Hello and welcome.
Thank you so much for joining me here today.
My name is Abbey.
I'm a yogi,
Salesforce engineer,
And creator of Consider Volunteering,
My personal brand of community empowerment.
If you'd like to learn more,
Please visit my website.
Otherwise,
I'm so excited to be here with you today.
We are practicing together a loving kindness meditation.
So I'm going to be within the next 30 minutes walking you through a loving kindness meditation.
From start to finish,
No need to have any prior experience.
I will walk you through every step,
Which the first is finding a comfortable seat.
So in this time for the next 30 minutes,
Find your way into a posture that feels supportive.
I myself am sitting on my meditation cushion here with you as I do.
This is my everyday kind of desk.
Otherwise,
I do really enjoy lying down.
But please do try.
We don't want to sleep,
Right?
We've got to practice.
So if a nap calls you instead,
Not a trouble,
But do try to come back as we practice for 30 minutes,
Which I do try to fit in on a regular basis.
And so our loving kindness meditation,
After we find our position,
Consists of two parts.
Loving kindness or metta meditation is the repeating of a set of phrases.
So that is our first set is the set of phrases that we will repeat to ourselves quietly.
I do say them out loud,
But we like to practice loving kindness meditation everywhere.
You know,
Grocery store,
A great way to occupy my mind is doing some loving kindness meditation silently to all of those beautiful other shoppers in my community.
And so for the next 30 minutes,
We will repeat our phrases.
And I will use these phrases in my example today.
But please feel free to select your own.
I do have faith that the rhythm of the phrases come in time.
So my example phrases are,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be safe,
May you live with ease.
So I will use these phrases as my example throughout our practice today.
And we can build on from there,
Because the second part to our loving kindness practice,
That's after we get down this repeating of the phrases,
So we set our intentions on five different groups of people.
So we repeat our phrases while holding different holding different individuals or groups of people in our intention,
In our heart,
In our minds,
That kind of direction,
You know,
Sending the vibe,
So to speak.
And so the first group of people is ourselves.
We start by directing our phrases to ourselves,
Give us that solid foundation in order to be moving to these other groups,
Which the second group is a loving relationship.
So we start with a loving relationship to really feel this gratitude accumulate in our bodies.
So the second group of people is somebody,
A loving relationship to my dog,
Family member,
Friend,
Maybe a teacher.
Second group of people is our loving relationship.
Then we move deeper into our third group of people,
Which is,
I often describe as a member of the public or a neutral relationship,
An acquaintance,
Somebody who passed by on the street,
On the train sitting next to you,
You know,
Somebody you don't normally recognize so much,
But is a member,
Right?
We're all connected.
So we will send our loving kindness phrases to a neutral relationship.
Fourth,
We transition into a difficult relationship.
So we will send our loving kindness phrases into this difficult relationship,
Whatever that means for you today,
But in finding balance and in practicing and being more present in these difficult scenarios,
We will send to our fourth group of individuals our difficult relationship.
And then last but not least,
We open up,
Broaden to all beings everywhere.
So we round out our practice by holding all beings as we are connected to the divine light that shines through all of us.
And so we will send our loving kindness phrases and be grateful for that connection to all.
So over the next 30 minutes,
We will spend doing our loving kindness meditation,
Repeating our phrases to these different group of individuals.
And I hope within this last few minutes,
You've been able to find your position for today as we are going to dive into our first group right here now,
Ourselves.
So imagine hugging yourself today,
I often sit on my future self's lap,
Understanding that I have everything I need within me.
And I'm so grateful for the strength and that continued resilience and love for life.
And so we repeat our phrases first to ourselves.
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.
For myself,
I know I'm very grateful that the new moon has passed and that beautiful full moon energy will be slowly but surely making its way back into my life.
I very much miss it and have to be humble with myself when the new moon passes and the negative thoughts arise.
I can really be grateful during these times and remember what keeps me going is these practices,
Like our loving kindness practice today,
Being grateful for the energy and zest I have for life.
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.
I really see the results of this practice and repeating these phrases to myself.
When you look in the mirror and you can take a moment and smile before having the mind spiral into those thoughts of what could be better.
And so I'm so grateful for my practice as we transition into our second group of individuals,
Our loving relationship.
So who is that loving relationship outside of yourself,
Who you would like to cherish today and send your phrases to?
