Loving Kindness Meditation

This is a guided loving kindness practice with music. This will help you cultivate love, joy, and compassion for yourself and others. Cheryl uses the phrases "May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe and strong, may you love and be loved."

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

Today I'm going to be sharing a loving kindness meditation,

Also known as Metta.

A loving kindness meditation consists of a series of words or phrases that are repeated silently during the practice.

Today I will be using,

May you be happy,

May you be healthy,

May you be safe and safe,

And strong,

May you love and be loved.

You don't have to worry about remembering these phrases as I will guide you through them during this meditation.

Loving kindness meditations are very popular as they're used to help boost your well-being,

Reduce stress,

Cultivate love and joy for yourself and others.

This is a heart centered meditation with its roots in Buddhist traditions.

This meditation is going to take approximately 25 minutes and I'll keep track of the time and at the end I will sound the bell marking the end of the meditation.

But I'd like you to remain seated with your eyes closed as it's important to come out of meditation slowly.

So let us begin by taking three long,

Slow,

Deep breaths in through the nose and out through the nose.

Deep inhale filling up completely and a long exhale out.

This is sending a signal to your body to come into a relaxed state.

Now you can return your breath to its natural rhythm and depth.

And during this meditation you don't need to do anything to control your breath.

Just breathe naturally.

Allow your whole body to soften and be filled with ease.

Drop your to-do list and be here right now in this present moment.

Continuing to feel your breath as you breathe in and as you breathe out.

Welcome in all the sounds around you both near and far.

Sounds are rarely a barrier to your meditation.

Remember at any time during this meditation if you find that you've drifted away with your thoughts or sensations,

Gently guide your attention back to your breath.

And you can do this as many times as you have to.

I invite you to turn your attention to your whole body and soften and relax through your entire body.

Move your attention to your face and soften all the muscles in your face.

Relax through your forehead.

Soften the furrow in your brow.

Relax any tension you're holding in your cheeks,

In your eyes,

And through your jaw.

Relax the tongue in your mouth.

Drift your attention to your shoulders and soften and pull them away from your ears and relax them down your spine.

Relax through your upper,

Middle,

And lower back.

Relax both your right and left arms and soften through your hands and all of your fingers.

Move your attention to the front side of your body and soften through your chest,

Belly,

Your hips,

And sitz bones.

Relax both your right and left legs from the top of your thighs to the soles of your feet.

Feel your whole body and scan just for any remaining tension and soften and release in that area.

Now bring your attention to your heart center and I invite you to see,

Feel,

And imagine your breath floating in and out through your heart,

Through your heart center.

Feel the breath fully as it floats in and as it floats out of you.

Continue to imagine your breath floating in and out through your heart space.

And if you would like,

You can take one or both palms of your hands and place them over your heart center.

And as you are ready,

Begin by sending blessings of loving kindness to yourself.

You begin with yourself and then you can grow and send love out to others.

So offering yourself these phrases.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe and strong.

May I love and be loved.

Feel the sensations of loving kindness flowing through your body from your head to your toes.

Know that you are planting the seeds to greater health and personal well-being.

You can send additional blessings to yourself.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be safe and strong.

May I love and be loved.

Now,

I invite you to call to mind someone neutral.

This is a person you have briefly met.

Could be a driver or cashier or even your barista.

Even without knowing their name,

Get a sense of this person imagining their face,

Bringing that image into your mind's eye or imagine what they were doing when you encountered them.

And when you're ready,

Begin to offer them the same phrases of loving kindness.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe and strong.

May you love and be loved.

Bearing witness to what you feel in this very moment,

Continue to send this person these blessings and feel these sensations within your heart and whole body.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe and strong.

May you love and be loved.

Now I invite you to call to mind someone you deeply love,

Someone who immediately opens your heart when you think of this person.

You can be a child,

A parent,

A spouse,

Friend or even a pet.

You might even notice that a warm sensation or smile comes over you when you think of this person.

As you are ready,

Begin to send this person the same well wishes,

Offering,

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe and strong.

May you love and be loved.

Imagine these wishes traveling through space and time and being received by this loved one.

And feeling those sensations in your body as you continue to send these blessings to them.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe and strong.

May you love and be loved.

I wish this for you.

Now,

Identify a person with whom you're having difficulty with.

Get a feeling of their presence.

Notice if you have difficulty doing this practice or come up with a judgment about them.

If you do,

Refocus your awareness on the area of your heart.

Keep your attention in the present moment.

Offer this person the same blessings of loving kindness.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe and strong.

May you love and be loved.

This may be challenging for you,

But remember,

It's a practice.

Take your time.

And as you are ready,

Offer these blessings.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe and strong.

May you love and be loved.

Drifting your attention back to your heart center.

With each in-breath receiving.

And with each out-breath,

Sending the wishes of loving kindness out to the universe.

Realizing that just as you wish to receive these blessings,

So too do all human beings.

You could now expand your awareness to include all beings in your immediate environment,

In your room,

In your neighborhood,

In the community,

And on this earth.

All beings wish to be peaceful and at ease.

According to all beings,

These beautiful blessings,

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe and strong.

May you love and be loved.

Sending these phrases out in all directions.

Sending them to the right and to the left,

Up above and down below.

Annoying to send these phrases.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be safe and strong.

May you love and be loved.

If your hand is over your heart center,

You can gently place your palms back in your lap.

With each exhale,

Sending this loving kindness out in all directions.

And with each inhale,

Offering these phrases to yourself.

Exhale,

Sending out loving kindness.

Exhale these goodness and loving wishes to yourself.

Feeling the goodness of inclining our hearts into self-care and love.

And inviting in gratitude for dedicating this practice.

And using this time and energy in this way to cultivate a sense of compassion and love for yourself and others.

Keeping your eyes closed,

Begin to deepen your breath.

Notice any sensations you are experiencing and welcoming everything.

It can begin to stretch into the space around you.

You can wiggle your fingers and your toes.

And when you're ready,

You can gently and slowly open your eyes.

Rest with a downward gaze,

Maintaining that inward focus.

And when you feel complete,

You can open your eyes all the way.

I hope you enjoyed today's meditation.

I thank you for joining me and have a wonderful day.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you deeply. 💚

That was beautiful and will be a continued go-to, as there are endless faces that come to mind. Thank you. Namaste.