This is a practice of metta towards ourselves and others and the world with an emphasis on having an appropriate relationship to form while also opening to feeling.
The invitation at the beginning of the practice here,
Just as we're getting going,
Is just to spend a little bit of time noticing the connection with the earth through whatever parts of the body are in touch with what you're sitting or laying on,
Allowing yourself to feel held here,
Giving the rest of the body space to rise up out of this firm foundation or if you're laying down,
Just opening to the softness in the whole front of the body as it connects with space,
Just taking a little bit of time here to welcome all the different parts of yourself that are showing up right now through sensations,
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Memories,
Images,
Whatever's here,
Doing our best to welcome it into a warm hospitable practice of well-wishing towards ourselves,
Others,
And the world.
And then when you're ready,
Just starting to connect with the breath and allowing the breath to support our awareness to drop and down into the heart center.
So within the metta practice,
We bring an attitude of well-wishing towards ourselves.
And part of that is just being with what is here,
Which may not feel like love.
So the invitation is just to notice what is here.
How are we just now in relation to ourselves?
And just spending a bit of time connecting with your own wish to be well,
Which is what's brought you to practice and to this meditation,
Just seeing what it's like to remember that part of you that wants to be well,
To connect with them.
You might even place your hand on the heart to support a sense of being held and met just now.
And then we'll just get curious about what it's like to use the form of the practice through the traditional phrases,
A bit like dropping pebbles into a pool of water and just seeing what ripples out,
Seeing what responds.
When we say to ourselves,
May I be well,
What responds?
How does it feel to say to ourselves,
May I be happy?
How does it feel?
What responds when we say to ourselves,
May I be free from suffering?
What ripples through us when we say to ourselves,
May I come to know my true nature?
We're just completely open,
Boundless,
Free,
Clear,
Luminous,
Deeply sensitive.
May I wake up to who and what I truly am.
How does that feel?
Sometimes when we come into relationship with the phrases,
Other parts can come in,
Doubting parts or an inner critic,
Or maybe we just go a bit vague or numb.
So if anything like that's happening,
There's an invitation to do what you know works for you to support coming back to presence.
Feeling the ground beneath you,
Maybe opening the eyes,
Having a look around,
Doing some self-touch or holding.
Simply reconnecting with the breath for a little while.
Finding somewhere in the body that feels pleasant and resourcing yourself with those sensations.
All acts of self-care and love.
Spirit of the practice.
And it may also be that as you say these phrases to yourself,
There's a sense of energy somewhere in the body.
Maybe a flicker of part of you responding.
Lighting up.
Turning on.
So if there's anything like that happening,
The invitation is to rest in those sensations.
Familiarize yourself with them as they change and grow,
And really allow yourself to even enjoy them.
That part of you that responds to well-wishing.
Connecting with your deepest heart wish for liberation.
Feel free to hang out here as long as you'd like.
You could keep experimenting with dropping in the phrases and seeing how they land with you.
There's also an invitation to bring a good friend to mind when you're ready.
Doing this nice and slow,
Gently.
Sensing into how it feels to imagine your friend here with you.
What happens in the body when you bring them to mind.
Connecting with the part of you that likes this person,
Enjoys their company,
And wants them to be well.
If you'd like,
You could bring the phrases in.
And again,
Just see what it's like,
See what resonates,
How it feels.
Might even say their name.
May you,
My friend,
Be well.
May you,
My friend,
Be happy and free from suffering.
And may you,
My friend,
Also connect with your true nature,
Who and what you truly are.
How is that?
Following whatever threads you uncover,
So you drop the phrases in.
Feeling what's here.
Allowing it to move through you.
Seeing if it's possible to meet whatever is here with curiosity.
Friendliness.
Kindness.
Seeing if it might be difficult to be with.
Maybe you're feeling lots of love and gratitude for your friend.
Sometimes these feelings can also be hard to stay with,
So just being gentle with yourself.
And doing whatever you need to do to take care.
Feel free to hang out with your friend for as long as it feels generative.
It's also an opportunity to reconnect with the ground,
With space,
With the breath.
Before starting to extend our imagination to include all beings everywhere.
So taking this intention of friendliness out to friends,
Family,
Neighbors,
Colleagues,
And on and on,
People we don't know,
The whole world,
As far as feels comfortable for you.
Again,
Just noticing what it's like to imagine friendliness,
A friendly attitude extending in this way.
You might even imagine that there's light pouring out of the heart in all directions,
Boundlessly.
What happens when we do this?
What else comes up?
What does it feel?
What does it feel to say to ourselves,
May all beings be well.
May all beings everywhere be happy.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings awaken to their true nature,
Totally connected,
Full of love.
Again,
As we extend our friendliness to all beings,
You might notice parts of ourselves that are resistant or numbed out.
So the invitation is to allow those parts to also be here.
Attending to them lovingly.
Gently getting curious about what's here and staying with it.
Might even come across some painful emotions like grief,
Sadness,
Anger,
Shame,
Fear.
So all these parts can also be included in our loving kindness practice.
And we can appreciate that all beings everywhere also feel these difficult emotions and sometimes act in ways that we would prefer they didn't as a result of not being able to stay with them in a skillful way.
So what we're doing here is the hard work of trying to be a being who's grounded in awareness and love.
So as not to add more suffering to the world.
So as we come to the end of the meditation just feeling free to begin to move,
Stretch,
Rub,
Caress,
Scratch,
Pinch,
Rotate any parts of the body that are calling for attention.
Yawn,
Burp,
Growl,
Scream.
Take this attitude of well wishing and feeling into what's here with you.