It's so much like coming back to this practice because I get to choose different people every time because this loving relationship is my truly my favorite part.
I love cherishing the people who have greatly impacted my life for the better.
And so we send our loving kindness phrases to them,
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.
The loving relationship that came to mind today is definitely linked to the changes seasons that I find myself in in life.
School has started,
The fall signs are coming.
And so I cherish the relationship of somebody who touched me during this time many years ago,
But I continue to be so thankful.
Those chance happenings of meeting somebody who truly impacted positive relationship and so I send my loving kindness phrases to you today.
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.
I'm so grateful to cherish these loving relationships in my life.
It gives me that same feeling as Christmas does in some capacities,
That we all have the ability to be good.
And so I'm so grateful to remember this loving relationship as we transition into our third group of individuals,
Our neutral relationship,
I often describe as a member of the public,
The person in the car in front of you,
The next aisle over the grocery store,
On the train.
We send our loving kindness phrases to this member of the public,
This neutral relationship,
To find balance and also maybe to cultivate our general okayness.
We often get so gloomy in these mundane tasks where we interact with neutral relationships.
But I find those small acts of kindness really do make the world a better place.
And so we practice,
May you be happy,
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.
I find myself thinking about random acts of kindness.
Maybe you're more formerly a book fairy,
Maybe you just put that extra cart away when you're at that grocery store.
I know I try to spread the love in that category.
But even if we can't see or quantify how these changes change the world,
I have the faith and I practice to strengthen that faith.
So we continue,
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 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 when the practice gets tough,
I encourage you to lean in more.
I find the rule is pause first.
Now it seems counterintuitive,
But then I know I'm truly putting my effort towards what really matters and I've spent enough time to decide what really matters because I find that recognition can almost be half the challenge.
And so we transition to our fourth group of individuals,
Our difficult relationship.
So what difficult relationship are you going to look at today?
Maybe it's the dark side of that loving relationship.
I know I'm there many times.
Maybe it's something totally different,
Unrelated,
Dynamic.
But we find our balance and we continue to practice.
We continue to gladden the mind,
Combat those negative thoughts,
Find more centeredness,
More now,
Even in these difficult relationships.
And so we send our 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.
Watching my dog fuss over something so simple,
Like fluffing his blankie back there,
It draws a parallel to my difficult relationship and that what I perceive as fussy and something nonchalant is a big deal to somebody else.
And it can be a matter of perspective.
And so with these practices,
It can help us step in that other person's shoes,
Take in their perspective.
Even if you can't agree still,
Even if it's not something you want to take as your perspective,
We can understand and respect it.
And with these practices,
We become better at looking at looking,
Listening.
And so I continue,
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 ease.
Even if your mind can't get off that insurmountable difficult relationship that you may have in your life,
Fear not,
As that I return time and time again of these difficult relationships.
And I promise you I have seen shifts,
Changes,
Understandings,
Letting go.
And so I encourage you to continue on in your practice.
Have faith.
Together we can get through anything.
And I assure you it is now time to transition out into all beings everywhere.
So we can let go.
We can embrace how we've changed throughout this practice today.
Relish in all beings everywhere.
And then we send our phrases with much gratitude to all cells on this planet in this ever expanding 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.
The rebuttal I feel comes up when I think of all beings everywhere is how can we possibly have enough resources to share amongst us all?
And I promise you there is enough resources out there for all of us to share.
It's a matter of asking ourselves,
What do I really need?
Do I need that hundred pair of shoes?
Do I really need the new house?
Maybe yes,
Maybe no.
But pausing to give ourselves that chance of right,
Turning away from the greed,
Right?
As we grow and consume resources,
Find ourselves with more resources.
What do you do with them?
Right?
I'm turning the arrow back on to ourselves as is most difficult,
But I'll find,
Spend the recommendation not only from my teachers,
But from the many teachers that I've studied.
And so we continue to practice through the shared connection that what I do affects you and vice versa.
And so we send our loving kindness phrases in hopes that we can find more compassion for all of us,
Including ourselves.
May you be happy,
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 that's it my friends,
Way to go.
You made it to the end of our practice here today.
Should be so proud of yourself and I greatly appreciate your efforts and contributions to making the world a better place with me.
I sure don't take your efforts for granted.
Until next time,
I hope you are well,
Stay safe,
And hold that compassion and love in your heart.
Until next time,
With love,
Namaste,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
