Hello,
This is Contessa with Just Healing.
Today I'd like to lead us through a metta meditation or the meditation of loving kindness.
You can begin by finding a comfortable seat or even find a comfortable posture laying down.
Once you're there,
Connecting first with the parts of yourself that are grounded,
Releasing into the support that's beneath you,
Making that connection,
Connecting with being held and supported.
Next,
Letting your attention and your focus find its way to your breath,
Not changing anything,
Just noticing what's there.
Maybe you're able to hear the sound of your breath.
Maybe it's noticing where in your body your breath is causing the most sensation.
Maybe it's even noticing the temperature of your breath,
The cool of an inhale and the warmth of an exhale.
Letting your breath face no resistance here,
Letting your next inhale be a little deeper into your abdomen,
And your exhale extend a little bit longer,
Keeping the throat soft,
The chest soft,
The belly soft.
And it's this breath that will sustain us through the rest of our practice.
Metta meditation begins by cultivating feelings of love,
Compassion,
And kindness.
And first,
We extend that to ourselves.
Maybe you give yourself gratitude for all of the good decisions you have made that have led you to this very moment.
Maybe you give yourself a thank you for the wise decision to devote some time to meditation today.
Eventually,
All of that love and kindness will culminate in sending yourself well wishes.
And they'll sound like this,
May I be safe,
May I be healthy,
May I be happy,
May I live my life with ease.
Spending time here silently repeating these well wishes,
And letting this loving kindness grow within us.
If you feel your cup holding all of this love and compassion begin to overflow,
Sharing it with someone who's close to you.
This can be someone who is maybe physically nearby,
Sharing your space right now.
It could be a loved one who is never far from your heart.
Someone who,
When you think of them,
You can't help but smile.
Bringing that person to mind and imagining that they were right here,
Able to hear our well wishes,
We can begin saying it directly to them.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you live life with ease.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you live your life with ease.
Filling these well wishes with our breath,
Enjoying just for a moment,
The thought of this loved one receiving what it is you have to give today.
If there is still more love and light that you have to share,
Let it spell out of the boundaries of where you're residing,
Finding strangers and acquaintances,
Knowing that they too are striving today for their own peace and their own safety and their own stability.
Letting the love and kindness inside of you grow so it has the ability to envelop a larger part of your community.
Eventually calling to mind maybe a stranger or an acquaintance in particular.
This could be someone you cross paths with,
But nevertheless don't really know.
Maybe it's a mailman,
The person working the checkout at your favorite grocer.
A neighbor that keeps to themselves.
Again,
Knowing that their life is filled with concern for their own well-being the way that everyone else's is.
Imagine yourself speaking directly to this person,
Telling them your well wishes for them.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you live your life with ease.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you live your life with ease.
Filling these well wishes with our breath.
Enjoying what it is to share this loving kindness,
Even with a stranger.
Maybe you've noticed your love and light has continued to grow.
Maybe it has gotten so big and so vast that you can imagine it enveloping the entire world.
Your loving kindness is able to spread out and parts of it are able to find its way to every living being.
Every living being desires safety,
Peace,
Happiness,
And liberation.
Letting these wishes for every living being culminate in sending well wishes for our world.
May every living being be safe.
May every living being be healthy.
May every living being be happy.
May every living being live life with ease.
May all beings know safety.
May all beings know health.
May all beings know happiness.
May all beings live life with ease.
Imagining every exhale,
Carrying your loving light just a little bit further,
Stretching around the planet,
Maybe finding those that are suffering today.
Maybe even finding its way to those who we can no longer be in community with.
May it be so.
Thank you for joining me today for this Metta practice.
Gratitude to you for your willingness to share it with me.
Until next time,
Be well.
