Hello,
And welcome to this guided metta meditation session.
I'm your meditation teacher,
Patricia,
And I will be guiding you through this meditation for cultivating loving kindness.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable seated position with your spine straight,
But not rigid,
Shoulders relaxed,
Your hands resting gently on your lap or your knees.
Take a moment to settle into this posture,
Allowing your body to relax and your mind to become still.
Now gently close your eyes.
If you prefer,
You can keep them softly focused on a point in front of you.
Just taking a few deep breaths here,
Inhaling slowly through the nose and exhaling gently through the mouth.
With each breath,
Feel yourself becoming more present in the moment,
Letting go of any tension or distractions.
As we begin this meditation,
We will cultivate loving kindness towards ourselves and others.
We'll start by directing these well wishes towards ourselves,
Then gradually extending them to others.
Take a moment to bring to mind an image of yourself as you are right now,
Visualizing yourself sitting there,
Still,
Breathing,
And alive.
And as you hold this image in your mind,
Silently repeat the following phrases.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I live with ease.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I live with ease.
Using the warmth of these phrases to permeate your being,
Feeling the kindness and compassion flowing towards yourself,
Embracing you just as you are,
With all of your strengths,
With all of your imperfections.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I live with ease.
Now let's expand the circle of loving kindness to include someone you care about deeply.
It could be a friend,
A family member,
A beloved pet,
A spouse,
A child,
A sibling,
A parent,
Your go-to person or being.
Visualizing this being in your mind,
Seeing their face,
Feeling their presence as you hold them in your awareness,
Silently repeating to yourself,
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
Imagine sending these wishes directly to them,
Wishing them well with all of your heart.
Feel the connection and love you share with this person and let that love radiate outwards.
Bring an image of these well wishes surrounding this person or being as if they were being sprinkled with stardust.
Every wish,
Just dusting over them with loving kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
Next we'll extend our loving kindness to someone neutral,
Someone you may not know very well but still wish well.
Bring to mind a person you encounter maybe in your daily life,
Perhaps a neighbor or a colleague,
A stranger you see on your commute,
The person at your cafe who serves you coffee in the morning,
Or maybe that dog walker you see in the neighborhood all the time.
Visualize their face.
Visualize their presence.
As you hold them in your awareness,
Silently repeating the following phrase.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
And may you live with ease.
Then sending these wishes to them,
Simply acknowledging their humanity,
Their worth.
Recognize that like you,
They seek happiness and well-being in their lives.
No need to know their story,
Who they are or where they're from,
But they were born of a mother with loving kindness.
Possibly we'll extend our loving kindness to a being who maybe there may be hard times with.
Someone who possibly may have hurt you or brought you sorrow.
Maybe you don't speak to this person.
Maybe it's a lost friendship or an estranged family member.
And although you're holding a beautiful,
Healthy boundary,
It's okay to send them love and to wish them well.
Imagine this person or this being at a time when things were healthy and happy between you if those times existed.
And if not,
That's okay.
Imagine them in a place of happiness and well-being at a distance from you.
Encircling them with a beautiful white light,
Extending your loving kindness and repeating the following phrase,
May they be happy,
May they be healthy,
May they be safe,
May they live with ease.
May they be happy,
May they be healthy,
May they be safe,
May they be living with ease.
Finally,
We'll extend our loving kindness to all beings everywhere without exception.
Envision the entire world filled with countless beings,
Each with their own joys,
With their own sorrows,
Each with their own hopes and fears,
Each living in their own state of humanity.
Consequently repeating the following phrase,
May all beings be happy,
May all beings be healthy,
May all beings be safe,
And may all beings live with ease.
May all beings be happy,
May all beings be safe,
May all beings be healthy,
And may all beings live with ease.
Feeling the expansiveness of this wish,
Encompassing all of humanity,
All living creatures,
And the beautiful Mother Earth herself.
Notice the interconnectedness of all life,
Allowing your heart to open to the vastness of this love.
As we come to the end of this metta meditation,
Take a moment to notice how you feel,
Noticing any sensations in your body,
Emotions,
Or thoughts that arise,
Knowing that you can return to this practice whenever you need to cultivate loving kindness towards yourself,
Towards others.
When you're ready,
Gently bring your awareness back to the present moment,
First becoming aware of your surrounding,
The smell of your room,
The temperature,
The connection of your body and the ground or seat that supports you,
Wiggling your fingers and your toes,
Gentle neck rolls,
Movements in the shoulders,
Taking a few more deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth,
Slowly opening your eyes,
Carrying the warmth and kindness you've cultivated with you as you go about the rest of your day.
Thank you so much for joining me in this meditation practice.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe and able to live with ease.
Peace be with you,
My friend.
Namaste.
Namaste.
Namaste.
