Kindly Awareness Meditation

This is a compassion practice inviting us to bring a sense of kindly awareness to all aspects of our life. We move through 5 stages exploring the sense of kindness to ourselves, a good friend, a neutral person, someone we feel mild discomfort towards and then all of humanity.

Transcript

Welcome to this 30 minute five-stage kindly awareness meditation. Our intention for this meditation is to practice kindness towards ourselves, To the whole of our experience, To others and a common humanity. I'm bringing attention to connecting with this experience of kindness and if you are able to access kindness just noticing how it feels to be kind to ourselves and to others. And we're cultivating an attitude of curiosity, Kindness and non-judging and knowing that if we're not feeling kindness that is okay, Just allowing our experience to be exactly as it is. So settling into a comfortable position, Either seated, Straight backed on a chair or perhaps choosing to lay down for this practice and just taking a few moments to get comfortable, Choosing a position where we feel we are listening to the body and showing kindness. So taking a moment now to become aware of sounds, Perhaps sounds nearby, Sounds further afield and not trying to identify the sounds, Just noticing their pitch, The texture of a sound and then moving on to the next sound. And when it feels right for you, Moving on to the awareness of the breath. It's such a constant feature of life that it's sometimes easy to ignore. So taking time with the breath now, Allowing the breath to move through its cycle of in-breath and out-breath and without any need to control the breath, Just allowing it to roll in and roll out and perhaps placing a hand on the belly or the chest area and just completely being with the breath, Maybe even sending the breath to areas that need soothing or need attention. And as we practice this kindly awareness meditation, If at any time any sensations in the body become too uncomfortable or perhaps thoughts or emotions arise that are just too difficult, Remembering that we can return to the breath, Using the breath as an anchor, A safe space to rest in. And then if it feels right, Returning to the meditation. So stage one, Responding kindly to the whole of our experience. So starting with ourselves, Settling into a broad experience of the senses, Awareness of the body, Any sensations and the present moment. And once again using the breath as a vehicle for kindness into the body. So if it feels right for you, Practicing having a sense of warmth and kindliness in the breath, Imagining that it soothes the body as it flows in and out. And if it's difficult to connect with a sense of kindness, That's okay, Simply breathe with the intention of responding kindly. And from this space of being grounded and in the moment, Bringing to mind someone that it's easy to feel kindness towards, Perhaps a pet or a child, A simple easy relationship is best. So allowing ourselves to hold this person or animal in our awareness, Maybe even seeing them in our mind's eye, A sense of them in our heart, As best we can feeling a sense of kindness towards them. And just noticing where this sense of kindness shows up in the body. What would it feel like to allow the image of your chosen one to fade? And practicing seeing how it is for you to be the one who receives kindness. Resting here in your own kind regard. And if it feels right for you or appropriate in this moment, Perhaps repeating some phrases silently to ourselves, Noticing any effect in the body, Thoughts or emotions. May I be truly happy. May I love myself just as I am. May I find peace in this uncertain world. May I love and be loved. And maybe you're not feeling kindness in this moment and that's okay. Moving away from judgment, Just allowing whatever you're feeling to be. Simply having the intention of kindness is enough. And if there is pain or discomfort, Perhaps breathing in softness and breathing out with a sense of softening any resistance. Moving to stage two, Where we picture a good friend. So beginning to bring to mind a friend. Inviting this person into our awareness. Maybe picturing them. Feeling a sense of what they're like. Perhaps hearing their voice or their laugh. Bringing to mind what we share with our friend. And just like us, Our friend experiences pain and joy. And all other human emotions. And if it feels right now, Practicing repeating some phrases towards our good friend. May you be truly happy. May you love yourself just as you are. May you find peace in this uncertain world. May you find your own path. The story of our lives may be different, But the basic human experience is similar. Practicing becoming aware of our friend on the in-breath and then breathing out kindness and well-wishing towards them on the