Slide I want you to get into a comfortable position,
Either lying down or sitting straight up in a chair with your feet firmly planted on the floor,
However serves your body best in this time.
And when you're ready,
I want you to close your eyes.
Take the moment to drop into now.
And I want you to focus on relaxing your body,
Relaxing the temples,
The jaw,
Shoulders and neck,
Relaxing the arms all the way down to the fingertips.
Allow the muscles in the belly to relax.
Allow the hips and the buttocks to completely sink into the support beneath them.
Relax the thighs,
Your knees,
Calves,
All the way down to your tippy toes.
Allow everything to relax.
Start to become aware of the space around your body,
The temperature of the air on your skin,
Any areas of tension within your body,
Just allow them to be there.
Any sounds you may be hearing in the background.
Just become aware and holding those in your space of awareness.
And now what I'd like you to do,
I'd like you just to become aware of any sensations associated with the breath that you feel in your body.
It could be the rise and fall of the breath in the chest.
Perhaps it's the air moving in and out of the nostrils.
Wherever you feel the breath the most,
I want you to focus on it there.
Don't force the breath.
If you need to take a deeper breath to become aware of the breath and where you feel it the most,
You can do so now.
Just follow the inhale and the exhale.
The breath is your anchor.
And now what I'd like you to do,
I'd like you to bring to mind someone who invokes the spirit of love within you.
Could be an animal.
It could be a loved one,
Partner,
Friend,
Someone who just brings forth a feeling of joy and happiness.
I want you to picture this person in your mind's eye now,
The image of their face.
Allow them to look at you and you look at them and just feel the love that you have for them.
You may feel tingling or a warmth wash over you.
You may be able to crack a smile and that's okay if you want to smile.
They make you smile,
Just smile.
Hold that smile and hold on to that feeling of happiness that you feel when you see this person.
And as you hold them in your mind's eye,
You can think,
Sending them love.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from all suffering.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
And just notice how your heart space feels in this moment.
Sending this love to that person.
Notice where you feel it in the body.
If you feel it at all in the body,
Just become aware of the sensations.
And now I want you to bring to mind someone who you're acquainted with but you feel neutral about.
You don't have really any feelings one way or the other.
It could be the convenience store clerk that you see when you get gas or it can be the person that you pass by every day in the parking lot at work or it could be a mutual friend.
Just someone who holds a neutral space one way or the other.
Bring that person into your mind's eye.
And as you hold them there,
Notice how your heart space may have shifted.
Look into their eyes.
And we'll repeat the same phrase.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be filled with a loving kindness.
Sending that warmth and love to that person.
And that person just staring back at you.
Offering them a smile.
Begin to recognize how your body feels with this person in your mind's eye after wishing them loving kindness.
Just become aware of it with no judgment.
And now I want you to bring into your mind's eye someone who you may find challenging to be around.
Someone who may stir up something inside of you that makes it difficult or challenges you.
I want you to bring that person into your mind's eye.
Allow them to stand there.
Realize that this person just like you wants the same things.
To be loved.
And give love.
Stay in counter struggles just as you do.
You are no different.
And you may notice that your body gets tense or perhaps your breathing becomes shallow.
You might feel a tightening or a change in shift in the energy within your body as you picture this person.
And that's okay.
Just notice that and become aware of it.
And as you become holding that person in your mind's eye,
If you can say the same thing to that person.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be filled with a loving kindness.
And now bringing all three of those people whom you just wished loving kindness and heartfelt compassion to come together in the same space and be with you now envision all three of them in your mind's eye.
Enwishing all three of them.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
Just notice how your body feels in this moment.
Recognize it without judgment.
Just having compassion for yourself.
I want you to imagine a white light within your heart glowing brightly.
Imagine that white light pouring out of your heart right into the heart of theirs.
Filled with love,
Light and gratitude,
Compassion.
And see the white light from their heart bursting out of their heart and into the hearts of everyone in the building where you're sitting now.
Imagine the white lights from their hearts bursting from their chest,
Reaching out to all of those in the town or the city that you're in,
Reaching every person's heart.
And then I want you to imagine their hearts pouring out that white light seeping out into everyone in the state.
Imagine the white light pouring out from their hearts into everyone else's heart in this entire country.
And the white light pouring out of their hearts over the oceans to all sentient beings all over the world.
This beautiful white web of light connecting us all until the whole world is just one new and glowing white light.
This is the light of compassion.
Allow yourself to sit in the sea of white light and feel the white light around you connecting you,
Interweaving you to all beings,
Knowing that we all wish for the same things.
We all have similar struggles.
We all are the same.
You may feel a tingling throughout your body.
You may not feel anything.
That's okay.
Just be with this feeling,
Whatever it is,
Being still.
Now I want you to begin to imagine that white light,
That sea of white light pulling back,
All of that love and compassion pulling it back into your heart space.
As you sit in this space,
Allow yourself to feel the compassion you've cultivated during this practice.
Hold that in your heart and allow it to move through you and pour out into everyone that you meet today and every day.
Bringing your palms together,
The heart center.
End with this dedication to all.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings be at peace.
May all beings be free of ill will.
May all beings be truly happy.
May all beings be filled with loving kindness,
Including this being sitting right here.
Om Aah Ho,
So it is.
