Practice tonight is a practice called metta,
Also known as loving-kindness.
It's this really fundamental practice in Buddhism of sharing wishes of love and kindness to ourselves and to others,
To all beings.
So as we go through this practice,
Just remembering that the phrases are wishes,
Not commands.
So not holding on too tightly to the words,
Just allowing them to rest in your awareness.
So let's settle now into our posture.
Bringing stability into your seat,
Elongating your spine,
Dropping your shoulders,
Opening the chest,
Tilting the crown of the head slightly,
Your eyes may be closed or open in a downward gaze in front of you.
Just allowing your body to relax.
Consider the image of an ice cube melting.
I'm just allowing a melting particularly in the shoulders to help soften.
Just bringing attention to the life that's here,
Noticing sensation,
Vibration,
Tightness or space.
Just opening to the world of sensation within your body right now.
Now begin noticing your breath.
You might notice it at the chest or the belly or even at the tip of your nose.
Noticing it maybe even perhaps for the like like it was your first time.
Oh I'm breathing.
Just allowing the comforting breath to hold you in this moment.
Now feeling into your heart space.
Noticing the space of your heart in all directions.
Maybe even feeling your heartbeat.
You might consider bringing a hand or both hands over your heart.
Just making this physical connection to our emotional center.
Feeling the warmth of your fingers spreading,
Relaxing the heart space.
Making a connection to your own basic goodness.
Connecting to the meaning of Metta.
Friendship,
Caring,
Kindness.
Now repeating these phrases silently to yourself.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I live with ease.
I'm just remembering that these are phrases to rest your awareness in,
Not commands or demands.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I live with ease.
I'm continuing to repeat these words of loving-kindness to yourself,
For yourself.
And now bringing to your mind's eye a person or a being,
Could be your pet.
A being that you adore unconditionally and you feel love for instantly when they come into your mind's eye.
And now sharing your wishes of loving-kindness to this person as you visualize them,
Maybe even sitting right next to you right now.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
Again,
Just repeating these words as you continue to make a heart connection with this person that you love.
And if the mind wanders,
Just simply coming back to rest,
Resting in the awareness of the phrases,
Resting in the awareness of breath.
And now expanding your field of awareness.
And now bringing that awareness to a person that you don't know particularly well,
A neutral person.
Could be someone that you passed on the street today or saw in a line at the coffee shop or the drive-thru.
Just bringing them into your mind's eye and maybe even filling in some of the details of your brief encounter with this other human being.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
And just coming back to those phrases in your mind,
Silently saying them to this person.
And now inviting into your awareness a person who you don't feel at peace with.
May be someone who just rubs you the wrong way or you don't agree or see eye to eye.
And allowing any emotions or sensations that come up when this person comes into your mind's eye to just be there.
Allowing them,
Noticing them,
But not clinging to them.
And not letting the narrative of your relationship with this person be your attention.
Letting the phrases of loving kindness anchor your attention.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
And now expanding your awareness like waves.
Waves of loving kindness expanding through your family,
Your community,
Your state,
Your country,
The world.
And sending warmth from your heart space all the way out in all directions.
Including all beings.
All beings without exception.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings live with ease.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings live with ease.
Silently repeating the words of loving kindness.
Now in these last moments of practice,
Really seeing the metta phrases and just bringing your gentle awareness back to your breath.
Floating on the waves of your breath.
And hearing the words of the poem,
Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye.
Before you know what kindness really is,
You must lose things.
Feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
What you counted and carefully saved.
All this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop.
The passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever.
Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
You must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you.
How he too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive.
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
You must know sorrow is the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows.
And you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore.
Only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread.
Only kindness that raises its head from the crowd of the world to say,
It is I you have been looking for.
And then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend.
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Just coming back into presence.
Coming back into this moment.
Thank you so much for your practice.
Thank you.
