Hello and welcome.
My name is Shelly and I will be your guide for this special meditation for parents.
Parenting can be really challenging at times and we forget to look at our children as souls having their own human experience.
They are on their own journey,
Learning,
Growing and finding their way.
And sometimes parents,
We want things to be the same or better or just different.
This is an opportunity to begin anew and to look at your child with loving kindness or metta.
You may be surprised to see what happens after this meditation as you ground.
Your conversation with your child after this meditation might bring you some surprise and peace and maybe a hug.
So let's begin.
Gather yourself in your comfortable,
Upright,
Dignified,
Seated position on your chair or your cushion and begin to breathe.
Here and now.
There's nowhere to go.
There's nothing to do.
Breathe into the awareness of your belly rising and falling with each breath.
Allow the sensations to rise and fall.
Just here and now.
Begin to unclench any tight places in your body,
Sending those areas a loving breath.
Is your jaw tight?
Are your shoulders hunched?
Just relax.
Relaxed and alert.
May the divine who blessed our ancestors bless us here and now.
May our ancestors see our struggle and grief and be with us right now.
May we have the wisdom to pause as a compassionate witness for ourselves as parents right now.
May we not feel alone in this journey of wrestling with uncertainty and fear and know we are supported in ways we cannot comprehend.
And now at the center of your heart,
Imagine a source of radiant,
Soft,
Warm,
White light.
The light is alive,
Vibrating,
Pulsing.
Feel the light with your body,
Its warmth,
Its movement,
Its energy.
It's the limitless source of love,
Positivity,
And wellbeing within you.
And because it is limitless,
You can share it.
So I invite you to bring forth your child in your mind's eye to share this light.
Whether this person,
This child,
Young person is your biological,
Adopted,
Or foster child,
Just see them and welcome them.
Sit them directly across from you.
They are sitting just as you are,
Their spine tall and neutral,
Their hands in their lap.
You can see them breathing.
You can sense the rise and fall of their chest.
And now because you love this person so much,
You decide to send them your light.
You say in your mind as you visualize this child in front of you,
May this person be free from their pain and suffering and all the causes of their pain and suffering.
And as you send them this wish,
You equally send them more light,
The light now filling their entire torso with wellbeing.
And then you say in your mind to this person sitting in front of you,
May this person never be separated from joy.
May they always be immersed in joy,
Never touched by pain.
And again,
Imagining more light sent over with this wish.
The light has now filled up their arms and their legs.
May this person,
This child have happiness and all the causes of future happiness.
As you send them these thoughts of Metta,
You also imagine light traveling across all space and time from your body to theirs,
Filling them up with even more light.
And now say in your mind to yourself,
May this child live always in a state of contentment,
Free from all their grasping and free from aversion.
And as you send over more light with this wish,
Loving Metta,
It fills up their neck,
It fills up their head,
Their entire body is now glowing with the light that you have shared.
Because all of this Metta you have sent your loved one,
Your child is now glowing.
You see them having received this loving kindness and you understand that they are happy,
Free from pain,
Joyful and content.
Your light is so bright that it bounces back to you.
Your own light now,
Even brighter.
Rest now in the presence of this light.
Rest in this sensation in your body.
Can you describe it?
Is it warm?
Is it tingling?
How does it feel to see your child,
Your loved one so happy and so free?
This sharing with your loved one is how we experience fullness,
Limitless love and light.
Know that you are whole,
You are perfect and you have everything you need.
And when you're ready,
You can begin to come back into the present space,
Your surroundings.
And see if the next time you interact with your child or loved one,
How it's different,
How you're supported by the unseen and know that you are not alone.
You can come back to this meditation anytime.
I wish you well,
Dear parents.
Namaste.
