Come into a seated posture.
You can sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor or with your legs crossed seated on the ground.
Allow your eyes to gently close.
Relax your hands,
Placing them somewhere comfortable in your lap.
Soften the body,
And be aware that you're about to enter a very sacred place,
And that's the temple of your own heart.
So move into the heart space now.
This is not the anatomical heart,
It's right in the centre of your chest.
It's that spiritual point which can be seen on the statue of the sacred heart of Jesus,
Or on a Buddha,
On many religious statues.
Because this is ancient knowledge,
That our emotional centre,
The power of love,
Is felt right here.
So connecting with this point,
You may have seen the heart symbolised as flaming.
This points to the warmth,
The burning,
The passion,
The deep and profound love that resides here in all of us.
So if you can connect to a sense of warmth now,
In this area,
Allow that to be.
And if you can't,
Don't see this as a bad sign.
This is just a pointer to you moving into a deeper life with yourself,
Knowing that although the heart is numbed from life,
Repeated practice will open it again,
And joy will flood in.
So we're going to use some Buddhist phrases now,
From loving kindness.
It's an ancient practice to awaken the heart,
To remove fear and to live with joy.
So as if speaking from this centre,
This heart centre,
Say in your mind,
The heart mind that is,
May I be happy.
And feel the emotional connection to that wish for your own happiness.
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be well.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be completely free.
May I be completely free.
Connecting with any emotions that arise,
Any physical feelings in the heart centre.
Allowing them to blossom.
And again repeat the phrases,
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be free.
And pick whichever of those phrases resonate with you.
You can just use one,
You can use all four,
Or just as many as you remember or that work for you.
And say them now in your own time.
Connecting deeply with the words,
You speak them silently in your heart.
And now allowing the words to fall away,
But staying connected to the heart.
And as we begin to close the meditation,
And your eyes open,
Slowly,
Allow that feeling to stay,
Any positive feelings that you may have cultivated,
And allow them to continue to grow,
To grow in your acts,
In your smile,
In the way you are,
Throughout this day.
And if you felt numb,
And nothing worked,
It's not hopeless.
Just return to this practice,
And try again.
It's the intention that will heal you.
So just keep coming back,
Practising,
Waiting for the shell to crack,
For the wall that you've built around your heart to crumble.
It will.
May you be happy.
