So finding a comfortable posture,
Whatever is supportive for you today,
And settling into the body,
Connecting with your own body,
Your own experience in this moment,
Connecting to the earth,
Grounding yourself,
Connecting to our community,
Our sangha.
There's 26 of us here today,
So just enjoying knowing that we are practicing together and then call to mind someone who you have an easy relationship with,
Someone you care for,
Someone in your inner,
The inner circle of your heart.
And that could be a human being,
Or it could be another kind of being.
And just seeing how,
Whether they are very happy and peaceful in this moment or suffering in an obvious way in this moment,
That they have pain and suffering in their lives.
And taking a moment to really connect with them,
To be completely open,
Creating spaciousness in the mind and in the body,
Letting go of any preconceived notions of what this is,
Just dropping all the stories,
Drop them right now and breathe in,
Breathing in any pain,
Any suffering that they may have,
And breathing out a wish for peace for them,
Just a few in-breaths and a few out-breaths for them,
Breathing in all of their pain,
All of their suffering,
And breathing out peace for them.
I wish you well.
May you be at ease.
And then maybe there is a friend or a colleague and they are suffering.
There's something going on in their life.
Taking a moment,
Really connecting with them,
Letting go of all the stories and just breathing in that suffering and transforming it,
Allowing the body to transform it all by itself,
All by itself on its own and breathing out peace for them,
I wish you well,
Breathing in their suffering and breathing out peace.
And then maybe there is a stranger or someone who is an acquaintance,
You might recognize them,
Maybe someone that you know well or don't know well,
But who you see on a regular basis at the market or the parking garage or walking your dog and just breathe in any suffering that they may be experiencing,
Breathing it in and then breathing out peace,
A few breaths of breathing in and breathing out peace,
Breathing in suffering,
Breathing out peace.
And then maybe there is a difficult person in your life or in your orbit.
It could be that they are difficult because they've caused you some trouble,
Because they have impacted the world in a way that feels troubling for you.
Or it could be that they are a difficult person because it's hard for you to see them,
Hard for you to be around them.
So this could be someone who you walk past who's unhoused,
Or it could be someone who's combative in your life,
Or it could be someone in the world.
Take your pick and just breathe in their suffering,
Breathe in their confusion,
Breathe in their hatred,
Breathe in their aggression,
Breathe in their greed,
Breathe it in and breathe out peace,
Wishing that their confusion would subside,
That their hatred would attenuate,
That greed would not grip them.
And then for all beings,
Just breathing in the suffering of the world and one or two breaths,
Breathing out peace for the world,
Breathing in all of the suffering of the world and knowing that you have this incredible capacity and breathing out peace.
