This is Rebecca Fairway and we are about to begin a loving kindness meditation,
Also known as Metta meditation.
Before we begin,
I invite you to find a comfortable place to sit or to lay down and gently place your left hand over your abdomen and your right hand over your heart.
If possible,
Press your lips together and allow the tip of your tongue to lightly touch the roof of your mouth.
As you do this,
Begin to breathe through your nose and just notice the quality of the breath.
On an inhale,
Visualize bringing your breath down into your abdomen,
Allowing your diaphragm to push downward,
Expanding your belly.
So let's do this together,
Taking three deep breaths.
Let's go ahead and begin.
Inhale.
Inhale.
Bring your breath all the way down so you can feel it expand your abdomen.
Pause for a moment.
And then fully exhale,
Letting it go.
Two more times.
Inhale deeply.
All the way down,
Expanding your abdomen.
And pausing.
And then letting go.
Exhale.
One more time.
Fully inhale.
Bringing the breath all the way down to your abdomen and making it your intention to bring refreshment and expansiveness to this region of your body.
Pausing.
And then exhaling.
Exhaling fully,
Allowing yourself to feel relaxation as you release your breath.
And now just continue to breathe.
Just follow the natural rhythm of your breath without trying to change or control it.
Just continue to breathe with every breath,
Allowing yourself to relax just a little bit more.
In this loving kindness meditation,
You will first be extending love to yourself along with intentions and feelings of compassion and kindness for yourself.
Then this love,
Compassion and kindness will be extended to a friend,
Someone that you know well and that you already have loving kind feelings towards.
Next,
This love and kindness and this compassion will be extended to all those that you know.
And then finally,
This love,
Kindness and compassion will be extended to all beings,
Both those that you know and those that you do not know.
Let's begin.
If your hands have shifted position,
Return your right hand to your heart and your left hand so that it gently rests over your abdomen.
Begin to extend feelings of kindness and gentleness first towards yourself,
Repeating silently to yourself,
May I feel safe.
May I be happy.
May I both give and receive love.
May I be treated with compassion and kindness.
May I have peace in my heart and peace in my life.
Allow yourself to feel this loving kindness as it circles between your heart and your abdomen,
Filling you up,
Letting you feel those sensations of belonging,
Of calmness,
Of peace.
And now extending these feelings to a person that you know well,
Repeating silently to yourself the phrase,
May you,
My friend,
Feel safe.
May you be happy.
May you give and receive love.
May you be treated with compassion and with kindness.
May you have peace in your heart and may you have peace in your life.
Extending that loving kindness,
That metta to your friend.
And now extending loving kindness to all those that you know,
Silently repeating this metta phrase,
May all those that I know feel safe.
May all those that I know be happy.
May all those that I know give and receive love.
May all those that I know be treated with compassion and with kindness.
And may all those that I know have peace in their hearts and peace in their lives.
Allow yourself to extend that energy,
Those feelings,
That wave of loving kindness to all those that you know.
And now finally extending this loving kindness to all beings,
All sentient beings,
Both those that you know and those that you do not know.
Repeating silently the metta phrase,
May all beings feel safe.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings give and receive love.
May all beings be treated with compassion and with kindness.
And may all beings have peace in their hearts.
May they have peace in their lives.
Allow yourself to extend this energy,
This metta,
This loving kindness to all beings,
Both those you know and those that you don't know.
Allow yourself to feel our connectedness and the peace that comes with extending this compassion and with giving this compassion first to yourself.
We will now end our practice by taking three deep breaths.
As we do this,
Allow yourself to feel the sensations of the breath as it moves through your chest,
Down into your abdomen.
Allow yourself to feel the gift of being alive and part of our human family.
So with me together,
Deep inhale into your belly and holding and then exhaling through your nose.
And once again,
Deep inhale and holding and letting go.
And finally,
One more time,
Deep inhale into the belly,
Holding and letting go.
Thank you my friends.
Shanti,
Shanti,
Shanti.
Peace,
Peace,
Peace.
May you be healthy and well.
Namaste.
.
