Hello,
This is Paul and I'd like to welcome you to this meditation to nourish yourself with some love and kindness.
So find yourself a comfortable place to sit where you won't be disturbed.
If you're in a chair,
Make your way right to the back of the chair so that it supports your lower back.
Ground your feet onto the floor.
Sit upright and allow your spine and neck and the crown of your head to gently move skyward.
And also just gently allow your shoulder blades to move down your back a little bit,
Helping to raise your rib cage slightly.
So not forcing any of this,
But just allowing that natural openness of the chest to occur.
This openness is consistent with the positive emotions we'll cultivate in this meditation.
You might like to gently lower your gaze to reduce distractions.
You might like to even close your eyes.
During this meditation,
You'll hear my voice followed by periods of silence.
In the silence,
Continue to say the phrases of loving kindness gently and silently to yourself.
I'll finish the meditation with the sound of the chime again.
So in your own time,
Take a few deep breaths,
Allowing the breath to move with ease deep into your belly.
And bring some awareness to your heart area.
And visualize how each in-breath affects your heart physically.
Just breathing normally,
Making no special effort to breathe in any particular way.
Resting your awareness on your heart.
And consider how each in-breath nourishes you as your heart drinks in that precious oxygen.
This passage of oxygen from the air around you,
Through your lungs,
Into your beating heart and bloodstream,
Is the most basic and constant connection between you and the world around you.
This simple act of breathing knits together all that is within and that lies beyond your skin.
Each new breath creates a unity of life as all people share the nourishment that the Earth's atmosphere freely offers.
Check in now with how your body is feeling.
So just gently scanning through all through your head,
Neck,
Your chest,
Your belly,
Your hips,
Legs,
Feet,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Elbows,
Hands.
Do you have any aches or pains?
Any worries?
Areas of tension?
Why are you excited?
Caught in some eager anticipation?
Whatever the feeling,
There's no need to push it aside.
There's room for it all.
Pleasant or not,
Let that feeling in.
Accept it as part of what it means to be you in this moment.
Meet the feeling with curiosity and openness without judgment,
Just allowing it to be there.
Note how it registers in your body and how those sensations change subtly from one moment to the next.
So whether your current experience is pleasant or unpleasant,
Just witness and accept.
The events in your life are presenting you with good or bad fortune these days,
Just witness and accept those events.
And just see them as part of the inevitable ups and downs that people experience.
It's just as surely as all people face good and bad fortune.
All people,
All the world over,
Yearn to feel good,
To feel safe,
To feel peaceful,
To feel healthy.
Alongside your awareness of suffering and the fundamental sameness of all people,
You can choose to wish yourself well.
You deserve this kindness as much as anyone.
Begin by lightly calling to mind your own good qualities.
Let these qualities remind you of what's good in you.
What touches your heart about yourself?
Then we'll gently offer the classic wishes of loving kindness to ourselves.
Choose phrasings that best speak to your heart.
May I feel safe and protected.
May I feel happy and peaceful.
May I feel healthy and strong.
May I live with ease.
See yourself as being a dear friend to yourself.
Perhaps it will help you to first imagine the warmth and tenderness that you might feel towards an infant or a puppy.
Experience how your face softens and your heart expands in their presence.
And then imagine directing these same feelings of warmth and tenderness to yourself.
May I feel safe.
May I feel happy.
May I feel healthy.
May I live with ease.
Between each phrase,
Pause for just a moment to drop your awareness down into your body,
To your heart in particular,
And just note and accept whatever sensations arise there.
You might like to place your hand gently on your heart to help with this cultivating of self-care.
Know that this practice is more than the mere repetition of phrases.
The phrases simply open a door to a chance for you to condition your heart to be more open,
Accepting,
And kinder.
Becoming aware of your heart region allows you to witness this conditioning as it unfolds.
May I feel safe.
May I feel happy.
May I feel healthy.
May I live with ease.
At times you might find that your attention has strayed from the phrases.
This may happen a lot,
But don't worry,
It's completely normal.
Simply refresh by gently bringing your awareness back to the phrases.
There's no need to judge yourself for losing this focus.
Each new moment of beginning again presents another chance to experiment with the spirit of loving kindness.
You can acknowledge your laps while at the same time gently returning to the phrases.
May I feel safe.
May I feel happy.
May I feel healthy.
May I live with ease.
As you end this practice,
Know that it's completely natural for you to treat yourself kindly,
Even if you may forget to do so quite often.
Know that you can generate this tender and loving attitude towards yourself anytime.
Know that you can generate this tender and loving attitude towards yourself anytime.
Difficulties and obstacles will still arise.
Suffering happens,
But you need not add to that suffering by treating yourself harshly.
You can instead offer the ancient wishes of loving kindness to yourself.
May I feel safe.
May I feel healthy.
May I feel healthy.
