To begin this practice,
Let yourself be in a relaxed and comfortable position.
We are going to practice cultivating positive emotion.
In this case,
Metta or loving-kindness.
There is power in wishing loving-kindness,
Warmth,
And compassion to others and especially toward ourselves.
It's not conditional.
It's just a natural opening of the heart to ourselves or to someone else.
So you can check in to your body and notice how you're feeling right now.
Letting whatever is here to be here.
Now let yourself bring to mind someone whom the moment you think of them,
You feel happy.
See if you can bring to mind,
It could be a relative or a close friend,
Someone with not too complicated a relationship.
Just a general sense that whenever you think of them,
Maybe a smile comes to your face.
You could pick a child.
You can always choose a pet,
A cat or a dog,
A creature it's fairly easy to love.
Or perhaps it's a place that you love in particular.
So let this person or creature or place come to mind and have a sense of them right behind your closed eyelids.
You can feel them,
Sense them,
See them as you imagine them.
Notice how you're feeling inside.
Perhaps you feel some warmth in your heart space or perhaps it's somewhere else.
Notice what you're feeling,
Where you're feeling it.
Maybe there's some heat to your face.
Maybe even a smile or a sense of expansiveness.
This is loving kindness.
It's a natural feeling that's accessible to all of us at any moment just by bringing our attention and intention towards it.
So now having this loved one in front of you,
Begin to wish them well.
Repeating the following phrases after me silently to yourself.
If you don't like any of these phrases,
You can choose your own or maybe just choose to repeat the phrases that do resonate with you.
And so as you imagine this loved one or loved thing or loved place,
Repeating these phrases silently to yourself after me,
Imagining them washing over this person or place or thing that you've brought to mind.
May you be safe and protected from danger.
May you be content and at peace.
May you be content and at peace.
May you remember that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now.
May you be strong and full of life.
May you experience ease and freedom.
And as I say these words,
Again you can use my words or your own words,
Have a sense of this loving kindness coming from you and washing over the loved one you've brought to mind.
Perhaps you think in images or maybe it's a sense of color or maybe it's just a feeling and the words may continue to bring on more of this feeling.
I encourage you to say whatever feels meaningful to you.
Perhaps may you be free from stress and anxiety.
May you be free from all fear.
And so as you're sending out these words and these feelings of loving kindness,
Also checking in with yourself,
Seeing how you're feeling inside,
Noticing again what you're feeling,
Where you're feeling it.
And now imagine that this loved one turns around and begins to send this loving kindness back to you.
So see if you can receive their loving kindness.
Taking it in.
They're wishing you well.
Whispering these phrases over you.
May you be safe and protected from danger.
May you be content and at peace.
May you remember that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now.
May you be strong and full of life.
May you experience ease and freedom.
May you have joy and well-being.
Letting yourself take it in.
Now if you're not feeling anything at this point or at any point in the meditation,
It's not a problem.
Metta is a practice that plants seeds.
And if you're feeling something else other than loving kindness,
Checking into that.
Noticing it.
There may be something to learn here.
Now if it's possible,
And it's not always easy to do this,
But see if you can send loving kindness to yourself.
You can imagine it coming down into your body from your heart space,
Spreading out.
You can just have a sense of it.
Repeating these phrases over yourself.
May I be safe and protected from danger.
May I be content and at peace.
May I remember that I am exactly where I am meant to be right now.
May I be strong and full of life.
May I experience ease and freedom.
May I accept myself just as I am.
And maybe asking yourself the question,
What do I need?
Noticing what arises.
See if you can offer that to yourself.
Maybe it's meaningful work.
A joyful life.
Close friends and family.
Health and well-being.
And now checking back in with yourself.
Noticing what you feel as you do this.
And now let yourself bring to mind another person.
Or perhaps a group of people that you wish to send the loving kindness to.
Imagine them once more in front of you.
Imagining them behind your closed eyelids.
Sensing them.
Feeling them.
Silently repeating these phrases or coming up with your own.
As you hold them in your mind's eye.
May you be safe and protected from danger.
May you be content and at peace.
May you remember that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now.
May you be strong and full of life.
May you experience ease and freedom.
May you be free from all stress,
Anxiety,
Fear,
Worry,
Grief.
May you experience joy and well-being.
And now let this loving kindness expand out.
Spreading.
Touching anyone that you want to touch right now.
Touching anyone that you want to touch right now.
In all directions.
People you know.
People you don't know.
People you have difficulty with.
People you love.
Places you love.
Places you want to protect.
Just imagine expanding and touching.
And each person or animal or mountain range or river or trail or other beloved place.
Imagine it all being touched by this loving kindness.
Each being in place is changed.
You can imagine that.
And so may everyone everywhere be peaceful and at ease.
May all beings be safe and protected from danger.
May all beings be content and full of gratitude.
May all beings remember that they are exactly where they are meant to be right now.
May all beings be strong and full of life.
May all beings experience freedom.
May we all experience great joy.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Have a beautiful day.
