Hi and welcome to this awesome beginners gentle loving kindness meditation.
This meditation offers a way to begin exploring the concept of loving kindness and this practice that I will be bringing you today has so much capacity to grow.
As the practice becomes more familiar to you and woven into your everyday life,
Your capacity to be able to offer loving kindness to yourself and others naturally grows,
Expands.
There's no rush,
There's no rush to zoom into loving kindness for everyone.
What we're doing is sowing the seeds at your own pace so you can gently grow this practice and radiate it out as you begin to get more familiar.
And for this practice it can be good to find a quiet spot where you will be undisturbed,
Sitting,
Laying down or standing and beginning to arrive by letting the body settle.
Settling into the support beneath you,
Feeling those points of contact.
Settling into your breath and noticing your breath move in and out.
And maybe you feel happy to allow your body to soften,
Your shoulders.
Are you holding any tension in your jaw and how would it feel to loosen this?
Let yourself simply arrive in this moment.
There's nowhere to go,
Nothing to do,
There's no way to get this wrong.
And as you begin to arrive in this moment,
I invite you to bring to your mind's eye someone who feels good to you.
Someone who naturally brings you warmth and ease.
And we're looking at bringing just one person for now.
This could be a friend,
A family member,
A mentor or even a pet.
A child maybe.
But whoever you choose,
See if you can find somebody who is uncomplicated and steady in your world.
And then see them in your mind's eye.
So what I mean by this is see,
Sense or imagine them in your imagination.
Sensing their presence.
Remembering to stay with your breath with a gentle ease.
And as you see them in your mind's eye,
Settle into the feeling of their kindness and familiarity.
And with a smile,
You can offer them some phrases gently and without force.
May you be happy.
May you be safe.
And may you be free from suffering.
You may want to repeat the phrases slowly,
Allowing the intention to rest lightly in your heart.
And if emotions arise,
Let them.
And if nothing arises,
That's perfect too.
And you smile as you let them go and allow them on their way.
And as you come back to your breath,
You're now bringing to your mind's eye,
So seeing,
Sensing or imagining someone you don't know very well.
This could be a neighbor that you don't see very often.
Maybe a shop assistant or someone you regularly see at a bus stop.
Just someone you see in your daily routine that you don't really know.
And as you bring them into your mind's eye,
You remember they too are a human being living their own life.
And you,
With a smile,
Offer them some of the same gentle phrases.
May you be happy.
May you be safe.
And may you be free from suffering.
Again,
You may want to repeat these words silently.
And let the words be soft,
Like a quiet offering.
And with a gentle nod of mutual care,
Allow this person to drift away now.
And coming back to your breath.
And now we're going to bring our attention gently to the wider world.
So our awareness is gently widening.
And imagining,
If you can,
The loving kindness that we're beginning to cultivate,
Spreading outwards like ripples in water.
Ever-increasing circles touching your community,
Your town,
Your country.
And expand this loving kindness as far as you feel you want to today.
And you may offer the phrase if it feels good.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
And may all beings be free from suffering.
Staying with your breath,
Gentle and easy.
And loving kindness grows gradually.
The more we notice,
The more this warmth radiates from us into the world.
So as we begin to close,
Return to your feeling of breath in a natural way.
Noticing your body once again,
Grounded and present.
And taking one gentle breath in.
And perhaps letting go with a sigh.
And when you're ready,
Open or lift your gaze and carry this tenderness into whatever comes into your day next.
And congratulate yourself.
You're doing really well.
Namaste.
Have a good day.
And loving kindness to you all.
Bye for now.
