Hi,
My name is Adriana DeFazio,
And this is a 10-minute Loving Kindness Remedia practice.
Since this is a shorter meditation,
We'll direct our phrases of loving kindness only to three of the five traditional lenses.
We'll first start off with ourselves,
Then a loved one,
And then we'll close out by sending loving kindness to all beings.
Let's start off by taking a tall and comfortable seat.
If you're seated in a chair,
I invite you to bring yourself to the edge of your seat.
Feel your feet firmly planted on the ground beneath your knees.
If you're seated on a cushion,
Begin to bring your awareness to your sit bones,
Rooting and grounding into the earth.
In either posture,
I invite you to place your hands palms down on tops of your thighs.
And then to grow tall,
Establishing an uplifted,
Dignified seat.
Gently close your eyes.
From here,
Begin to settle your mind on the sensation of your body breathing.
And as you do so,
You may find that your chest opens and broadens,
Your heart softens.
And by bringing to mind yourself,
Remembering the goodness in you,
Maybe reflecting on a good deed that you did recently,
Or some of your favorite qualities about yourself,
Offering yourself that gift.
We'll silently direct our love and attention towards ourselves by repeating our phrases of loving kindness.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I be free.
Again,
Repeating those phrases silently to yourself,
Allowing yourself to really feel into each phrase of what it means for you to be happy,
Healthy,
Safe and free.
Now bringing to mind a loved one,
Maybe this is a friend,
Family member,
A beloved companion animal,
Someone in which loving kindness comes easily to you.
There's no resistance or hesitation.
Bring this person to mind,
Visualizing them,
Maybe sitting in front of you,
And then offering them our phrases of loving kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be free.
Repeating those phrases silently to yourself.
If it's helpful,
You can link your in-breath and out-breath with each repetition.
Sending loving kindness to this individual or being.
Letting go of the contemplation of this loved one,
And now bringing to mind all beings.
Other people that you don't know within your geographic location,
Going about their lives,
Maybe at school or work,
Children,
The elderly,
The sick and hungry.
Expanding your awareness 360 degrees,
Pulsating outwards until your awareness encompasses all beings on our wonderful earth.
Sharing and sending our phrases of loving kindness to all sentient beings.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings be free.
Again,
Repeating these phrases of loving kindness.
Allowing those seeds of metta to radiate outwards,
Emanating from your heart center.
And then slowly letting go of that contemplation,
Visualization.
Allowing yourself to rest in spacious,
Open awareness.
Feeling your body.
And then in your own time,
You can begin to bring some movement back into your body.
Open your eyes or raise your gaze.
And formally close your meditation practice.
