Hello and welcome to the Loving Kindness Meditation.
This practice is designed to help you expand in your love and compassion for yourself and others,
Especially at times where it may feel difficult to do so.
To begin,
Get yourself into a comfortable position.
And just begin to quiet down the mind,
Feeling supported in the space beneath you,
Allowing the breath to flow naturally,
Relaxing the jaw,
Releasing the shoulders,
Letting go of any areas of tension in the body.
When you feel ready,
You may bring to mind the image of a person who you know or you have known in your life who easily evokes feelings of warmth and love.
It could be a partner,
A parent,
A mentor,
A close friend or a pet,
Someone who has been good to you,
Someone who helps you feel cared for and whole,
Whose love easily emanates from them to you.
Picture this person in your mind and imagine yourself saying to them,
May you be happy,
Healthy and whole.
May you have love,
Warmth and affection.
May you be protected from harm and free from fear.
May you be alive,
Engaged and joyful.
May you experience inner peace and ease.
You may have your own words and wishes for them,
And in this time you can feel free to use words that resonate with you.
Taking a few moments now to feel how it is to wish these things for them,
Letting yourself have feelings of love,
And well-being emanate from you to them,
Connecting you to them.
Notice how it feels inside you as you send these wishes of well-being to this person you love or care about.
And when you're ready,
See if you can imagine this person or figure wishing these very same things for you.
Knowing that they have your well-being in their heart,
Imagine them saying to you,
May you be happy,
Healthy and whole.
May you have love,
Warmth and affection in your life.
May you be protected from harm and fear.
May you be alive,
Engaged and joyful.
May you experience inner peace and ease.
Allow those feelings to wash over you,
Feeling their unconditional love and caring for you,
Letting the sense of safety and love grow in you,
Knowing there is nothing you have to do to deserve these feelings and wishes,
That they are given freely,
Without condition.
Seeing if you can connect with them,
Seeing if you can connect to the meaning of these phrases,
Even if you might not feel all the safety and warmth right now,
Knowing that that is their wish for you.
If it feels right,
See if there are others in your life you can extend these good wishes to,
A friend,
A coworker,
A neighbor,
Saying to them,
May you be happy and healthy and loved in your life.
May you be safe and protected,
Free from harm.
May you be alive and joyful,
And may you have inner peace and ease.
It may be possible to expand even further out to people you don't know closely,
People you may not have a personal relationship with,
People you may not have strong feelings about,
But people who are still part of your community.
Imagine saying to these people,
May you be happy and healthy and loved.
May you be safe and protected,
Free from suffering.
May you be alive,
Engaged,
And joyful,
And may you have inner peace and ease.
And even if these wishes aren't infused with the same love and warmth that they were with a loved one,
See if you can extend the wish anyways.
Without expectations that it should make you feel any particular way.
Keeping these people in your awareness as you send out love into the world.
And now,
See if you can face yourself and have these wishes for yourself.
You can picture yourself how you are now or as a young child or in a different time in your life where you may have needed it.
Face yourself now as you say,
May I be happy and healthy and loved.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be alive and free.
May I experience inner peace and ease.
Taking a few moments to just feel the love and warmth you have sent to yourself.
Knowing it may be difficult at times to show yourself love,
But that you deserve it.
And if you feel strong and secure and you're comfortable with this,
You can try extending these wishes to someone who may be difficult for you right now.
You might not think of the most difficult person in your life,
Maybe just someone who there may be some sort of frustration or misunderstanding with.
In doing this,
It might help to remember that just like you,
They are doing the best they can with what outer and inner resources they have.
And if it feels possible to you,
Imagine saying to them,
May you feel peace and ease.
May you have love and warmth in your life.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And whole.
Even if this is difficult,
There's value in noticing what it's like to extend the wish.
Recognizing that you are not condoning their actions,
But you see in them a human being with some sort of the same needs as you.
To be loved,
Be safe,
To be at ease.
And if this is possible,
Bring to mind the circle that began with yourself and the people you love most.
Your loved ones,
The people in your community,
And extend the circle to include all the many people you don't know who may live far away,
People who are part of other cultures,
People who live in other countries and communities.
Imagine saying to them,
May you be happy and healthy.
May you have peace and ease.
May you have love and warmth in your life.
You can even imagine extending these wishes to all parts of the universe,
All life on our planet and beyond,
Including ourselves.
And say,
May we all be happy and healthy.
May we all be safe and protected.
May we all live together in peace,
Ease,
And happiness.
And as this practice comes to an end,
Just take time to appreciate and feel what's been generated through this practice.
And even if there have been difficult parts of this practice,
Know that this practice has the potential to increase your sense of life,
Of connection and belonging.
And when you are ready,
Let yourself feel again Connect to the ground supporting you,
The sensations in your body.
Begin to notice the movement of your own breath,
Bringing energy to your body as a whole.
And as you do this,
Bring energy to your body as a whole.
Just as your wishes of goodwill bring love and connection to those around you.
