Hello and welcome to your meditation.
As you'll see,
This is a visualization that uses sports related imagery.
If that doesn't work for you,
You can use flowers of different sizes or different objects of increasingly different sizes.
Come into a comfortable position.
This can be done sitting up,
Standing,
Or laying down.
Before we begin,
State your aspiration for this meditation.
It can simply be,
May I feel calmer.
Some other ideas are,
May I be kind to myself and others.
May I forgive myself.
May I feel happier.
Whatever they are for you,
You can state it softly to yourself or state it in your head.
Take a big breath in through the nose and exhale through the nose or mouth.
One more time,
Big inhale in,
Big exhale out.
Keep breathing.
Now bring your awareness into the area of your heart.
Visualize a tiny ball of light the size of a mustard seed in the center of your chest.
It can be a peachy golden color,
Maybe with hints of pink,
Almost like an actual peach skin.
This light is filled with loving kindness for yourself and all beings.
If the ball feels a little tight or strange,
Try picturing a moving,
Warm,
Gentle flame.
Once you've established this,
Expand your loving kindness light to be the size of a marble.
Remember,
You are not responsible for keeping this light blazing.
It is happening with or without you and you're simply being present for it.
Once you feel established with the marble size,
You can expand to the size of a squash ball.
Now let your loving kindness light expand to the size of a tennis ball.
Maybe that flame is getting bigger and maybe you're imagining a flower.
When you're ready,
Move to the size of a volleyball,
Then a basketball.
Now letting your loving kindness light expand to the size of a medicine ball,
Then a beach ball.
And then start allowing this light of loving kindness to expand beyond your body.
Always remain centered in your heart,
But allow the loving kindness to grow outward,
Expanding outwards so that your ball starts to fill the whole room and then the city or the town you live in.
Allowing the loving kindness to expand so that your ball or flame now fills the whole island or continent that you live on and then planet earth and space.
Finally,
Expanding the loving kindness to all the planets.
If at any point you don't wish to extend the light past your body,
Don't push it.
It's totally fine to give the loving kindness to your body.
We meditate for the sake of all sentient beings,
Big and small,
Visible and invisible.
When you're ready,
Slowly start to blink the eyes open and take a couple of deep breaths.
Before you get up,
Stay here for a moment and notice,
Maybe do a short review of your practice.
Notice what was challenging and what came up for you and now note it and let it go.
And once again remember,
You are not responsible for keeping this light blazing.
It is happening with or without you.
You are simply being present for it.
Take this sense of loving kindness with you into the rest of your day and week and come back to this loving kindness sphere meditation and visualization as often as you'd like.
