Welcome,
My name's Paul and I'll be guiding you through the Heart Expansion meditation sequence today.
If you haven't already switched off notifications or vibration on your phone or other devices,
Please take a moment to do so now.
Then closing down your eyes,
Getting comfortable in your seat,
Remembering at any time you can adjust your position throughout the meditation.
And we'll start the meditation with some breath work.
I invite you to notice your breath just as it is.
Not seeking to change or control it in any way,
Just observing it.
Noticing whether your breath is fast or slow,
Shallow or deep.
You may continue observing your breath as it is,
Or you may practice a few minutes of lengthened breathing,
Which is where you take control of your breath and start to lengthen your exhale,
Simply setting an intention to exhale longer than your inhale.
Feeling comfortable with each breath in and each longer breath out.
Taking a regular inhale,
Letting out a slightly longer exhale.
Doing your lengthened exhales at your own pace,
And at any stage you can return to the natural rhythm of your breathing.
In the practice of effortless meditation,
Whenever you happen to notice your mind is on your thoughts or emotions,
Or just wandered away,
Gently and effortlessly rest your awareness back on your anchor,
Such as your breath right now.
Allowing your thoughts and emotions to come and go are an integral part of the effortless meditation process.
It doesn't matter how many times your mind drifts away.
What matters is the easy and effortless process of resting your awareness on your anchor whenever you remember to do so.
There is no such thing as a good or bad meditation.
We only assess the effects of the meditation after we've finished it,
And observe how we feel afterwards in our daily life.
After your next exhale,
Letting go of controlling your breath,
Allowing it to return to its natural rhythm.
Now reflecting back to a time when you felt loving kindness,
That feeling of love,
Care,
Kindness and compassion.
That loving kindness might have been towards yourself,
Or someone special in your life,
Maybe a family member,
A close friend,
Or a pet.
Maybe it was loving kindness for someone you don't know that well,
Or for a group of people.
Remembering the full experience of that feeling,
What it felt like in your body,
And what you could sense,
The sounds,
The smells,
What you could see and feel.
Allowing yourself to be with it right now,
To experience it in this moment.
Turning inward and giving this loving kindness to yourself.
Listening to yourself,
Or just listening to my voice.
May I be happy.
May I be as healthy as can be.
May I be safe.
May I have ease of being.
Happy,
Healthy,
Safe,
Ease of being.
Now imagining someone you find easy to love,
Picturing them in front of you in their happiest time and wishing them loving kindness.
Saying to them,
Or listening to me say it,
May you be happy.
May you be as healthy as can be.
May you be safe.
May you have ease of being.
Happy,
Healthy,
Safe,
Ease of being.
Allowing that person to stay by your side,
Or to return to their home.
Now picturing someone neutral,
Maybe someone you see regularly but don't know so well,
Someone in the local cafe or shops,
Or someone you see on your way to work or your daily outing.
You might not even know their name.
Imagining them at their most joyful.
Sending them loving kindness.
Saying to them,
Or just listening,
May you be happy.
May you be as healthy as can be.
May you be safe.
May you have ease of being.
Happy,
Healthy,
Safe,
Ease of being.
Allowing the person to leave and go about their day.
Now expanding this feeling of loving kindness to freely flow into your world.
To one person,
Or a few,
Or to many.
It could be one at a time,
Or to a group.
To people from recent times,
Or to people you haven't been in touch with in a while.
Sending loving kindness in your own way to as many people as you wish.
Happy,
Healthy,
Safe,
Ease of being.
Sensing that feeling of loving kindness inside of you,
Wherever you feel it the most.
I invite you to rest your awareness on that feeling very gently,
And use it as your anchor for the rest of the meditation.
Whenever you happen to realize that your awareness has drifted away from that feeling,
And is caught up in some thoughts,
Or sensations,
Or sound,
Remembering that this movement of the mind is an important part of the meditation process.
Then without any judgment,
And whenever you're ready,
Gently guiding your awareness back to that feeling,
Back to that loving kindness.
And if you prefer to use your breath,
Or a mantra as your anchor instead,
You're more than welcome to do so.
Continuing at your own pace,
Drifting away,
Drifting back,
Effortlessly resting your awareness on your anchor,
That feeling of loving kindness,
Or your breath,
Or mantra.
Gently letting go of your anchor,
Gradually starting to deepen your breath.
Deepening your breath and becoming aware of your body once more.
Relaxing the tips of your fingers and toes.
Inviting gentle movement into your fingers and toes,
Hands and feet.
Expanding this gentle movement into the rest of your body.
Tensing or twisting,
In whatever way feels good.
Noticing how you're feeling.
Maybe setting an intention to carry these feelings throughout the rest of your day.
Having yourself a meditating.
Whenever you're ready,
You may gently open your eyes,
Or keep them closed and rest a little longer.
These take as long as you like.
