Meditation for Loving Kindness.
This meditation is designed to allow you the space to develop feelings of friendliness,
Compassion,
Kindness and warmth towards both yourself and towards others.
It encourages you to open yourself up to love and a sense of peace and often forgiveness and letting go.
To start find a comfortable position upright yet relaxed or lying down with your arms by your side.
Allow your arms to rest gently and close your eyes.
Keep your eyes closed throughout the whole meditation and bring your awareness inside.
Without straining or concentrating just see if you can relax and gently follow the instructions.
Take a deep breath in and breathe out.
Allow yourself full attention to this moment.
Let the mind settle and to relax into the present leaving behind what you were doing and what you were thinking about and coming to a stillness right here right now.
A stillness for everything except for your breath.
Breathing in fully and breathing out fully and letting go.
Allow the breath to be soft and natural without forcing it or trying to control it.
Breathing in to this moment and breathing out relaxing the whole body.
Go at your own pace and breathe deeply.
Move your focus now from the breath to the rest of yourself.
Imagine you were breathing into your heart to the center of your being.
Is it possible to generate feelings of warmth and friendliness towards yourself?
See if you can infuse your body with loving kindness.
Allow warm feelings to move through your whole body full of love and acceptance.
Full of kindness and compassion.
Now we'll direct loving kindness to ourselves by repeating the following phrases in your mind.
Repeating them silently and softly to yourself.
May I be happy.
May I live with ease.
May I be healthy.
May I be at peace.
Each time you repeat the words offer them all of your attention and focus and feel as though you inject the meaning behind them.
May I be happy.
May I live with ease.
May I be healthy.
May I be at peace.
Savor the meaning of each and every word.
Now envision someone you have warm affectionate feelings towards.
Someone who makes you feel happy the moment you think of them.
Picture that person and hold them in your awareness allowing your heart to soften and open towards them.
When you are ready extend the loving kindness phrases towards them.
Repeat each phrase softly and silently.
Noticing how you feel as you repeat the phrases with that person you care about in mind.
Just as I wish to,
May you be happy.
May you live with ease.
May you be healthy.
May you be at peace.
Just as I wish to,
May you be happy.
May you live with ease.
May you be healthy.
May you be at peace.
Now bring to mind an image of someone who is not your loved one.
Perhaps someone who has hurt you in the past.
Someone who has caused you pain.
Or if you prefer it can be someone neutral in your life.
It can be anyone you have negative or neutral feelings about.
See if you can open your heart and soften towards them and only do it to the amount that you feel able and comfortable to do so.
Extending loving kindness to them as well.
I also wish that you may be happy.
I wish that you may be safe.
I also wish that you may be healthy.
I also wish that you may be at peace.
Lastly we'll extend wishes of loving kindness outward towards all beings.
You can focus your attention to people in your community and those close to you and to people and beings all over the world.
Extend affection without boundaries or limits.
Spreading loving kindness in all directions.
Just as I wish to may you live with ease happiness and good health.
Just as I wish to may you live with ease happiness and good health.
Just as I wish to may you live with ease happiness and good health.
As you continue to build on this practice of loving kindness you'll notice your ability to extend warmth and affection towards yourself and towards others strengthens.
Take a deep breath in and breathe out.
And another deep breath in and in your own time let it go.
Notice the state of your mind and how you feel after this loving kindness meditation.
Start to be aware of the ground beneath you and when you're ready in your own time you may open your eyes.
