So it's important,
Before we do any activity,
To try and set a motivation to make sure that the mind that we're doing the action with is as virtuous,
As positive as possible,
Having as vast a vision as possible.
And by taking the time to do this,
Then the action will be much more beneficial to ourselves and others,
And far more likely to not have interruptions from our afflictions during the action,
If we're clear from the start.
So by way of motivation,
Let's just take time to rejoice in why we're here,
I mean,
We must have come here with a purpose to learn and grow our good heart,
Aspiring to be a greater benefit to ourselves and others,
Wishing to grow our good qualities.
And how rare it is that people have this aspiration or have such conducive circumstances to do so.
So let's gladden our mind knowing that we have these virtuous seeds aspiring to be of great benefit to ourselves and others,
We have like-minded friends on the path who can support us,
Role model for us,
And we can know from our own experience that what we do has an effect,
How we think,
How we speak,
How we act matters.
And by investing the time here,
We're creating a strong energy within ourselves to spread kindness,
Love,
Compassion,
Wisdom throughout the world,
Through all the small interactions we'll have with other people throughout the day in the days to come.
And who knows what,
How these effects will ripple on through ourselves to others,
From those people we touch to others they touch.
And if it's comfortable for you,
We can set the clear determination that this meditation session,
This reflection,
Will be a contributing cause to our full awakening,
A state of having accomplished all good qualities,
Abandoned all harmful ones,
So that we'll be best equipped to lead others to a state of lasting peace and happiness themselves.
Having set this vast vision for why we're here to do this meditation,
We'll now do some breathing meditation to calm the mind before we do some analytic meditation later on.
And here we'll focus on the breath,
Or to just keep setting our mind on the object of meditation,
Which is the breath.
And we can follow the breath either at the rise and fall of the belly,
Or we can choose the in and out of the breath at the nostrils.
And we choose one of these objects and stick with that for the session,
Not going back and forth between the two.
And right at the start,
We know that our mind will be pulled away again and again by thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations,
Daydreams,
Worries.
And that's okay.
That's very normal.
But when we notice that,
We just gently guide our mind back to the breath.
We can think of the breath as our home,
And we guide this back with no criticism or self-judgment.
Just knowing that by guiding our mind again and again back to the object,
The breath,
Our mind will settle down and become more and more calm and concentrated.
By doing this over time,
We'll have a much more powerful tool to investigate reality,
To generate loving-kindness,
And other positive states of mind.
Before we begin,
It's also helpful to lead ourselves on a short body scan to relax the body and mind,
To release any tension before we try and focus our mind on the breath.
And so you can start at your feet.
We'll go through different body parts from the feet to our head,
Just touching our mind to these parts of the body,
Noticing any tension,
Just letting it melt away,
Release.
And if there still remains some pain or tension,
We can also just surround that with acceptance.
Doesn't have to be an obstacle to this meditation session.
So bring your attention to your feet,
Releasing any tension,
Allowing your body and mind to relax.
Move your attention to your calves and your knees,
Releasing any tension in your thighs and your sit bones.
We can work our way up our back,
Noticing if we're slouching or not either,
Straightening ourselves up while also remaining relaxed.
Often hold tensions in our shoulder muscles,
So it can be helpful to raise your shoulders up to your ears and allow it to drop quite quickly.
Do this a few times,
You can feel the tension melting away,
And then bring your attention to your belly.
We don't have to hold our belly in,
We can allow the breath to move freely into our belly.
Bring our attention to our stomach,
Our lungs,
Upper chest,
Our hands,
Forearms,
Upper arms.
And we can release some tension in our face by bringing a gentle smile,
Half smile,
Relaxes the muscles and gladdens the mind.
And hopefully in this more relaxed state,
More accepting state,
We can then place our focus,
Our attention on the breath.
We allow the breath to flow in naturally,
We don't deep breathe or force our breath to be in any rhythm.
We naturally know how to breathe and we just let it flow.
And if it's helpful for you,
You can count the breath as a tool to remain focused on it.
So we count in-breath,
One,
Out-breath,
One,
In-breath,
Two,
Out-breath,
Two.
We can count from one to ten,
And any time we find ourself pulled away or distracted,
We can begin at one again.
Now ring the bell when we transition to the meditation on loving-kindness.
Every time you find yourself pulled away,
That's not a moment to be frustrated but rather to rejoice.
Your mindfulness and introspective awareness is working.
You caught the distraction and just gently guide yourself back to the breath.
Without moving too much from the more calm and settled mind you created for this concentration meditation,
We'll now turn our mind to contemplating loving-kindness.
