Welcome.
In a time when our hearts may be closed or have difficulties sharing that love we want to share with others,
Or we may be feeling resentment in our lives or anger,
It's important for us to be intentional about letting it go.
And in this meditation,
It will allow us to practice,
Practice letting go and feeling more connected to others through our shared wishes for love,
Peace,
And less suffering.
It's a powerful way to nurture positive emotions like empathy and acceptance and unconditional love.
Let's begin.
Find for yourself a comfortable seated position or lying down if you choose.
Start with a deep breath in through the nose and out through the lips.
Continue breathing like this and as you do,
Let go of any unneeded tension or stress residing within you in this moment.
Just let it out with every breath.
No need to keep it in.
And as you find yourself relaxing in this moment,
I invite you to imagine yourself sitting in a comfortable chair in a room that you enjoy spending time in,
That brings you warmth and comfort.
Imagine yourself relaxing in that chair.
And as you do so,
You notice people in your life that you truly love,
Your closest family and friends,
Maybe your spouse or partner,
Your children,
Your mother and father,
Brothers and sisters,
They come gathering around you,
They gather around your chair and they each,
One by one,
Place their hand upon your shoulder and upon your arms.
And as they do so,
You see in their faces and you feel in their touch the warmth and kindness and love that they have for you.
You feel the compassion.
You feel the warm embrace of their touch and you open yourself to receive all that love.
And as you do so,
You hear them say in unison,
May you be happy,
May you be peaceful,
May you be free from suffering.
And they repeat,
May you be happy,
May you be peaceful,
May you be free from suffering.
And so it sinks in,
They say again,
May you be happy,
May you be peaceful,
May you be free from suffering.
And as they do that,
You feel the genuine love outpouring from them.
You bask in it.
And next,
Entering the room,
You see work colleagues,
Neighbors,
Acquaintances,
People from the market,
People from your everyday life,
People that you just passed by.
And they too are now placing their hands upon your shoulders and sending you their goodwill.
And they too are saying,
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from suffering.
And finally,
You notice entering and surrounding your chair,
The people in your life that you find a little more difficult to deal with.
Maybe they drain your energy,
Maybe you have tension with them or feel resentment towards them.
But they too are now putting their hands upon you and you feel the genuine love they have for you,
Their genuine compassion and empathy,
And the genuine happiness despite the difficulties between the two of you.
And you open yourself to receive their love as well,
As they say,
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from suffering.
And now,
As you look upon their faces and you have love in your heart for all of them,
You say back to them with compassion and empathy,
May you all be happy.
May you all be peaceful.
And may you all be free from suffering.
And with an even fuller heart,
More open heart,
You say again,
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from suffering.
And you can feel now the unconditional love you have for them.
As you say one final time,
May you all be happy.
May you all be peaceful.
May you all be free from suffering.
And now,
In this room with all this love between all of you,
You feel the genuine openness and together you become aware of the outside world,
Of the earth and the community of your country and all the beings on the planet.
And the warmth and kindness that your room has in this moment radiates outwards and all directions.
As all of you say in unison,
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be peaceful.
And may all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be free from suffering.
And one last time,
With your full heart you say,
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be free from suffering.
And hold on to this feeling,
This universal,
Unconditional love for all life,
All those around you.
As you continue to deepen your breathing for the next few minutes,
Concentrate on holding on to that love,
Holding on to those thoughts.
Hold on to those feelings in your mind.
Every breath,
Breathe in more of the loves of the room around you.
With every exhale,
Breathe out the love you feel for everyone.
And with your final few breaths here,
I want you to cement in your mind these feelings of love.
Make it part of your identity.
Make it who you are today.
Every breath,
It becomes more real.
And I want you to carry this feeling of loving kindness with you today.
Any difficult moment,
Call upon it,
Use it,
And be that love that you feel right now.
Go forth with love.
Namaste.
