Loving-Kindness: Cultivating Compassion (With Music)

Hi,

I'm Dr.

Dionne,

And welcome to this loving-kindness meditation.

Sometimes healing looks less like striving and more like softening,

Less like doing,

And more like being.

This practice is an invitation to return to love,

To gently open your heart,

First toward yourself and then toward the world.

Sit comfortably,

Close your eyes if that feels safe,

Place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly,

Feel the rhythm beneath your palms,

The steady pulse of life flowing through your body.

Take a few slow breaths.

With every inhale,

Soften,

And with every exhale,

Come home.

You may begin with yourself,

Or if that feels too tender today,

Start with someone you love deeply.

Start where it feels easy,

The circle will widen with time.

May I be safe?

May I be well?

May I be loved?

May I feel peace?

May I be safe?

May I be well?

May I be loved?

May I feel peace?

Now bring to mind someone whose presence feels safe and true.

See their face or simply feel their presence,

And offer them the same blessings.

May you be safe.

May you be well.

May you be loved.

May you feel peace.

Now think of someone you don't know well,

A barista,

A neighbor,

A stranger in passing.

Imagine them bathed in the same beautiful light.

May you be safe.

May you be well.

May you be loved.

May you feel peace.

Next bring to mind someone with whom you have a challenge.

There's no need to force forgiveness,

Just open the door a little crack.

Let understanding breathe into the space between you.

May you be safe.

May you be well.

May you be loved.

May you feel peace.

Now let the love ripple outward to your friends,

Your community,

Your country,

And the world.

May all beings be safe.

May all beings be well.

May all beings be loved.

May all beings feel peace.

This practice isn't about pretending everything is fine.

It's about remembering that kindness,

Inward and outward,

Always matters.

A quiet returning to the heart,

A softening born not of weakness,

But of wisdom.

From my heart to yours,

Keep blooming.