This session is a metta meditation session.
Metta is the Pali word for loving kindness.
When we practice metta meditation,
We see the conditions that have caused us to be the way we are.
This makes it easy for us to accept ourselves,
Including our suffering and our happiness.
We begin metta by practicing on ourselves.
Unless we treat ourselves with love and compassion,
We cannot reflect the same on others.
Begin by taking a comfortable position.
Lying down or seated upright,
Relax and close your eyes or lower your gaze to the floor.
Settling in to the awareness of the body and the body posture.
Scan your body to see if there are any areas of tension and breathe into your whole body.
Inhale and exhale.
I want you to begin by envisioning yourself in your mind.
As you envision yourself and focus on that,
Smile and repeat the following.
May I be well,
May I be happy,
May I be peaceful.
May I be well,
May I be happy,
May I be peaceful.
Continue breathing in and breathing out.
Now let's extend that loving kindness to a loved one.
Whether it's a family member,
Your child,
A parent,
Friend,
A partner.
Imagine this loved one and smile as you repeat the following.
May you be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May you be well,
Happy and peaceful.
Inhale in and exhale out.
Now take a deep breath and extend this loving kindness to anyone who has hurt you.
Anyone who's caused you any pain or suffering.
Anyone who you have difficulty getting along with.
Perhaps someone you've been unable to forgive or are still in the process of forgiving.
Envision this person and as difficult as this may be,
Extend your loving kindness to them as well.
As they too are suffering and they deserve love and compassion.
Envision this person and repeat.
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you be peaceful.
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you be peaceful.
And lastly,
Let's extend our loving kindness to the entire world.
Try to envision all living beings across the world.
Things you've never met from different walks of life,
Backgrounds,
Religions.
Envision all living beings.
May all living beings be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May all living beings be well,
Happy and peaceful.
Continue to inhale and exhale.
Inhale and exhale.
We'll end off with a few moments of an appreciation practice.
An appreciation for all living and non-living beings.
Everything they do for us or have done for us to help us lead a peaceful life.
An appreciation towards anyone else who supports you or inspires you.
And lastly,
An appreciation for yourself.
For taking time out of your day to develop your mind to enjoy the merit of your practice.
On your own time,
You can slowly begin to open your eyes or raise your gaze from the floor as we conclude this practice.
