G'day,
My name is Rachel Grace.
Thanks for joining me for this practice on loving kindness.
In this introductory loving kindness practice,
You'll be invited to silently repeat these phrases of loving kindness.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be safe.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be happy and at ease.
First of all,
Directing these intentions towards a person or animal you love,
Then towards yourself and then finally towards all beings everywhere.
So let's begin.
To prepare for this practice,
I invite you to find a sitting posture where you feel relaxed and comfortable.
As you settle into this posture,
I invite you to take a moment to just notice the environment around you,
Noticing the space around you,
Hearing the sounds that are around you,
Just allowing yourself to arrive in the space and the place you're in.
Then I invite you to join me in taking a deep breath in,
Filling the lungs,
And then exhaling gently and slowly,
Releasing all the air from your lungs as you allow your eyes to gently close or,
If you prefer,
Letting your eyes be downcast with a soft gaze towards the floor.
And we'll begin the practice with the ring of a gong.
GONG Just noticing your body breathing,
Noticing how it feels as you breathe in and out in a natural and gentle rhythm,
Allowing your body to relax and your heart to be soft.
I invite you now to think of and imagine this being that you love a lot,
This person or this animal that you care for.
It could be an adult or a child or a pet.
You might have many beings come to mind or just a few.
Either way,
That's okay.
For this practice now,
I invite you to choose just one person or pet to focus on that you love dearly and bring them to mind now.
See them in your mind's eye and let yourself feel your natural care for them,
Noticing what that feels like.
And now continuing to keep this being in mind who you care for,
Who you love,
I invite you to recite inwardly the following phrases directed towards their wellbeing.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be safe.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be happy and at ease.
As you continue to repeat these phrases,
Continue to hold this loved one in loving kindness.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be happy and at ease.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be happy and at ease.
I'm just developing a gentle pacing with these phrases.
There's no need to rush through them.
See if you can really offer them as a gift with each phrase,
Putting your intention behind each phrase as you repeat those.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be at ease.
May you be happy and at ease.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be well in body you you if your attention wonders or if difficult thoughts or feelings arise just notice those and gently acknowledge them and let go of them in the spirit of kindness and begin again repeating these phrases of loving kindness now I invite you to bring these wishes of loving kindness for yourself silently repeating these phrases and directing them towards yourself now may I be filled with loving kindness may I be safe may I be well in body and mind may I be happy and at ease and at ease if you feel comfortable doing so you might like to try placing one hand or both your hands on your chest resting them over your heart doing this can support the capacity to gently receive these kind intentions as you continue to recite these phrases directing them towards yourself may I be filled with loving kindness may I be safe may I be well in body and mind may I be happy and at ease may I be well in body and mind may I be happy and at ease continuing to recite these phrases silently to yourself repeating them over and over at first following along with me and then continuing on independently following your own timing and using your own wording if you prefer may I be filled with loving kindness may I be safe may I be safe may I be well in body and mind may I be well in body and mind may I be happy and at ease may I be well in body and mind and at ease may I be well in body and mind may I be well in body and mind sometimes feelings of irritation or anger can arise in this practice if this happens be patient and kind towards yourself allowing whatever arises to be held in a spirit of friendliness and kindness gently and kindly repeating these phrases with your hands resting gently on your chest may I be filled with loving kindness may I be safe may I be well in body and mind may I be happy and at ease and either continuing to leave your hands resting on your chest or allowing them to return to their original resting position whatever you're most comfortable with I invite you to now expand the intention for wellbeing,
Directing it to all beings and I invite you to try that practice now,
Reciting these phrases after me may we all be filled with loving kindness may we all be safe may we all be well in body and mind may we all be happy and at ease may we all be filled with loving kindness may we all be filled with loving kindness may we all be safe may we all be well in body and mind may we all be happy and at ease may we all be well in body and mind may we all be well in body and mind may we all be safe as we start to approach the end of this practice I invite you to place both your hands on your chest and your heart again and just feel the warm,
The sense of connection there and let yourself savour this moment of practice just as it is feeling what it feels like to offer these intentions of loving kindness towards yourself and others and just allowing your hands to return to their original resting position I invite you to join me in taking a deep breath in,
Filling the lungs and then relaxing your body and your mind on a long and gentle exhalation out,
Releasing all the air from the lungs and we'll finish the practice with the ring of a gong allowing your eyes to open,
Gently bringing your attention back up into the environment around you taking a stretch or a drink of water,
Whatever you need and just take a moment to notice and savour the impact of this practice on the state of your body and mind notice how you feel as a result of this practice,
Notice its impact on you and I invite you to also take a moment to appreciate yourself for the dedication that you've just demonstrated to your own wellbeing by doing this practice each time you practice mindfulness and loving kindness meditation you're changing your brain for the better and building your capacity to handle life even more skilfully may loving kindness positively impact you,
What you do and all of those around you thank you for practicing with me,
I hope you will join me again
