Welcome to the intention table for your practice of cultivating love and kindness.
My name is Priya and I'll be facilitating this practice for you today.
It's inspired by the traditional Metta meditation.
Metta is a Pali word that means benevolence,
Friendliness,
Friendship,
Goodwill,
Kindness,
And love.
So whenever you are ready,
You can begin to make your way to a comfortable shape that might be laying down,
Sitting on a chair,
Or possibly a floor.
Your eyes can be open or they can be closed.
That's up to you.
And during this practice,
If it interests you,
We will begin extending love and kindness to ourselves and then gradually extending the wish for well-being,
Happiness to all beings.
Know that you can stop this practice at any moment in time for any reason at all.
And if you're ready to begin,
Find yourself in a comfortable manner.
You can begin to take a few breaths just to ground down here if that interests you.
Slow and long inhales and complete exhalations.
You might take an audible exhale releasing from your mouth.
If that interests you,
Know that you can go there.
An inhale through your nose.
And an exhale through your mouth.
A couple more just like that.
And then from here,
You can begin to bring your awareness to your face.
Notice if there's any tightness or tension around your eyes and maybe soften there.
Notice you relax the muscles in your face,
Your jaw and peel the tongue up off the roof of your mouth if it's there.
Bring your attention to your mind and let go of any concerns or preoccupations in your mind at this moment in time.
Once you begin to settle into awareness of your body,
Noticing where you make contact to the surface beneath you,
You might begin to feel into your body.
Some parts might feel heavy,
Some parts might feel light.
And just staying open to whatever is being experienced in your body at this moment in time.
Maybe you begin to connect to your breath,
Noticing wave-like movements of your abdominal area.
Perhaps noticing your inhale,
Noticing your exhale.
And then in your own time,
Begin to imagine or feel your breath moving into your upper body.
And then from there,
Taking your awareness to the area of your heart.
So you'll begin today by developing love and kindness to yourself,
Allowing your heart to open with tenderness.
And as you say these words,
Know that emotions may begin to arise.
You can choose to stay there without emotion or let it go and let your practice go at any moment in time,
For any reason at all.
And if you're ready,
We'll just begin our simple offering to ourselves.
May I be filled with love and kindness.
May I feel connected and safe.
May I find peace.
May I be well.
I'll say it again.
May I be filled with love and kindness.
May I feel connected and safe.
May I find peace.
May I be well.
And this last time,
You can choose to say it out loud or you might prefer to say it internally.
No,
Either way,
It's up to you where you would like to go.
And directing it into your heart one last time.
May I be filled with love and kindness.
May I feel connected and safe.
May I find peace.
May I be well.
Now you can stay with this,
Continuing to develop love and kindness to yourself.
Or if it interests you to possibly open the circle of love and kindness to others,
You might bring to mind someone who is close to you.
So maybe beginning to think of someone who is close to you.
Perhaps it's someone that you hold dear.
Maybe thinking of someone who you care about and who has been supportive.
Perhaps beginning to think about this person's basic goodness.
Bringing forth in particular what it is that you love about this person.
Growing appreciation or gratitude in your heart.
And from that place,
If you'd like to take this,
Begin your simple offering.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you feel connected and safe.
May you find peace.
May you be well.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you feel connected and safe.
May you find peace.
May you be well.
Holding this feeling of love and kindness and thinking of this person both in your mind and your heart,
Saying the same words internally or audibly one last time.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you feel connected and safe.
May you find peace.
May you be well.
Once again,
You can stay with that,
Cultivating love and kindness for someone who you care about.
Or if it interests you to move and extend your compassion and love outwardly,
Bring to mind a neutral person.
This can be someone that you see regularly but don't know that well.
It might be a neighbor,
A grocery store clerk,
Or perhaps someone you see on the street as you pass them by.
Perhaps it's someone who serves you at a restaurant or someone else that you just see but don't know.
Bring this person to mind and begin to repeat your offering here.
But also know and just a gentle reminder that you can stay with any of the previous two or close off your practice for any reason at all at any moment in time.
If you're ready to move to a neutral person,
We'll begin our offering here.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you feel connected and safe.
May you find peace.
May you be well.
Maybe softening your voice here and taking that one more time.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you feel connected and safe.
May you find peace.
May you be well.
And saying this last one,
Taking it internally.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you feel connected and safe.
May you find peace.
May you be well.
So you can stay there cultivating love and kindness for a neutral person or perhaps going back to cultivating it for someone that you care about or possibly yourself.
Now if it's possible for you,
You might bring to mind someone with whom you have a difficult relationship with.
Perhaps it's someone that having sympathy for or possibly compassion for isn't in your immediate realm of possibilities.
Seeing at this moment in time,
If it is possible for you to let go of feelings of resentment or possibly dislike for this person.
Maybe reminding yourself to see this person as a whole being,
Deserving of love and kindness.
As someone who also feels pain and anxiety.
As someone who also suffers.
Seeing if it's possible to extend to this person an offering of love and kindness.
Know that if you choose to go there and if it brings up emotions or a sense of overwhelm,
You're welcome to stop this practice at any moment in time and take some grounding breaths,
Possibly a sensory grounding exercise before you close out or go back to any of the previous ones.
If it is possible for you and you'd like to continue,
Maybe bringing this person to your mind,
Holding them in your mind and bringing them into your heart and then beginning your simple offering.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you feel connected and safe.
May you find peace.
May you be well.
And saying it once more with a softer tone.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you feel connected and safe.
May you find peace.
May you be well.
Taking the last one internally.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you feel connected and safe.
May you find peace.
May you be well.
If you are interested in exploring your awareness and extending qualities of friendliness and compassion out in all directions,
You might begin to explore thinking of yourself,
A dear loved one,
A neutral person,
A difficult person,
And then all beings,
Humans,
Nature,
And animals living everywhere.
Aware of all the joys and sorrows that all beings experience and begin your simple offering here.
May all beings be filled with love and kindness.
May all beings be connected and safe.
May all beings find peace.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be filled with love and kindness.
May all beings be connected and safe.
May all beings find peace.
May all beings be well.
One last time saying it internally.
May all beings be filled with love and kindness.
May all beings be connected and safe.
May all beings find peace.
May all beings be well.
So know that you can stay with any one of those or go back to them.
Or if you're ready,
Beginning to come back to yourself,
Maybe noticing any emotions that may be there,
Sending love and kindness to yourself one more time,
Acknowledging yourself for overcoming any obstacle that may have gotten in your way of your practice,
Acknowledging yourself for making choices that were useful for you.
It's been such an honor sharing the space with you for your practice of love and kindness from my heart directly to your heart,
All my love and all my light.
