Welcome to this loving kindness meditation,
Which I am also calling the glowing heart meditation,
As my instructions will include some invitations for visualizations,
But you can most definitely do the practice without those as well.
Why practice loving kindness?
Because regular practice,
Such as this one,
Can increase our self-acceptance,
Our connection to others,
And our capacity for forgiveness,
Ultimately reducing stress and overall increasing our well-being.
It can take some time and practice to be able to fully allow ourselves to not only send our love to others,
But also to allow ourselves to receive it for ourselves.
So if parts of this practice feel difficult or uncomfortable,
Please feel free to take a break whenever you need to,
And to simply sit in awareness of your breath,
Sensations in the body,
For a few moments.
You can always rejoin at some point in the practice,
Or let it go for today,
Maybe returning another day.
To begin,
Let's find a comfortable position to be in.
You could be seated,
You could be lying down,
But you want to feel supported,
So finding a nice steady seat,
Being warm,
Being comfortable.
Take a few moments just to become aware of your surroundings.
If your eyes are open,
Maybe just looking briefly around the room that you're in,
Noticing the light,
Shadows,
Colors,
Textures,
And then allowing the eyes to either close,
Or for the gaze to just gently soften,
Not looking now at anything in particular anymore.
You might become aware of the lingering smells in the air,
Being aware of your body in this space,
And the way it is connected to the ground beneath you,
The support beneath you.
Maybe feeling a sense of heaviness through those parts of you that are connecting you to the ground.
And then just becoming aware of the fact that you are breathing,
Noticing the sensations of breath,
At the nostrils,
Or the back of the throat,
Or maybe the chest or belly rising and falling with each breath.
And just allow that awareness of breathing to gently slow your breath down a little.
And then bringing your focus to your heart space.
If you feel like you want to,
You could place one or both hands over your heart space.
And if you are comfortable with the visualization,
Imagining a small warm light glowing in the center of your heart.
Maybe you feel even a sense of warmth in that space under your hand.
And just sitting for another moment here with your body and your warm glowing light in your heart.
Or simply feeling your hand on your heart or any sensations present in the heart space for you.
And then bring to mind a person who is very dear to you,
Who you consider very close,
Who you feel love towards.
Imagine them sitting opposite you.
And then notice that they too have that same warm glowing light in their heart.
Or simply be aware that they feel the same love in their heart that you feel in your heart.
And in simply sending them these well wishes,
Quietly repeating those to yourself out loud or just in your mind.
May you be safe and protected from harm.
May you be healthy and free from suffering.
May you live with ease and joy.
May you be happy.
And as you are sending these wishes to that person close to you,
Notice how the light in their heart starts to grow.
And you might notice that in return the light in your own heart begins to grow,
To grow brighter,
Warmer.
And then imagine this person now sending those same well wishes back to you.
And repeat them to yourself.
May I be safe and protected from harm.
May I be healthy and free from suffering.
May I live with ease and joy.
May I be happy.
And as you are receiving these well wishes from your loved person,
Again notice the light and warmth in both of your hearts grow.
And then allow more people to join you either in a circle or in a group of some kind.
These could be people that are close to you,
People you only barely know,
Could even include someone you're having a difficult time with,
Bringing only whoever you're comfortable with into the group.
Imagining all of those people now to sit here with you and noticing how each of them also has that bright warm light glowing in their hearts.
Or simply imagining that each of them feels the same love in their hearts as you have in yours.
And then begin to send all of them your well wishes.
May you all be safe and protected from harm.
May you all be healthy and free from suffering.
May you all live with ease and joy.
May you all be happy.
And as your well wishes are being sent out,
Notice how the light,
The warmth,
The love in everyone's hearts begins to grow.
And then expanding that field of inclusion even wider to include every person and being on earth.
And together sending out well wishes to all beings.
May all beings be safe and protected from harm.
May all beings be healthy and free from suffering.
May all beings live with ease and joy.
May all beings be happy.
And then just take a moment to sit with that warmth and light in your heart that's grown as you've sent and received well wishes.
Noticing that that same love has grown in everyone else's hearts.
It's always an invitation to just simply stay here and sit here with those sensations for however long you want.
But eventually allow yourself to return back into your body now.
Noticing where your body connects you to the ground.
Noticing again the breath and the sensations of breathing.
Maybe noticing the sounds around you outside of the space that you're in.
Slowly reawakening the body by bringing some movement into the hands and feet.
And gently blinking the eyes open when you're ready.
Just being fully present in this moment in your body.
Whatever place you find yourself in.
As our practice is now complete.
