Let's settle the body in its natural state,
The respiration in its natural rhythm.
And as a preliminary exercise to help stabilize the mind,
Make it serviceable,
You may find it helpful to count 21 breaths.
And now let's turn to the cultivation of loving kindness,
Beginning once again with ourselves,
Envisioning our own well-being,
Our own happiness.
But I invite you to envision something deeper than the quality of happiness that arises by being very fortunate.
Envision a quality of well-being that can be sustained,
In which you can rest,
Regardless of other people's behavior,
Whether they are kind or hateful,
Rude or polite,
Pleasant or unpleasant,
Whether they treat you fairly or unfairly,
Whether they manifest virtue towards you or whether they manifest their own mental afflictions,
Which they never chose to have.
And you envision such a deep quality of well-being that it flows through the vicissitudes of life,
The adversities as well as the felicities,
That is not crushed by other people's behavior,
Specifically negative behavior or other types of adversity.
Imagine a quality of well-being with very deep roots,
Embedded in the very quality of your life,
In the balance of your mind,
And gaining deeper and deeper insight into the very nature of reality as it is.
Imagine a quality of well-being that persists through times of material gain and loss,
Sensual pleasure as well as sensory discomfort and pain,
When we are praised and when we are ridiculed or despised,
When we enjoy the acceptance,
Acknowledgement and respect of others and when we are the object of their disdain,
Their dislike,
Their lack of appreciation.
Imagine your own genuine happiness,
So important in a world in which so little is under our control,
Especially other people's behavior.
And imagine,
If you will,
That you do indeed have the capacity for such happiness,
Lying in the depths of your own being,
In this domain of pristine awareness,
The very fountain of joy,
A wellspring of all virtue.
And symbolically visualize this as a radiant orb of white light in the center of your chest,
A light of purity,
A light of joy,
A light of loving-kindness.
And with each out-breath,
Arouse this yearning.
May I experience the happiness that is my heart's desire,
However you wish to phrase this,
As genuine happiness,
As fulfillment,
Your innermost longing.
With each out-breath,
Arouse this heart of loving-kindness for yourself and imagine rays of light of loving-kindness emanating from this orb,
Permeating every cell of the body,
Saturating every aspect of your mind,
Your entire being,
Filling your whole being with this light of loving-kindness.
And with each out-breath,
Imagine,
Letting your imagination play,
Imagine experiencing such well-being here and now,
Imbued with such inner strength,
Such clarity,
Such equilibrium,
Imbued with wisdom.
Imagine your entire being saturated with such light,
And then extend this field of loving-kindness to those immediately around you,
Each one like yourself,
Wishing for happiness,
Wishing for the freedom of suffering,
Worthy to be free,
Worthy to find happiness that each of us seeks.
With each out-breath,
Expand this field of loving-kindness.
Imagine the light emanating out through your body from the heart,
And embracing each person around you.
May you,
Like myself,
Find genuine happiness and the causes of such happiness.
And with each out-breath,
As this light of loving-kindness saturates each one in your mind's eye,
Imagine each one finding the happiness they seek,
Both temporal well-being as well as the realization of their deepest desires.
With each out-breath,
May each of us be well and happy,
And cultivate the causes of genuine happiness.
Then release all appearances,
All aspirations,
Release all objects of the mind,
And utterly relax,
Completely relax your awareness,
Let it remain in its own space without extending out to any object.
Rest in the utter simplicity of simply being aware of the awareness that is taking place from moment to moment.
And let's bring this session to a close.
