
We might use counting,
So breathing in on a count of three or four,
And breathing out on a count of three or four.
Breathing in on a count of three and four,
Breathing out on a count of three or four.
So we are aware of our breathing and counting.
And perhaps you might notice that there are still thoughts within the mind,
And that's absolutely fine.
We are not trying to have no thoughts during this practice.
But to notice,
When we become involved with those thoughts,
And our thoughts become thinking,
And when we notice that,
Gently bringing the mind back,
Breathing in,
I know I'm breathing in,
Breathing out,
I know I'm breathing out,
Breathing in,
I know I'm breathing in,
Breathing out,
I know I'm breathing out,
And gently returning our focus to breathing and counting.
So breathing in on a count of three or four,
And breathing out on a count of three or four.
And while we're breathing and counting,
Gently turning our focus a little bit more on the out-breath,
And noticing whether there is a tendency for the body to relax,
As the body releases the breath,
And seeing if it's possible for the mind to learn from the body.
So body releases the breath and relaxes,
Our mind lets go of involvement with thinking,
And begins to settle.
And on our next out-breath,
Gently shifting our focus towards the body,
And noticing any general felt feelings within the body.
Maybe there is a sense of relaxation,
Or maybe tension,
Or maybe stillness,
Or agitation,
Or just a neutral sense.
Just noticing,
Without trying to change anything,
Allowing our experience to unfold as the body breathes itself.
And then gently,
Noticing the points of contact between the body,
And noticing the points of contact between the body and the chair,
And the ground beneath us,
And then gently shifting our attention to the whole body,
The whole body sitting here breathing,
And allowing the body to be unconditionally supported by the ground beneath us.
So the whole body,
Supported by the ground,
And surrounded by space.
And just as the ground unconditionally supports the body,
The body unconditionally supports the mind.
So as we breathe out,
Mind resting in the body,
Unconditionally supported by the ground beneath us,
Allowing our mind to come to rest here and now,
Supported by the body,
Letting go of any sense of having to do,
Or to be anything.
And if at any time throughout this practice you notice that your mind has wandered,
Acknowledging that,
And gently bringing the mind back to this breathing body,
Here and now,
Surrounded by space.
And moving on in this practice,
And gently bringing to mind the memory of when someone was kind to us.
And letting it arise without trying to force anything.
Going over the details of the memory in our mind,
Gently recalling what happened,
Going over the details of the scenario of when someone was kind to us.
And as we are recalling this memory to mind of someone being kind to us,
Gently noticing if there is any response within the body.
Maybe noticing whether there are any feelings of kindness arising,
Or feelings of numbness,
Or feelings of fear.
And as we are recalling this memory to mind,
Of someone being kind to us,
Gently noticing feelings of numbness,
Or resistance,
Or any other emotions that are arising.
While reminding ourselves that in this practice there is no right way or wrong way to feel,
We simply bring to mind the memory,
And allow our experience to unfold as it is.
So letting it unfold,
And gently noticing any thoughts,
Feelings,
Physical sensations that might arise within the body,
As we recall this memory of when someone was kind to us.
And now gently letting go of this memory of when someone was kind to us,
And coming back to be aware of the body,
Resting on the ground,
Surrounded by space,
And aware of this body breathing.
And now gently bringing to mind the memory of when we were kind to somebody else,
Letting it arise,
And gently going over the details of what we are seeing,
And how we are feeling,
And how we are feeling,
And how we are feeling.
Letting it arise,
And gently going over the details of the memory of when we were kind to someone else,
And not worrying too much if it's difficult to find the memory,
But just waiting for one to come,
Letting it arise,
And when it does,
Gently going over this memory of when we were kind to someone else,
And noticing any thoughts,
Any emotions and feelings,
Or physical sensations that might arise,
And being curious,
Noticing any general felt feelings of kindness within the body,
Or maybe numbness or resistance,
Being curious about whatever arises within our experience,
As we go over this memory of when we were kind to somebody else.
And now gently letting go of this memory,
And coming back to the body,
Feeling the body here and now,
Supported by the ground,
Surrounded by space,
And aware of this breathing body.
And finally,
Gently bringing to mind the memory of when we were kind to ourselves,
And it may take a while for a memory to come,
And that's okay,
Just letting it arise,
And then as it arises,
Going over the details of what happened.
How were we kind to ourselves?
What did we do?
What did we say to ourselves?
And as we recall this memory,
Letting our experience unfold,
Reminding ourselves there is no right or wrong way to feel,
And gently checking in with any feelings or sensations within the body,
As we recall this memory of when we were kind to ourselves.
Gently noticing whatever arises,
As we recall this memory of when we were kind to ourselves,
Noticing any feelings or bodily sensations.
And coming towards the end of this practice,
Gently letting go of this memory,
And once again become aware of the body,
Noticing the body,
Noticing the points of contact between the body and the chair,
And the ground beneath us,
And gently noticing the space surrounding us,
And just resting in this moment,
Aware of the breathing body,
Here now,
In this room.
And in your own time,
On the sound of the bell,
Gently ending the practice.
