We'll begin this practice by finding a comfortable stationary position,
And then spending some time with our body as we adjust the different elements of the posture,
As we elongate the spine,
As we comfortably position our hands,
Legs,
And so forth.
And then as we simply allow ourselves to breathe naturally,
Without any conscious control from our side,
Just letting the breath flow,
And yet being mindfully aware of the sensations in the body,
As the body naturally expands and contracts.
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Releasing all types of tension from our feet and toes.
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From our pelvic floor and all the muscles around it.
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Releasing all tension and all types of movement,
All types of deliberate movement from our hands and fingers.
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Relaxing our shoulders.
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And finally,
Attending to the face.
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Releasing all types of tension from the muscles of the face.
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And then expanding our awareness to envelop the entire body,
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To embrace the body.
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Being aware of its sensations,
Its position.
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And its presence as an anchor for this practice,
Relaxed,
Still,
And vigilant.
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And then generating a vast and profound positive motivation for this practice,
By thinking of our highest spiritual or psychological aspirations.
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Thinking of our highest contemplative goals,
Such as full awakening,
Realizing our potential for kindness and wisdom fully,
And so forth.
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Also thinking of our more immediate goals that have to do with cultivating positive habits,
Managing habits that are not constructive.
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And with this motivation as the foundation for our practice,
Turning to the actual training in tender,
Loving awareness,
In this case,
Primarily directed at ourselves,
And for that reason,
Bringing our gentle awareness to this very body,
With all of its experiences,
All the movements of energy in it.
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And simply being aware of the body,
But doing that with a level of warmth,
Affection.
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And for that,
We might need to use a new type of perception,
Instead of seeing our body from the point of view of our conventional,
Conditional mind,
The mind that can see flaws,
That makes judgments about the shape of the body,
And so forth.
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Imagining what it would be like to see this body from the point of view of a highly realized yogini or a yogi,
A highly realized being that sees a beautiful,
Beautiful bundle of energy right here,
A bundle of physical energy,
Currently shaped like this.
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But potentially able to acquire other forms,
Adopt other forms,
Be configured in other ways.
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And so resting in gentle,
Tender appreciation of this energy,
The energy that we label,
My body.
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And then adopting the same attitude towards our mind,
Perceiving this mental energy as something potentially very beautiful,
And actually something inherently beautiful,
Simply because it exists,
Simply because it has this wonderful potential.
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And whether or not we see it as our mind,
Our stream,
Our continuum of mental energy,
Right now we can rest in tender appreciation of it,
Allowing this stream of mental experiences to unfold,
But attending to it with a level of gentleness.
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And then applying the same tender awareness,
Gentle awareness,
Loving,
Warm awareness,
To the person that exists on the basis of these body and mind,
The person that is labeled on the basis of these aggregates,
The very person that we are,
Or that we believe ourselves to be,
Changing moment by moment,
Existing contextually,
And yet of course,
In the eyes of the world and in our own eyes,
Still conventionally existent.
Being tenderly aware of this very person sitting here,
Or lying here,
Practicing here,
Breathing here,
Moment by moment.
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From this tender,
Affectionate awareness,
We move towards the more active and pronounced aspiration of loving-kindness for ourselves.
Attending to this person,
To this person's body,
To this person's mind,
And generating the aspiration,
May I be happy and have the causes of happiness,
And then resting with this aspiration,
Bringing it to mind again and again,
But also simply allowing ourselves to dwell with it,
To feel its meaning,
Even if it doesn't feel completely sincere at times,
Still sending the signal to our body and mind,
To ourselves as a person,
To every aspect of our being.
May I be happy and have the causes of happiness.
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Breathing naturally,
And yet allowing every exhalation to strengthen this aspiration,
To strengthen the wish in our mind,
The wish for happiness and the causes of happiness.
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As we continue wishing ourselves happiness and its causes,
We can imagine a shower of warm,
Beautiful light,
Absorbing into our body and mind,
Making that light feel welcoming,
Making it feel like a giant cosmic embrace,
Giving this light any color that seems especially supportive in this moment,
And reminding ourselves that this light is simply a symbol for both our own natural potential and all the positive qualities associated with it,
And for all the types of support,
Acceptance,
Affection,
Generosity and so forth that we are actually receiving from the world around us,
From other beings,
From nature,
And from the cosmic mechanisms of interdependence,
The basis of it all.
So using the wish and the images to strengthen the positive interdependence that would help us feel loved,
And would help us feel that our existence is meaningful.
Generating the wish for happiness and the causes of happiness,
And knowing that this also entails making a difference in the world,
In the lives of others,
In the way we treat them,
And in what we have to offer.
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