As the sound of the bell fades,
Coming into a comfortable sitting position.
Feet on the floor,
Awareness of sitting on the chair or the cushion,
Awareness of upper thighs and buttocks,
Noticing the back and the inherent strength within that,
Allowing the alignment of the spine to provide that stability,
Noticing an opening across the front of the chest and the softness across the heart area,
Allowing the shoulders simply to settle,
Noticing the placement of the arms and hands,
The hands at rest,
Awareness of the palms of the hands and the tops of hands,
Sensitivity that may be present within the hands,
The fingers fingertips.
Awareness of the neck,
So the support that the neck provides the head,
So noticing the head,
The back of the head,
The crown of the head where we may be at our tallest,
The sides,
Bringing soft kindly attention to the forehead,
The area around the eyes,
Cheeks,
The mouth and the chin.
So becoming aware of the body as a whole sitting here,
Making this a dedicated time to simply be with this practice.
There may be awareness of the environment you're sitting in,
Sounds that may be present,
The temperature of the room,
Sensation of clothing and air on the skin.
And then very gently coming to the breath just as it is for you now.
Not needing to manipulate it or change,
Just simply finding the friend of the breath.
Bringing that curiosity as to where it may be most felt,
Where are you noticing it at the moment?
Is it at the nostrils or the throat?
The chest area?
Or perhaps it's down in and around the belly,
The abdominal region?
There's no right or wrong with breathing,
This is your breath.
Simply allowing it to be felt and experienced as it is now.
So this meditation is an invitation to connect with our shared humanity and cultivating compassion and kindness to ourselves and others.
So very gently bring to mind a person or a being whom you respect,
Who you hold in high esteem.
This may be a teacher or a spiritual leader,
Someone whom you've come in contact,
Who has assisted you and has been a guide in life in some shape or form.
So best as you can bringing this person to mind.
Having a felt sense of their presence.
And bringing a heartfelt desire to send well-wishing to this person.
Extending your kind thoughts.
And finding words that ring true for you.
But it may be something like,
May you be free from suffering or difficulty.
May any problems pass.
May you be happy and experience joy.
May you be as healthy as possible.
May you experience peace.
So repeating those words or words that fit for you and extending this as a kind felt expression of appreciation,
Gratitude and love to this person.
May you be free from suffering or difficulty.
May any problems pass.
May you be happy and experience joy.
May you be as healthy as possible.
May you experience peace.
Allowing that image of that person to just gently fade.
Bringing to mind someone who is easy to love in your life.
This may be a family member.
It may be an animal,
A pet or perhaps a small child.
So bring this person or animal to mind.
Having a felt sense of their presence.
And feeling into the words of your choice or repeating the following.
May you be free from suffering and difficulty.
May any problems pass.
May you be happy and experience joy.
May you be as healthy as possible.
May you experience peace.
Again allowing these thoughts and well wishes to be felt and extended with love and gratitude to this person or animal in your life who brings such joy,
Pleasure and love.
So as we have extended these kind wishes and warmth to a person of high regard and who has provided guidance in our life and to someone who is close to us or an animal who brings comfort.
So too extending these sentiments to yourself who's equally deserving of this love and attention,
Kindness and warmth.
So best as you can,
Feeling into the words and extending this kindness to yourself and repeating the words or something similar.
May I be free from suffering and difficulty.
May any problems pass.
May I be happy and experience joy.
May I be as healthy as possible for me.
May I experience peace.
So allowing these words,
Feelings to resonate,
To be felt within the body,
The heart.
Noticing also if there's any resistance or objection to these ideas,
To these well wishes,
To this act of kindness.
And if there is,
Simply extending kindness to the resistance.
Not a problem.
Bringing to mind now someone whom you don't know that well,
Who you have no special connection with.
Maybe someone that you see at the local shops or someone in the office who you don't really know that well,
Have no opinion of either one way or the other.
And offering this person also these kind wishes and repeating the words or something similar as you bring this person to mind too.
May you be free from suffering and difficulty.
May any difficulties pass.
May you be happy and experience joy.
May you be as healthy as possible.
May you experience peace.
Sending these kind thoughts and well wishes to this person as best you can.
Coming now to someone who may be not so easy to be around in your life.
Someone whom you have a little difficulty with.
And considering if it's possible to send these kind thoughts and hopes for this person also.
May you be free from suffering and difficulty.
May any difficulties pass.
May you be happy and experience joy.
May you be as healthy as possible.
May you experience peace.
And if this is difficult or feels contrived or forced,
Sending these well wishes to someone who may be problematic in your life.
Simply sending that kindness and understanding to the resistance that may be present.
And leaving that as a possibility for the future perhaps.
So bring to mind now everyone who we have considered.
The wise,
Guiding light,
The person whom you have respect for and many others that may be in that category.
All those who you feel close to.
All those whom you don't know so well but are part of our community and environment and world.
And those whom we don't feel so close to.
Who may bring difficulty or conflict into our life.
And including yourself in this mix.
So extending the well wishes to everyone.
Those who are known or not known.
Those who are close to you.
Those who may be more distant.
So extending these kind thoughts and compassion to those near and far.
May we be free from suffering and hardship.
May any difficulties pass.
May we all be happy and experience joy.
May we be as healthy as is possible.
And may we all experience peace.
Having a felt sense of these warm intentions and desire for everyone everywhere to be able to experience ease in their lives.
Including ourselves.
Gently bringing awareness now back to the breathing,
Back to the body.
Having a felt sense of sitting here.
Noticing the effect of this practice.
And allowing it to be felt without judgment,
Without comment.
Allowing it to permeate within and perhaps also allowing it to be radiating out.
And extending into your day.
Gently becoming aware of your environment.
The sounds that may be present.
Sensation of clothing,
Temperature.
The body and the mind.
At the sound of the bell gently reactivating the body and moving gently into the next part of your day.