out-breath. And now coming back to the body and breath. Anchoring in the present moment. And in the third stage, Bringing to mind someone for whom we have no feelings of liking or disliking. Somebody neutral. And maybe it's because we don't know them well. We might choose someone we know by sight, Such as a local shopkeeper. And reflecting on our shared humanity with this neutral person. They too, Just like ourselves, Have pleasant experiences. Have unpleasant experiences. Hopes and fears. Unlike us, They are breathing. Breathing. Breathing in with a kind breath. Breathing out with a kind breath. And now if it feels right, Practicing repeating some phrases silently towards this neutral person. May you be truly happy. May you love yourself just as you are. May you find peace in this uncertain world. May you find your own path. And on the in-breath, Being aware of this person and their humanity. And on the out-breath, Breathe out kindness and well-wishing towards them. And coming back to our body and breath, Anchoring in the present moment. Stage four. In this stage, Bringing to mind someone with whom we feel some kind of barrier. Perhaps disharmony. And when we're learning the practice, It's probably best to choose someone with whom the difficulty is fairly mild. Some minor irritation. And using our imagination, Bringing to mind a picture of this person. Practicing engaging with this person's humanity. They too feel a range of emotions. Breathing in with a kind breath. Breathing out with a kind breath. Breathing in kindly awareness. Breathing out kindly awareness. And reflecting that whatever difficulties there may be between ourselves and our chosen person, They also experience a broadly similar range of emotions. They have their good days and their not-so-good days. They long to love and to be loved, Just like us. And although they might be difficult for us to be with, In fact, They have the same tendencies of avoiding the unpleasant and grasping the pleasant. And rather than our response to them being dominated by dislike, May we practice relating to this person from a broader, Kinder, More empathetic perspective. On the in-breath, Becoming aware of this person. And on the out-breath, Breathing out kindness and well-wishing. And if it feels appropriate, Perhaps repeating some phrases silently towards the person with whom we have some difficulty. May you be happy. May you be well. May you find peace in this uncertain world. May you find your own path. Breathing in kindly awareness. Breathing out kindly awareness. Letting go of judgment. You may or may not be feeling kindness, And that's okay. Remembering that the heart has its seasons and feelings cannot be forced. Coming back to the body and breath, Anchoring in the present moment. Stage 5. Bringing to mind these four people we've already practiced with. Ourselves, Our friend, The neutral person, And the person we find difficult. And as best we can, Imagining that we're sitting in a circle. Practicing connecting with what we share. Our common human experience. Noticing how it feels when we practice kindness towards ourselves. And noticing what is arising as we send kindness to the people in our circle. And then broadening our awareness to include more and more people. Our circle growing bigger. No matter where they live. Their age. Their wealth. We all share a common human experience. And perhaps repeating these phrases. May we all be happy and well. May we all take care of ourselves. Look after ourselves. May we all find peace in this uncertain world. May we all find our own paths. Practicing bringing to mind the people who we are meditating with now. Or perhaps we're on our own. People in the house. In the neighborhood. Nearby towns and villages. To all people everywhere. Allowing kindly awareness to permeate our breath as we think of a widening circle of life. May we practice allowing a sense of the whole world breathing. Each of us. With the breath rising and falling like waves on the ocean. Coming back to the body and breath. Anchoring in the present moment. Breathing in a kindly breath. Breathing out a kindly breath. And now gently expanding the attention to include the entire body. From the soles of the feet to the top of the head. Being present to the totality of the experience sitting here in this moment. Noticing any thoughts or feelings that are present for you now. And allowing ourselves to be exactly as we are in this moment. Which in itself is an act of kindness. And now grounding ourselves. Breathing in. And breathing out down into the ground. Breathing in. And breathing out down into the earth with a sense of earthing ourselves. And when we're ready. Gently bringing some movement back. Perhaps stretching the neck or wiggling the fingers. Gently opening the eyes. This meditation is now complete.