Hi,
Thank you so much for joining me for this Metta meditation.
Metta is Sanskrit for loving kindness.
This is a meditation to help increase compassion for ourselves,
For those we love,
And for those with whom we have conflict.
So let's begin by finding whatever posture works best for you.
If you're comfortable,
Gently close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
Inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose.
Just start to become aware of the body and the breath.
Start to notice the temperature of the inhale and the temperature of the exhale.
Relax your cheeks,
Your jaw,
Drop the tongue away from the roof of the mouth.
Take a deep breath.
Inhale.
Slow,
Extended exhale.
I want to invite you to bring into your mind an image of yourself.
And you can repeat these words after me,
Either silently to yourself or out loud.
May I be safe,
Protected,
And free from harm.
May my mind be healed and healthy,
Happy and joyful.
And may I live this life peacefully and with ease,
Free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
And we say this twice for ourselves at the beginning and at the end.
So again,
Taking a deep breath,
Exhaling,
And offering these words of compassion for ourselves.
May I be safe,
Protected,
And free from harm.
May my mind be healed and healthy,
Happy and joyful.
And may I live this life peacefully and with ease,
Free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
I invite you now to bring into your mind an image of someone for whom you care deeply.
Someone who is easy to love.
Someone for whom compassion is easy to feel.
And whether it be a person,
Perhaps a friend,
A family member,
Or a child,
Or maybe even a pet.
Something that you hold dear.
And as you concentrate on this image,
Say these words.
May they be safe,
Protected,
And free from harm.
May their mind be healed and healthy,
Happy and joyful.
And may they live this life peacefully and with ease,
Free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
And taking a deep breath here.
And a slow extended exhale.
I'd like to invite you to bring into your mind someone for whom you feel fairly neutral.
Perhaps an acquaintance or a neighbor.
Maybe even a stranger.
Someone for whom there's no real strong emotional attachment one way or the other.
And focusing on this image,
I invite you to repeat the words.
May they be safe,
Protected,
And free from harm.
May their mind be healed and healthy,
Happy and joyful.
And may they live this life peacefully and with ease,
Free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
And taking another deep breath.
Paying attention.
Slow extended exhale.
Feeling the warmth of your exhale.
I invite you now to bring into your mind the image of someone with whom you have conflict.
Someone who in your mind you feel has perhaps wronged or harmed you or someone you care about.
Someone for whom compassion is difficult to find.
And stay with that image.
Take a deep breath.
And as you exhale,
Say these words.
May their mind be healed and healthy.
May they be safe,
Protected,
And free from harm.
May they be happy and joyful.
May they live this life peacefully and with ease.
May they be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
Take a deep breath.
And let the breath go.
And try to notice what comes up for you.
Notice what emotions or thoughts begin to surface.
Notice if it's difficult to say the words.
Perhaps there are feelings that are uncomfortable.
Maybe you notice anger or sadness.
Even nausea.
Just stay with that.
Just for this breath.
Whatever comes up,
Whatever arises,
Even the resistance or the judgment or the beauty,
Just notice.
Perhaps saying to ourselves,
Isn't this interesting?
Take a deep breath.
Slow,
Extended exhale.
And come back to the image of yourself.
Maybe even visualizing yourself as a small child.
But if that's too difficult or uncomfortable,
Then just visualize yourself as you are today here in this moment.
And repeat the words.
May I be safe,
Protected,
And free from harm.
May I be healed and healthy,
Happy and joyful.
And may I live this life peacefully and with ease.
Free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
And may I be safe,
Protected,
And free from harm.
May I be safe,
Protected,
And free from harm.
May I be safe,
Protected,
And free from harm.
May I live my life peacefully and with ease and for peace.
Take a deep breath.
Pay attention to the exhale.
This meditation can be done even in an extended version,
Moving out from ourselves as we did today to those that we love,
To those we feel neutral towards,
And for those with whom we have conflict.
We can extend it in detail to all living sentient beings.
It can go on and on.
And when you're ready,
Slowly coming back to this moment,
Into this space,
Gently opening your eyes and being present with this feeling of increased compassion for ourselves and for everything around us.
Thank you so much for joining me in this loving kindness meditation.
Thank you for allowing me to share your breath and your practice.
I look forward to sitting with you again soon.
Until next time.
