Compassion & Loving-Kindness

The benefits of practicing loving-kindness or metta, are well-documented. Those who regularly practice are able to increase their capacity for forgiveness, connection to others, self-acceptance, and more. Something we could all do with a little more of now, more so than ever.

Transcript

As you begin now to establish yourself in a position that feels comfortable and upright,

You might now start to take a moment to become aware of any thoughts or feelings that you might be experiencing and just acknowledging how things are for you right in this moment.

Beginning by bringing awareness into your physical body and feeling into your feet,

Your legs,

Your hips,

The lower body and into the upper body,

The arms,

The shoulders,

The neck and the head.

You might pay attention to the movement of your breath,

The actual sensations of breathing,

Finding yourself that in this very moment you are here,

Alive and whole.

And if it feels okay,

You might now start to bring to mind the image of a person who you know or have known in your life to be loving and kind to you.

Someone who easily evokes feelings of warmth and love.

That may be a spouse or a partner,

A parent or a family member,

A mentor or a close friend,

And someone who has in some way been good to you,

Someone who helps you feel safe and whole,

Whose caring easily emanates from them to you.

And if a person,

Whether past or present,

Doesn't quite come to mind,

Maybe it's someone instead who you know to be inspirational,

Just someone who it's easy to imagine sending wishes of wellbeing towards,

Just wishing them well.

And if it feels right now,

Imagining as you say to them,

May you be safe,

May you be healthy and whole,

May you be happy or content when happiness just isn't an option,

May you be protected from harm and free from fear,

May you be free.

You may have your own words and wishes that you might prefer to use,

And if something or some phrase or some word starts to resonate a little more with you,

Feel free to use those.

And just taking a few moments now to feel how it is just to wish these things for them.

Just letting yourself have the sense of the wishes for wellbeing as they emanate from you to them,

Connecting you to them.

You might notice how it feels inside of you as you send these wishes of wellbeing to this person who you love or you care about.

And as you see or feel or sense them,

Seeing if now you can imagine this person or figure as they now have these very same wishes for you,

Wishing these very same things for you just knowing that they too have your wellbeing in their own heart.

You might imagine now them as they say to you,

May you be safe,

May you be healthy and whole,

May you be happy or content if happiness isn't an option,

May you be protected from harm and free from fear,

May you be free.

Just letting those feelings now wash over you,

Feeling their unconditional love and caring towards you.

As these feelings grow within you,

Knowing that there's nothing that you need to do to deserve these feelings and wishes,

That they are given freely without condition.

And just seeing if you can connect to the meaning of these phrases,

Even if you might not feel all of the safety and warmth right now.

Just knowing that it's their wish for you.

And if it feels okay,

You might now see if you can have these same wishes for yourself,

Hearing yourself as you say to yourself,

May I be safe,

May I be healthy and whole,

May I be happy or content when happiness just isn't an option,

May I be protected from harm and free from fear,

May I be free.

You might have loved ones for whom it's also easy to have these wishes for,

A child,

A family member,

Maybe a dear friend,

Even a loved pet.

And if it feels right saying to them,

Maybe in your own way,

With your own words,

May you be safe,

May you be healthy and whole,

May you be happy or content if happiness just isn't an option,

May you be protected from harm and free from fear,

May you be free.

And you might also now see if there are others in your life who you can extend these wishes to,

Maybe a friend,

A coworker or a neighbour,

Maybe even further out to acquaintances,

Perhaps people you know or don't quite have a personal relationship with,

Like the people you see around town,

Even people that you don't necessarily have strong feelings about.

As you say now to these people,

May you be safe,

May you be healthy and whole,

May you be happy or content when happiness just isn't an option,

May you be protected from harm and free from fear,

May you be free.

And even if these wishes aren't infused with the same warmth and love as they were with a loved one,

Just seeing if you can simply extend the wish without the expectation that it should make you or them feel in any particular way,

Just connecting with what these wishes represent,

Keeping these people in your awareness as you send these good wishes,

Wishing you for them to be healthy and whole,

Wishing for them to have aliveness and love in their lives.

If you're feeling strong and secure and you are comfortable with this,

You might now extend these wishes to someone in your life who's difficult for you right now,

Not necessarily the most difficult person in your life,

Just maybe someone for whom there's been some sort of frustration or misunderstanding.

And in doing this,

It might help to remember that just like you,

They want to be loved.

And just like you,

They too want peace in their life.

You could even say to yourself,

Just like me,

They want to feel happy and joy.

Just like me,

They too want peace and ease.

And they want to be loved and know that their loved ones are safe and healthy.

And just like me,

They're doing the best that they can with what inner and outer resources they have.

So if it feels possible to you,

Now perhaps silently saying to them,

May you be safe.

May you be healthy and whole.

May you be happy or content when happiness just isn't an option.

May you be protected from harm and free from fear.

May you be free.

And even if this is difficult or challenging,

There's value in just noticing what it's like to simply extend the wish.

Recognizing that in doing so,

You're not condoning or agreeing with their actions,

But just simply seeing them as a human being with some of the same needs as you to be loved,

To be safe,

To be at peace.

And if it's possible,

Remembering the circle that began with you and the people that you loved the most,

Family and friends,

And extending that circle now to include all the many people whom you don't know or who may live far away in other countries or cultures,

As you say now,

May you be safe.

May you be healthy and whole.

May you be happy or content when happiness just isn't an option.

May you be protected from harm and free from fear.

May you be free.

You might even now imagine extending these wishes to even include all of the animals and plants,

All life on our planet and beyond,

Including yourself.

As you say now,

May we all be happy and healthy.

May we all feel safe and protected.

May we all experience peace,

Ease and contentment when happiness isn't an option.

May we all be free.

And as this practice now comes towards an end,

Just taking some time to appreciate and feel what's been generated through this practice.

And even if there have been difficult parts of this practice,

Just knowing that it has the potential to increase your sense of aliveness,

Of connection and of belonging just in its mere act.

So as you're ready now,

Beginning to allow yourself once again,

Feel your physical presence,

Sensations of the body,

Your feet,

Your hips,

The upper torso,

The neck,

Your head.

Begin to notice the movement of your own breath,

Bringing aliveness and nourishment to your body as a whole,

Just as your wishes of good will bring aliveness and nourishment to all of those around you.

Thank you.

Reviews

Wonderful, thank you

So beautiful and centering, thank you!! 🙏🏻😊