In practicing the art of acceptance,
The teacher lies in a seated source of love.
Love opens you to that which you may be blocking.
And kindness is directly related to releasing your fears about love,
Or maybe more directly,
Fears of not being loved or losing it.
So let us give ourselves permission to be in all of the places that we are and fall in love.
Take time now to find a meditative posture,
Either seated or lying on your back,
Where you can breathe naturally and comfortably.
Close your eyes down and place your hands on top of your heart or your chest.
If you don't feel comfortable doing so,
Just imagine that your hands are touching the heart.
You can even just bring your attention to this space with your awareness,
The heart center,
Right inside of your chest,
The center of the chest,
Right beneath the breastbone.
Now take a few moments to breathe into this center space.
You might notice the breath take on the beat and the rhythm of the pulse,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Begin to notice any emotions that may arise,
Any feelings that arise from these emotions.
And then take note of any images that are connected to feelings or emotions that may be arising at this time.
All of these experiences are a part of you in the here and in the now.
And now as we sit in this center space at the chest,
Take a moment to repeat this statement of loving kindness,
Of loving attention inside of the space within your body.
May I be free from suffering.
May I be healthy.
May I be happy.
May I be balanced and at ease.
Let these words sink inside of your chest for the next few moments.
Let them swallow up any experience that is undesired,
Heavy.
And then let these words,
This statement move across the body and down the body,
Upwards into the crown so that you can feel it even just for a moment within your skin.
And then bring to mind someone that you deeply love.
This may be a family member.
This may be a lover,
A romantic partner,
A best friend.
This may even be a teacher,
Some sort that you feel deep feelings of love and kindness towards.
You may first see their face in your mind behind your closed eyes.
And then allow for these images to bring about a labeled emotion.
Let the feeling of this emotion carry you deeper into the experience of them.
And then with the image of them inside of your mind and your heart,
Repeat this statement as if you were saying these words to them.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be balanced and at ease.
Take a moment to notice the expression on their face,
Gestures in their body as they hear and absorb your loving words.
And now bring to mind someone in your life that may not be as easy to work with.
You may consider these people,
These relationships as our greatest teachers,
The more difficult,
Sticky,
Unexpected relations that we have in this life that in turn create such revelations for us as we move forward.
So take time and bring to mind a person or relationship that is workable at this moment that you may be able to send these loving words to.
Since their face behind your closed eyes and once again,
Any emotions that are created simply by their imagined presence.
And then sit with the feeling even if it can be labeled as uncomfortable.
And now sitting with the experience of this being as if you were saying these words directly to them.
Repeat in your heart,
May you be free from suffering.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be balanced and at ease.
And then sit with this image,
This being for another few breaths,
Just acknowledging their presence in your mind and also acknowledging your willingness to forgive,
To send them love and kindness.
And now bring in all of the bodies,
The relationships that you can imagine within your life now that were in your life,
That you can imagine in the future.
And then widen out this perspective into all other beings,
Human bodies,
Animals,
Any living organism,
Including trees,
Plants,
And bring them all in to your loving heart space.
You can take a moment to imagine this gathering,
This sangha of breathing beings all gathering together.
And as if every single being could hear these words resonate as you spoke them inside of your body from the heart space.
Repeat,
May we be free from suffering.
May we be healthy.
May we be happy.
May we be balanced and at ease.
May we be free from suffering.
May we be healthy.
May we be happy.
May we be balanced and at ease.
Now just sense the greatness of this emotion of love,
Of kindness,
Of unconditional acceptance that strengthens this tantric connective thread between you and I,
Between us,
And then between all of your parts that exist within the body,
All of the characters that play a part in this life,
And turn all of the physical systems inside of your somatic structure.
Take the next few breaths to sit with this place of being true love.
And then when you're ready,
You can let the image fade.
All of the beings just fade into the background of your closed eyes.
But take time now to let this inner sensation,
This inner experience of love and kindness to resonate with every part inside of your skin so that even if you forget,
Even if the thinking mind cannot resonate with this experience,
The body knows better.
Our meditation is now complete.
Hari Om Tutsaat.
