This is a well-wishing meditation.
The aim of this meditation is that ultimately you feel warmth,
Kindness,
A sense of goodwill towards everyone and everything.
Might seem like a long way off being at that point but the more you move towards being like that the happier you feel.
In this meditation we wish well to a good friend in the first stage,
To ourselves in the second stage,
To a neutral person someone we don't have very strong feelings for of either dislike or like,
In the third stage.
In the fourth stage we wish well to somebody we find annoying or difficult,
Traditionally the stage is called the enemy,
You might not think of anyone as your enemy but maybe someone who if they were about to get in the lift you'd get the next one.
And then finally we wish well to everyone,
To all beings.
Once you can feel warmth towards all of these categories of people,
A friend,
People you like,
Yourself,
People you don't know,
People you currently find difficult,
You will eventually be feeling a sense of kindness towards everybody.
That will have a very positive effect on your own mind and the way you feel every day.
Starting off this meditation in a posture that is both relaxed and alert.
Not so alert that you're tensing or feeling uncomfortable and not so relaxed that you might fall asleep.
Starting off with eyes open and taking some deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Feeling the body expand and the lungs fill up to maximum capacity on the in-breath.
And pushing out every last drop of air on the out-breath.
Ah.
Ah.
Ah.
Ah.
On the next out-breath closing the eyes and allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Feeling the contact between the body and the surface that you're on.
Noticing sounds.
Noticing the state of mind with which you're starting this meditation.
Is the mind foggy?
Is it clear?
Is this a positive or negative mental state?
Whatever is happening in the mind,
Seeing if you can accept it exactly as it is.
Softening the forehead.
Softening the eyes.
Softening the jaw.
Imagining the shoulders turning from ice to water.
And water to gas.
Seeing if they want to relax back and down a little bit more.
Noticing what it's possible to feel in the chest area right now.
Maybe nothing very much.
Maybe there's a lot of sensation.
Just noticing.
Softening the belly area if that's possible.
And now in the first stage of this well-wishing meditation.
Calling to mind a good friend.
Seeing if just calling them to mind has any effect on your body,
Your mind.
Particularly the face and the chest area.
You might imagine this friend sitting in front of you.
And silently imagining wishing for them to be well.
May they be well.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
Imagining them with a big smile on their face.
May you be happy.
There's no particular reason why they're happy,
They just are happy.
May you be free of suffering.
May you make progress.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be free of suffering.
Imagining all the tension in their body melting away.
May you make progress.
Noticing any sensations in the face and the chest.
It's okay if you don't really notice anything but being curious to see if there is anything you can feel.
And now letting go of your focus on this person.
And focusing on yourself.
If you find it difficult to wish for yourself to be happy,
You could imagine a good friend or someone you really care about,
Someone who cares for you,
Wishing for you to be happy.
May I be well.
May I be well.
Finding yourself being the healthiest you've ever been.
May I be happy.
May I be happy.
Finding a big smile on your face for no particular reason.
May I be free of suffering.
May I be free of suffering.
May I make progress.
Whatever that looks like for you.
May I make progress.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May I be free of suffering.
May I make progress.
Noticing any sensations in the body,
Any emotion that arises.
And now calling to mind a neutral person.
Picturing them in front of you.
And imagining saying to them,
May you be well.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be happy.
Noticing how it feels to wish for this person you feel neutral about to be happy.
It's okay if you don't feel very much.
We're not trying to make anything happen.
May you be free of suffering.
May you be free of suffering.
May you make progress.
May you make progress.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be free of suffering.
May you make progress.
Noticing how that feels in the body.
And now letting go of your focus on this person and calling to mind a difficult person.
Noticing any reaction in the mind or any tensing up in the body just by calling this person to mind.
Any tensing in the face,
The shoulders,
The hands,
The belly.
And wishing for this person to be well.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be happy.
Imagining them smiling.
May you be free of suffering.
May you be free of suffering.
Noticing if how you feel about this person changes as you wish them well or stays the same.
May you make progress.
May you make progress.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be free of suffering.
May you make progress.
And now imagining all four of you together somewhere.
And everyone is wishing for each other to be happy.
Expanding this well-wishing out to all your family and friends.
May they all be happy.
Imagining them all smiling.
Everyone where you live,
In the town or the city,
May they all be happy.
Everyone in the country.
And imagining a big ball of sunlight radiating out from the centre of your chest as you wish all beings everywhere to be happy.
May all beings be happy.
Imagining how you feel as you do this.
Allowing the feelings to soak into the body.
Allowing the feelings to soak into the body.
Bringing the attention back to the contact.
The body is making with the surface that you are on.
Realising sounds.
Slightly wriggling the toes,
The fingers.
Slowly opening the eyes.
Just noticing if you feel any different.
And setting an intention for how you'd like to be for the rest of the day.