We can first begin by sending ourselves loving-kindness.
And so we'll go through four individuals,
Ourselves,
A family member,
A friend,
Someone we already have warm feelings towards,
A stranger,
And someone we have difficulty with.
And we'll wish them happiness and then imagine actually doing things to bring about their happiness and notice the effect that this has on our mind.
So first you can visualize yourself in front of you,
And you can change the script as you wish,
But one that I particularly like,
Which is may you be happy,
May you be well,
May you have all that you need,
May all your experiences be positive,
Beneficial,
And lead you on the path to awakening.
You can repeat these phrases to yourself again and again,
Whatever script you wish,
Holding yourself visualized in front of you with loving-kindness.
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you have all that you need,
May all your experiences be positive and beneficial.
And as you recite these phrases,
Just notice any resistance as it arises.
Particularly with ourselves,
We can be very harsh.
Just note it and keep repeating the phrases.
Allow the words to influence your mind,
Warm your mind.
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you have all that you need,
May all your experiences be positive and beneficial.
Then think,
What could you give or do for yourself to bring about this happiness?
Perhaps you give yourself the freedom to do some self-care,
Going for that walk that brings you some more peace of mind,
Some relaxation,
Trying to set up a daily meditation practice,
Or some time for reading,
Nourishing reading every day,
Taking the time to pause and check in with yourself throughout the day as a way to apply some antidotes to any disturbing states of mind that may arise.
Imagine giving yourself these things and seeing the positive effect that it would have.
And now we'll turn our mind to a friend or family member,
One individual who you already have warm feelings towards,
Visualize them in front of you,
And again repeat these phrases,
Wishing them well,
Wishing them happiness,
And after a period of time,
Imagine what you could give or do for them that could bring about that happiness.
Be very specific to what you know about this person,
And allow your mind to be brightened and gladdened by these positive,
Beneficial thoughts and feelings you're having towards them.
And again here,
Take note of any resistance that may arise,
Or perhaps in this situation with loved ones,
Any attachment or stickiness that might arise,
Getting into wanting to fix problems,
That's not the point here,
The point here is rather to generate an open,
Kind,
Loving heart that wishes them well,
Knowing that we're not able to fix all their problems,
But rather to hold them with loving kindness,
Where they are right now,
With whatever they're experiencing,
And just doing what we can.
And then we turn our mind to a stranger,
Someone we currently don't have any attachment towards,
Or aversion to,
We don't know so well,
It can be helpful to choose someone we've interacted with,
But on quite a superficial level,
Perhaps someone at a store we only met once,
Someone who lives down the road we've never really interacted with,
Or don't know so well,
Visualize them in the space in front,
And again repeat these phrases,
Wishing them well,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you have all that you need,
May all your experiences be positive and beneficial,
And after a while of repeating these phrases,
Contemplate what you could give or do to bring about that happiness,
And here it might be harder to imagine what we could give or do for strangers who we don't know,
We can reflect on the power of just even smiling,
Bringing warmth to our interactions,
Opening a door for someone,
Helping to carry something for someone who's obviously in need,
These small acts of kindness that we could do to any stranger that we meet that would brighten their day,
And enable them to feel seen and heard as another living being who wants happiness and to not suffer,
And then perhaps the most difficult group,
We'll bring to mind someone we currently have a bit of aversion towards,
Or have had a difficult interaction with,
We visualize them in front of us,
And wish them well,
Wish them happiness,
Knowing that if they were happy,
They probably wouldn't do the things,
Say the things,
Or act in ways that cause the friction between happiness,
Or cause the harm that we're frustrated about,
It benefits them,
And it benefits us to wish them happiness,
And again after repeating the phrases,
Contemplate what you could do or say or give to bring about that happiness with this person,
And again here notice any resistance that might arise,
Anger,
Resentment,
Grudge-holding,
And see that such a state of mind doesn't help ourselves or the other person,
And allow that to soften as we keep repeating the phrases,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you have all that you need,
May all your experiences be positive and beneficial,
And to bring this short meditation to a close we can rejoice we've taken this time to really open our heart towards ourselves,
Loved ones,
Strangers,
Even those we find difficult,
And even if we haven't experienced a warmth in our heart yet,
We know that this is just the beginning,
Laying the foundation,
And by doing this meditation again and again,
I will build up the muscle of loving-kindness,
So it has some strength that our love and compassion really can reach out towards all other living beings,
No matter what they do or say,
And wish them well,
And be motivated to act in ways that benefit them.
