My name is Ashley Annemarie and today we will be doing a loving kindness meditation practice.
Please begin by finding a comfortable sitting position or lying down,
Whatever feels more comfortable for you.
When you are ready,
Close your eyes and count backwards from 10.
This can either be out loud or in your head.
10,
9,
8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Begin by imagining somebody that you love so much.
This could be a family member,
A friend,
Maybe a partner.
Somebody that your love is unconditional for and it's very easy to love this person.
Picture that person in your mind.
What do they look like?
What are they wearing?
Are they smiling?
Are they neutral?
And start to begin to feel in your body the emotion you have when you think of this person.
Is there a warmth in your chest?
Do you feel your heart glow?
Do you feel appreciation for this person?
Focus in on that emotion and wherever it is in your body,
Let it spread.
Maybe when you think of this person,
You feel a warm glow in your chest.
Visualizing their face,
How they're looking,
What they're doing,
And try to expand that emotion until it fills your whole body.
Maybe that warm glow in your chest is slowly traveling to your torso,
Down to your legs.
Let that love fill you up.
When you are ready,
Take a deep breath in.
Picture that person and repeat after me.
May you be happy.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
Just notice in your body how you feel after you give that person wishes of love and light.
You can take this time to do it once more if you'd like.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
Slowly let that image leave your mind's eye.
Now I want you to think of a person who is maybe not your favorite human being and that's okay.
Maybe it's somebody that's hurt you,
Caused you anger or sadness.
Maybe it's even somebody that's done you wrong in your life.
Bring an image of that person to your mind's eye.
What do they look like?
What are they wearing?
How are they looking at you?
Do they seem nervous to see you?
Do they seem uncaring?
It doesn't matter because this isn't about them,
It's about you.
Now locate in your body the emotion you feel when you see their image and whatever comes up is okay.
Maybe you feel hurt.
Maybe you suddenly feel angry or disgusted.
Try not to judge however you feel,
Just let it be there.
Take a deep breath in.
Feeling in your lungs,
Feel them expand and breathe out.
And when you are ready,
Say,
May you be happy.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
For this moment,
We're going to take a seat back from our emotions and whatever they did to us to cause us this pain and we're still going to wish them well.
No matter what you have done to me,
I still wish that you will be happy.
No matter the pain you've caused my life,
I still wish you to be healthy.
And if you haven't apologized,
I still wish you to be safe.
Take a deep breath in and exhale.
Try to notice in your body if your initial feeling towards that person has changed at all and whatever it is,
It's okay.
Maybe that emotion stayed the same or maybe it transformed completely.
Maybe your body feels slightly more at peace.
Whatever it is,
It's okay.
Now in your mind's eye,
Visualize the best version of yourself.
I want you to bring an image in your mind of yourself and in this image,
You're best you could be.
Maybe you're smiling from ear to ear.
Maybe you look like you finally found peace.
Maybe you look calm.
That's okay.
Take a deep breath in and say to yourself,
May you be happy.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
And for this one,
We're going to go through that again and I want you to take a moment after each step and visualize what would that look like?
What would it look like if you were happy?
Would you be smiling?
Would you just feel more calm?
What would it look like if you were healthy?
Would you have more energy?
Would you look well rested?
What would it look like if you were safe?
Would there be a specific person with you?
Would you be in a safe environment?
Whatever that looks like to you.
So take a deep breath.
We're going to go through it each time,
This time with pauses.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
And whatever those images were that came to your mind that you associate with happiness,
Health,
And safety,
I want you to think about what emotions that brought to you and find them in your body.
Do you feel peace?
Do you feel comfort?
As we begin to end this meditation,
I want you to know that you can take those emotions with you for the rest of your day.
And if you need to,
You can come back and find those emotions again because they're inside of you and you brought them on all by yourself.
You know how it feels to be happy,
Healthy,
And safe.
At the sound of the bell,
Slowly open your eyes,
Slowly return back to being.
Thank you for sitting with me today,
Sending you love and light.
