Fostering Loving-Kindness

Welcome to Community Mindfulness Project's Loving-Kindness Meditation.

Assuming a posture that is balanced,

Upright and dignified.

Ensuring that the spine is straight,

Maybe moving away from the back of the chair.

Imagining a piece of string attached to the top of your head that's gently pulling you upward.

And if you wish,

Leaning forward and backward and side to side,

To get a sense of where your center of gravity is most balanced and solid.

Raising the sternum by tucking the shoulder blades together slightly,

Which opens the chest.

And allowing the chin to tilt gently downwards so that your neck is at rest.

Closing your eyes or hooding them and casting your great gaze downwards a few inches in front of your knees.

So we'll begin by taking an inventory of our current mental and emotional state.

Checking in without judgment,

Accepting and honoring what is here for you in this moment.

What is the quality of your attention?

Is it clear,

Foggy,

Cluttered?

Noticing any thoughts that may be present,

Whether they have a theme to them or a tone to them,

Any images,

Any emotions or combinations of emotions.

Just noticing,

Creating the healthy habit of being aware of our present moment experience as it unfolds.

Intentions can help to serve as a roadmap when doubt or difficulty arise during the practice.

So inviting you to take a moment to set an intention for this practice,

Such as I will practice experiencing the felt sense of an open heart.

Or I will intend to celebrate noticing the mind's wandering,

Recognizing that mind wandering is natural.

Shifting my perspective from judgment or criticism to kindness.

Or maybe I'll be mindful of when mental narratives pull me away from the felt sense of kindness and generosity.

Or finally,

Maybe I will experiment with letting go of words during the practice,

Cultivating an embodied sense of wishing someone well.

So taking a moment to set your own personalized intention for this practice now.

Now bringing attention into the body,

Noticing whatever sensations are arising,

Noticing the points of contact with what's beneath you,

Perhaps the sensations of clothing touching the skin or the movement of air,

Observing any other sensations,

Tingling,

Pulsing,

Tightness that are arising in the body.

Now scanning the body with the intention of cultivating relaxation and openness,

Beginning with the forehead,

Relaxing the muscles there and the muscles around the eyes and along the jaw,

Softening a little bit more on each exhale.

Now relaxing muscles in the neck and shoulders,

Maybe experimenting with softening around the heart area.

Relaxing the muscles in the arms and hands.

Softening in the lower back and the abdomen,

Allowing the belly to be soft and round.

Softening through the seat and into the legs and feet.

Now inviting you to take a few intentional deep breaths at your own pace,

Allowing the breath to flow all the way into the belly.

If you'd like,

You can place one hand on your belly to be sure that the breath is reaching your abdomen,

Paying close attention to what it feels like to breathe this deeply,

All the way through the breath cycles.

Now allowing the breath to flow naturally,

Without exerting any control over it,

Breathing as spontaneously and as effortlessly as if you were deep asleep.

This is a wonderful opportunity to practice vulnerability and letting go of control.

And just letting the body breathe on its own.

Narrowing the focus to the sensations of the breath in the abdomen,

Following the natural rhythm of the inhale and exhale.

And with curiosity,

Observing with continuity the sensations of the breath at the abdomen.

We're practicing deep listening to the raw sensations in the body that correlate with the breath to stabilize our attention.

Now allowing the breath to flow naturally,

Without exerting any control over it,

Breathing as spontaneously as if you were deep asleep.

And so now in the cultivation of an open heart,

I invite you to gently place one hand on your heart,

Feeling the warmth of your hand and the gentle touch of your hand on your chest,

Holding your center with loving care and tenderness for a moment.

Just noticing what that feels like,

Both to give yourself that kindness and to receive it as well.

And then resting your hand back in a comfortable position.

Now inviting you to bring an image or sense of yourself to mind,

Allowing the aspiration to arise in any words,

Images or feelings that make sense for you.

May I be healthy,

May I be happy,

May I live with ease.

Noticing the felt sense of these aspirations.

Maybe repeating whatever wishes you have for yourself over and over to yourself,

Offering yourself this gift of kindness,

Of unconditional care.

And if it helps,

Maybe envisioning someone who loves you sitting with you offering these wishes to you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And now allowing the image of yourself to fade slightly.

And now bringing to mind a loved one,

Either an image of this person or pet even,

Or his or her voice or just a sense of their general presence.

Imagining that they are experiencing a deep sense of well-being and flourishing.

And allowing the aspiration to arise,

May you,

Like myself,

Be happy,

Be healthy and live with ease.

Noticing the feeling tones in the body as you offer these wishes for their well-being.

And repeating whatever phrases feel right to you in this moment,

Whatever your wishes may be for this loved one.

Thank you.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you live with ease.

Offering these wishes or whatever custom wishes feel right to you as if offering a gift to your loved one with no expectation of anything in return.

Thank you.

And now allowing the image of your loved one to fade slightly.

And bringing to mind a neutral person,

Someone you don't know very well,

Maybe somebody you crossed paths with today.

And acknowledging that they too wish to be happy.

Imagine that they are experiencing a deep sense of well-being and flourishing.

And allowing the aspiration to arise,

May you,

Like myself,

Be healthy,

Be happy and live with ease.

Noticing the feeling tones in the body as you offer these wishes for their well-being.

Thank you.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you live with ease.

May you live with ease.

May you live with ease.

May you live with ease.

Now allowing the image of the neutral person to fade slightly.

And checking in for a moment on your physical posture to ensure that you're stable,

Upright and relaxed if you're sitting.

Or balanced and relaxed if you're supine.

And if you notice any pockets of tightness that have arisen,

With the exhale just soften to invite back in that sense of relaxation.

And so now bringing to mind a challenging person,

You can go gently here,

Maybe someone that is a two or three on a scale of one to ten for challenging you.

Attending closely to them.

Beginning to notice that they too wish to be happy.

Envisioning that they are experiencing a sense of well-being and allowing the aspiration to arise.

May you like me,

Be healthy,

Be happy and live with ease.

Noticing the felt sense of this experience for you.

And repeating those phrases or whatever phrase might resonate over and over to yourself.

Offering them as if offering a gift to this person.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And bringing the image of this person to fade slightly.

And imagining that your aspirations and wishes are expanding outward.

These wishes are so strong that they expand out to the far reaches of the globe.

Allowing your attention to roam in reverent lands on individuals,

Groups,

Organizations,

Countries.

Allow the aspiration to arise.

May you be healthy,

May you be happy and may you live with ease.

May you cultivate genuine happiness.

And noticing the echoes of loving kindness as feeling tones in the body.

Sending these wishes out around the globe.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now beginning to introduce some movement into the body.

Wiggling fingers or toes or raising and lowering shoulders.

Moving the head from side to side maybe.

And taking a moment to check in on your internal weather now.

Any thoughts,

Images or sensations that are present.

And may all beings everywhere without exception feel connected to those around them.

Take care.