Welcome to your daily loving kindness practice.
Research shows that this practice is powerful and effective medicine for feelings of loneliness and isolation.
It also improves our immunity and helps us access more of those feel-good emotions while reducing the ones that drag us down.
On top of all of these benefits,
This practice is also just plain good for your brain.
So,
Shall we dive in to feel good?
I'll invite you to sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
You can close your eyes down gently if that feels good for you.
So,
We can take a few deep breaths together.
Breathing in generously,
Feeling the belly rise like a balloon,
And allowing your body to relax on the exhale.
Belly rises on the inhale.
Exhaling and letting go of any tension or stress you may be carrying.
Belly rises generously with the inhale.
And fully melting with the exhale.
Bringing your awareness to your breath.
Noticing the natural rhythm of your breathing.
The cool air as you inhale.
And the warmth as you exhale.
Simply observe,
Allowing your mind to settle and become present.
Now beginning to tune into your very own unique presence.
Silently repeating the following phrases,
Directing kindness and compassion towards yourself.
May the long time sun shine upon me.
All love surround me.
And the pure light within me.
Guide my way on.
If your mind wanders,
Gently bring it back to these phrases and your loving intention.
Begin bringing to mind an image of yourself in front of you,
If you can.
Directing this blessing to this version of you.
May the long time sun shine upon you.
All love surround you.
And the pure light within you.
Guide your way on.
Sealing this blessing in with the breath.
Allowing the exhale to carry the warmth of your words.
Next,
Bring to mind someone you care about deeply.
Visualize them or feel their presence.
And repeat the same phrases,
This time directing them towards your loved one.
May the long time sun shine upon you.
May the long time sun shine upon you.
All love surround you.
And the pure light within you.
Guide your way on.
Feel the warmth of your loving intention as you seal it with a breath.
Allowing the exhale to carry this blessing to your loved one.
Now bringing to mind someone you don't know well.
This could be an acquaintance or someone you see periodically in your life and don't know much about.
Repeating to yourself,
Silently or out loud,
This blessing.
May the long time sun shine upon you.
All love surround you.
And the pure light within you.
Guide your way on.
Sealing these loving intentions with a breath.
Feeling the exhale carry the warmth of your blessing.
Expanding your awareness now to include the entire planet earth.
With all of the sentient beings that cohabit this space with you.
Repeating silently or out loud to yourself,
This blessing.
Extending it to each and every one of these sentient beings.
May the long time sun shine upon all of you.
May the long time sun shine upon all of you.
All love surround you.
And the pure light within you.
Guide your way on.
Sealing these blessings with a breath.
Allowing the exhale to carry your warmth.
Bringing comfort to those who need it.
Slowly bringing your awareness back to your breath.
Taking a few deep breaths.
Feeling gratitude for the time you've spent cultivating kindness.
And when you're ready,
You can begin to gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
And fluttering your eyes open as you're ready.
This short meditation can be a powerful way to foster compassion and connection in just a few minutes a day.
As research shows,
The best cure for the global loneliness epidemic is to change our mindset.
To realize we are not alone.
To choose loving kindness for our fellow humans,
Including ourselves.
This can be challenging to change after a lifetime of individualistic programming.
So through this simple practice each day,
We slowly start to reprogram our minds to orient toward kindness,
Support,
And connection.
If this blessing resonates with you,
You can also find it in song form,
Called Longtime Sun.
May this short and sweet practice be of benefit to you and those your spirit ripples out to.
Take good care.
