Welcome back.
In this practice,
We will be cultivating loving kindness.
We all have within us the natural capacity for loving kindness,
Or friendship that is unconditional and open,
Gentle,
Supportive.
Loving kindness is a natural opening of a compassionate heart,
To ourselves and to others.
It's a wish that everyone be happy.
We begin with developing loving kindness towards ourselves,
Allowing the heart to open with tenderness.
Now allow yourself to remember and open up to your basic goodness.
You might remember times when you have been kind or generous.
You might recall your natural desire to be happy and not to suffer.
Look at yourself through the eyes of someone who loves you.
Or you can use the imagination to picture yourself as a young child standing before you.
These ideas can help allow tender feelings of kindness to flow easily.
And as you experience this love,
Notice how you feel in the body.
Maybe you feel some warmth or heat in the face,
A smile,
A sense of expansiveness.
This is loving kindness,
Natural feeling that is accessible to all of us,
Always.
Pause here with this feeling of open,
Unconditional love for yourself,
Letting the wonderful feeling of self-love radiate and grow.
Letting yourself bask in the energy of loving kindness,
Inviting feelings of peace and acceptance.
So beginning now to wish yourself well by extending words of loving kindness to yourself.
I'll offer as a guidance the phrases that I've chosen to use in my personal practice.
You're invited to change or alter these phrases and choose whatever words that express your personal wishes of loving kindness towards yourself and others.
And now offering these words in your mind for yourself.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be held in loving kindness.
May I feel connected and calm.
May I accept myself just as I am.
May I be happy.
May I know the natural joy of being alive.
And now repeating in the mind these words of friendship and kindness to yourself once again.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be held in loving kindness.
May I feel connected and calm.
May I accept myself just as I am.
May I be happy.
May I know the natural joy of being alive.
Now you can open the circle of loving kindness by bringing to mind someone who is dear to you.
Someone whom you care about and who has always been supportive.
In your heart,
Feel your appreciation for this dear one and begin your simple offering of these words toward them.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be held in loving kindness.
May you feel my love now.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you be happy.
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now bring to mind a neutral person.
This is someone you might see regularly but maybe you don't know them.
It could be a neighbor,
A grocery store clerk.
Bring this person to mind now and repeat the words of loving kindness and send it to them.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be held in loving kindness.
May you feel my love now.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you be happy.
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
And now if it's possible for you,
Bring to mind someone with whom you've had a difficult relationship.
Perhaps it's someone you don't like to feel sympathy or compassion for.
Seeing if that's possible,
Let go of any feelings of resentment and dislike for this person.
Reminding yourself to see this person as a whole being,
Deserving of loving kindness,
As someone who feels pain and anxiety,
Grief and sadness.
Seeing if it's possible to extend this person the words of loving kindness in your mind.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be held in loving kindness.
May you feel my love now.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you be happy.
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now allow your awareness to open out into all directions.
Yourself,
A dear one,
A neutral person,
And a difficult person.
And all of humanity,
All the animals and beings living everywhere.
To those who are living in riches,
To those who are living in poverty,
War,
Peace,
Hunger,
Or abundance.
Aware of all of the joys and sorrows that all beings experience.
May all beings be filled with loving kindness.
May all beings awaken and be free.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings know the natural joy of being alive.
And now bringing this practice to close by coming back to extend kindness to yourself.
Sitting for a while and basking in this energy of loving kindness that we have generated here.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Namaste.
