This is a 15-minute guided meditation on cultivating sympathetic joy.
Sympathetic joy,
Or mudita,
Is simply finding joy in the happiness and success of others.
In this meditation,
I will ring one bell to signify the start of the practice and three bells at the end.
Let's begin.
Start by finding a comfortable meditation posture.
You may be seated,
Standing,
Or lying down.
Your eyes may be open or closed.
Take a moment to settle into your posture and allow your body to relax.
Your posture should support you.
At any time,
You can change or adjust your posture.
As you settle,
Bring your attention to a part of your body that's touching the floor.
This could be your sitz bones,
Your feet,
Or your back.
Relax into that position and feel the sense of touch with the ground deeply.
Allow your body to be supported by the earth.
As you begin to feel grounded,
Slowly start to orient your attention to your breath.
Starting at the nostrils,
Bring your attention to the gentle ebb and flow of the breath in each nostril.
See if you can notice the soft flare of your nostrils as you inhale and exhale.
Feel the back of your esophagus.
See if you can observe the cool tingle of fresh air on each inhale.
Can you embody this space?
If at any time your breath feels controlled or regulated,
Bring your attention back to your connection with the ground.
Feel the gentle expansion and contraction of your ribs as you breathe.
Feel for the soft pressure against the diaphragm as you inhale.
Embody your chest and breathing spaces and watch as this rhythm of muscles orchestrates your breath effortlessly.
With this sense of presence,
We will now start to transition to our practice of sympathetic joy.
To start,
Bring to mind a loved one or a dear friend.
This could be your partner,
An affectionate companion,
A child,
Or an old friend.
This person might make you happy when they're around.
They might have a positive demeanor.
And the experience of being with them should fill you with laughter and smiling.
With this person firmly in your mind,
Remember or imagine a time when this person was overflowing with joy.
Maybe they just received recognition for their hard work or received some good news.
Bring the mental image of this memory into clear view.
Imagine yourself in this situation with your loved one,
Witnessing their joy.
Feel in your body the feeling of being close to them when they are overcome with joy.
With this image clearly in your mind,
Bring your attention back to your breath.
On each inhale,
Breathe in the essence of that memory.
On each exhale,
Breathe out your love and admiration.
Breathing in the energy of this joyous loved one.
Breathing out your love for them.
Bring to mind a neutral person.
This could be someone you're acquainted with or someone that you see occasionally.
They shouldn't be someone that you feel particularly strongly about in one way or another.
Maybe this person checks you out at the grocery store or occasionally walks their dog by your home.
Take a moment to imagine this person overflowing with joy.
Maybe they are greeting a loved one at the airport or just received some good news.
Feel in your body the feeling of being close to them when they are overcome with this joy.
With this image clearly in your mind,
Bring your attention back to your breath.
On each inhale,
Breathe in their joy.
On each exhale,
Breathe out any resistance.
Breathing in their infectious energy.
As you breathe out,
Opening to their joy.
If at any time you become distracted,
Bring your attention back to your sense of grounding with the earth.
On each inhale,
Breathe in their joy.
On each exhale,
Breathing out loving kindness.
Finally,
Bring to mind a difficult person.
This could be someone that you don't agree with or someone who has caused you pain or grief in the past.
Don't pick the most difficult person,
But rather someone who you can work with despite past transgressions.
Maybe this person inadvertently hurt you in some way or has caused you some trouble due to their actions.
Take a moment to imagine this person in a time when they were genuinely happy.
Imagine them living the best version of themselves in a way that overtly benefits others.
Feel in your body the feeling of being close to them when they are overcome with love and joy.
With this image clearly in your mind,
Bring your attention back to your breath.
On each inhale,
Breathe into any resistance that you're holding.
On each exhale,
Breathe out and send them your own joy for their good fortune.
Breathing in,
Gently probing into any resistance.
Moving out,
Sending them joy.
If this becomes too difficult or too painful,
Try bringing your attention back to the loved one or bring your attention to a time when you yourself experience joy.
On each inhale,
Breathing into that joy.
On each exhale,
Breathing out any resistance.
As we reach the conclusion of our meditation,
Bring your attention back to your whole body and feel your sense of connection with the earth.
Take a moment to notice if anything has changed.
As we transition out of our practice,
I'll close with a quote from Young Pueblo.
Maturity is feeling joy for another's success.
A mind trapped in competition,
One that feels a quiet bitterness whenever someone gets a thing you crave is a sign that you are still at war with yourself.
Send the turmoil and friction by loving and knowing yourself more deeply.
