Loving Kindness Meditation - Relationships(30 Mins) 6.27.22

Thank you so much for joining me here today. We are taking 30 minutes to complete a traditional Loving Kindness or Metta meditation as I know it. We repeat phrases to ourselves, sending them to different groups of people. I use the phrases: May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe, may you live with ease. I believe with these practices we can change the word together. With Love, Namaste - Abbey

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

Thank you so much for joining me here today.

My name is Abby.

I'm a yogi,

Salesforce engineer,

And creator of Consider Volunteering,

My personal brand of community empowerment.

And today I am back with my third installment of a loving kindness meditation.

So within the next 30 minutes,

We will be completing a meditation of the type loving kindness or metta meditation.

I learned this technique from Sharon Salzberg,

And I definitely recommend you check her out for additional information.

So we are going to jump into our meditation style.

I'm going to walk you through the whole process.

And right,

Our session will take roughly 30 minutes.

So our loving kindness meditation,

We will start in a comfortable position.

I'm seated as I normally am on my meditation cushion here in my office.

While I do also really enjoy lying down,

But you find the position that is most comfortable for you today.

Once there,

We are going to jump in to our type of meditation.

So loving kindness,

We repeat a set of phrases,

Sending these phrases to particular groups of people,

Right?

We set our intention on these group of people,

Then we repeat a set of phrases,

Right?

Loving kindness,

To kind of induce that level of gratitude that I don't know,

Warm and fuzzy feeling,

Combating those negative thoughts that I know I fall into way too often.

And I want to help you get over and be more flattened in the mind.

So these groups of people and our phrases,

My phrases that I'm going to use today are,

May you be happy,

May you be healthy,

May you be safe,

May you live with ease.

Please feel free to use your phrases,

Whatever feels best,

But I'm going to leverage these ones.

So please feel free to use them if that suits you.

We will send these phrases to five different groups of people.

First,

We will start with ourselves,

Fill our cup,

Right?

Then we will move on to our loving relationship.

So oftentimes,

This is my dog,

But it can also be a loved one,

A mentor,

Somebody you look up to,

The Dalai Lama.

We want to send our loving kindness phrases to a relationship that feels good,

That's easy,

Uncomplicated,

As uncomplicated as relationships can be.

Our third group of people is going to be our,

I refer to them as public,

Or our people we don't really feel a type of way.

You know,

Pretty neutral type person,

Somebody we cross in the shopping center,

Or maybe driving the car in front or back of you,

Maybe somebody in the same train car.

So a member of the public,

We will then send our loving kindness phrases to.

Fourth is our troubled relationship,

Kind of that enemy,

So to speak.

We will send our loving kindness phrases to them as well,

Because we are all connected and to make the world a better place,

We must love all and we're all not perfect.

So that sense of evil,

So to speak,

Is there.

And we send our loving kindness phrases to help get out of those places.

And last but not least,

We will open up fully and send our loving kindness phrases to all beings everywhere.

So not just human beings,

But our planet in which we live on Mother Earth,

As well as trees and insects and plants and dogs and all those beautiful animals and other inhabitants that we share said planet with.

So that is how our meditation will go today.

We will spend roughly five minutes on each group,

Sending our loving kindness phrases,

Holding that group in our heart.

And no matter what,

This practice works.

Even just saying the phrases with no feeling behind them does help.

So I hope you give it a try today.

And you feel the benefits that I felt,

You know,

Looking at something and actually seeing the beauty in it before thinking about its flaw,

Or maybe its exploitation in the world.

Thank you again for joining me.

I hope maybe by now through my explanation,

You've found your way to your position for meditation today.

I will be softening my eyes,

But please do what is comfortable for you.

If I'm lying down,

I really like the weighted eye mask.

Mine has flax seeds in it.

And we will start sending our loving kindness phrases to ourselves.

So you may have a long day,

Short day,

Maybe early in the morning,

Late at night,

But we send our loving kindness phrases to ourselves.

May you be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

May I live with ease.

Sitting here saying my loving kindness phrases brings up all the change that's happened this year.

Myself have taken many turns,

Many steps on my journey,

Which has been amazing.

And so maybe this moment for you can also be a sense of gratitude for all those changes that you've made too.

The small steps add up.

Your journey is unfolding.

Your work is paying off.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

The pain comes up because I know my back has been hurting too bad.

We say our loving kindness phrases for that too because they remind us to take care of ourselves,

This body,

This one trip around this world.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe.

May I live with ease.

Now friends,

It is time to set our intention on our loving relationship and send our phrases to it for its longevity,

For its sweetness in our life,

For its meaning,

Its purpose.

Send your loving kindness phrases.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease,

With teacher of mine.

Oh,

Loving teacher of mine,

How I hope we get to dance together one day.

I find that so many of my loving relationships,

I haven't had the chance to speak or interact on a physical level in a long time for many reasons.

But yet,

This section makes me tear up the most because of the great love they've shared with me.

Even if it's a teacher or somebody,

You know,

For a short time,

Through a more professional relationship,

They still have great impact on my life.

I've shared deep,

Deep love with them.

So I'm happy to be here and send my loving kindness phrases to them,

Even if it's been decades.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

And together,

The love will live on as we dance through life.

And as now time friends,

To shift our intention to the neutral people in our lives,

Those we drive by on the street every day,

Commute with on the train,

Live next to,

See in the shopping center.

We send our loving kindness phrases to these people because we are all connected.

And when we can find some more loving kindness for everybody around us,

It truly makes the world a better place.

And so may you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

Just by myself questioning some unconscious bias that maybe I've been holding about these members of the public.

I think this is a wonderful opportunity,

Safe place to reflect with ourselves around how could we go about our lives in a sweeter way,

In a more loving and compassionate way,

So that our everyday interactions make the world a better place.

And so we send our loving kindness phrases to these members of the public.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

We will be kinder next time,

Holding more compassion on our heart from today forward.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

And unfortunately,

As I know,

I regret it's time to move to our difficult relationship in our life.

So many of these were all into my mind over my life.

It makes me sad because I don't want to dwell on that suffering that we've been through together.

So instead,

Maybe we think about this time as a chance to start letting go.

We forgive.

So we send our loving kindness phrases to these members of the public.

May you be happy.

May you be safe.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

My difficult relationship also holds love.

And I'd really like to remember that love much more than the difficulty.

So with that,

I send my loving kindness phrases.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

And the ultimate act of letting go,

I sing our last round of loving kindness phrases for our difficult relationship.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

And we shift our thoughts,

Maybe open up,

Right,

Let go.

We shift our thoughts to all beings everywhere.

All beings on the shared planet,

In the shared universe.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

And we shift our thoughts.

I do not wish to dwell on the suffering in the world.

I accept that it is there.

I feel that pain to the depths of my soul.

But above all,

I hold hope that those with this deep hope will find the love and joy that I'm putting out into the world that we're cultivating together today.

I hope those who suffer deeply see the real change,

The true change that we make through our meditations.

And so we send our phrases to all beings everywhere.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe.

May you live with ease.

May all beings everywhere be happy.

May all beings everywhere be safe.

May all beings everywhere be healthy.

May all beings everywhere live with ease.

And that,

My dear friends,

Is the end of our practice today.

I'm so grateful for you joining me.

We truly do make the world a better place by coming together and practicing regularly.

I'm so grateful to have your presence,

Your connection.

And until next time,

With love,

Namaste.