Hello and welcome to this loving-kindness meditation.
As this meditation can be a bit more intense,
I just want to re-emphasize that you can step out of this meditation at any point by simply taking some deep breaths or opening your eyes,
Leaving the room,
Whatever feels comfortable to you,
And you can make this meditation as intense as you like.
So with that in mind,
I would like to invite you to find a comfortable position that is upright yet relaxed,
Your hands in your lap or on your knees,
And when you're ready,
Just close your eyes,
Taking some deep breaths in all the way through the nose into your belly and completely releasing it through the mouth.
Deep breath in and long exhale out.
One last time,
Taking a deep breath in,
Filling up the entire body with air and breathing out,
Letting go.
Then let go of the control of your breathing and just settle your awareness on the natural flow of the breath,
Simply following each inhale,
Each exhale exactly as it is.
And now from the breath,
We shift the focus to the heart center,
The chest area,
Noticing the rising and falling sensation here and there,
And imagine someone that makes you feel loved and cared for,
Experiencing the love that they spread to you.
And with that image in mind,
Bring the warmth of your heart into your entire body,
Spreading this warm and kind energy from your heart outwards into every corner of your body.
And then start repeating the loving kindness phrases,
Wishing yourself all the best.
May I be happy,
May I be safe,
May I be healthy,
May I be at peace.
And just really tuning into the meaning and felt experience of every word.
And if you find yourself drifting off into thoughts or distractions,
Then just know that that's completely normal and without any judgment,
Come back to your focus point,
Back to the loving kindness wishes.
Now directing these wishes towards the person that is close to our heart,
Someone that you have a lot of affectionate feelings towards,
This might be a family member,
A close friend,
Maybe a partner,
And bringing them into your imagination.
May you be happy,
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you be at peace.
Notice how it feels like directing these loving kindness wishes towards that person.
And just keep on mentally repeating the loving kindness wishes directed towards that person close to your heart.
Now letting that person go and bringing to mind someone that has hurt you in the past,
That maybe is currently causing you pain,
Bringing that person as close into your experience as possible and only to the degree that feels comfortable directing loving kindness wishes towards that person.
May you be happy,
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you be at peace.
Notice how it feels like directing these loving kindness wishes towards that person compared to yourself or someone close to your heart.
And if the exercise becomes too intense,
Too difficult,
Then just know that you can return to your breath or even open your eyes at any point.
Try to stay with that image of this person though,
Wishing them all the best.
May you be happy,
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you be at peace.
Now letting that person go and shifting the focus to the entire world.
All humans,
All animals,
All living beings on this globe.
Bring them all into your awareness.
Now directing loving kindness towards all of them.
May all of you be happy,
May all of you be safe,
May all of you be healthy,
May all of you be at peace.
Try tuning into your heart center and notice how it feels like directing loving kindness towards everyone on this globe.
Now letting go of that focus and simply sitting with however you feel right now.
Notice any shifts in your experience from the beginning of this meditation to now and just be with it.
And then coming back to the room,
Noticing any sounds around you,
The pull of gravity,
Wiggling your fingers and toes.
And when you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes again.
As always,
Just taking a moment to do whatever feels comfortable.
You might want to take a moment to just sit here with this feeling or maybe you want to stretch.
And I would like to invite you to bring this compassion for yourself and other people into your day and notice what happens with your relationships both with yourself and with others.
And with that,
I wish you a lovely day and I'm looking forward to seeing you back here tomorrow.
