Let's begin our metapractice by establishing a relaxed but awake posture.
This could be sitting on a chair with your feet on the floor or a cushion,
Or you may decide to lie on your back.
So softening into your body in this posture,
Feeling yourself held by the surface your body makes contact with,
And letting go of any obvious tensions within your body,
Heart,
Or mind.
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out tension.
Coming into a comfortable posture,
Relaxing into the surface below you,
Held by this earth,
And taking a couple of deep breaths in and out,
And softening even more into your body,
Allowing yourself to feel the contact points with your feet,
Sit bones,
And maybe back.
Rooted to this earth,
You may even imagine roots growing deep down into the earth below you and turning to the breath.
Know you're breathing in when you breathe in.
Know you're breathing out when you breathe out.
Not changing the breath,
Just your normal rhythm of breathing,
And experiencing the breath as it moves in and out of your body,
Letting physical sensations and thoughts arise and pass as they enter and leave awareness.
Whether they're pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral,
Allow and let be all that is arising.
Now directing your breath through your heart center,
And if you feel called to,
Placing your hand on your heart and feeling what's here to be known.
You may discover sensations of warmth,
Softness,
Or maybe even contraction.
Just being present with this experience here and now,
As you become aware of your heart,
Maybe setting the intention to offer these wishes of loving kindness as seeds to be planted and nurtured.
To begin,
Call to mind a version of yourself that's easy to love.
This might be you as a child or at a time in your life that you experienced deep love for yourself.
Once you have this version of you,
Bring it into your heart and repeat the following phrases silently or out loud.
May I be peaceful,
Happy,
And light in body and spirit.
May I be safe and free from injury.
May I be free from anger,
Afflictions,
Fear,
And anxiety.
May I learn to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself.
May I learn to identify and see the sources of anger,
Craving,
And delusion in myself.
May I know how to nourish the seeds of joy in myself every day.
May I be able to live fresh,
Solid,
And free.
May I be free from attachment and aversion,
But not indifferent.
Now calling to mind someone that's easy to love.
Maybe it's a child or a pet or someone that's no longer with you,
A dear one.
And then once you have this person,
Bringing them into your heart and repeating these phrases silently or out loud.
May you be peaceful,
Happy,
And light in body and spirit.
May you be safe and free from injury.
May you be free from anger,
Afflictions,
Fear,
And anxiety.
May you learn to look at yourself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May you be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in yourself.
May you learn to identify and see the sources of anger,
Craving,
And delusion in yourself.
May you know how to nourish the seeds of joy in yourself every day.
May you be able to live fresh,
Solid,
And free.
May you be free from attachment and aversion,
But not indifferent.
And now bringing to mind a person that is neutral,
Someone that you pass but have no story attached to.
And then bringing this person into your heart and offering silently or out loud.
May you be peaceful,
Happy,
And light in body and spirit.
May you be safe and free from injury.
May you be free from anger,
Afflictions,
Fear,
And anxiety.
May you learn to look at yourself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May you be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in yourself.
May you learn to identify and see the sources of anger,
Craving,
And delusion in yourself.
May you know how to nourish seeds of joy in yourself each and every day.
May you be able to live fresh,
Solid,
And free.
May you be free from attachment and aversion,
But not indifferent.
And now calling to mind a person that you may have a challenge with and honoring yourself if this becomes difficult,
Returning these phrases of loving kindness for yourself if needed.
Once you have this person in your heart,
As best you are able,
Offering these well wishes silently or out loud.
May you be peaceful,
Happy,
And light in body and spirit.
May you be safe and free from injury.
May you be free from anger,
Afflictions,
Fear,
And anxiety.
May you learn to look at yourself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May you be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in yourself.
May you learn to identify and see the sources of anger,
Craving,
And delusion in yourself.
May you know how to nourish seeds of joy in yourself every day.
May you be able to live fresh,
Solid,
And free.
May you be free from attachment and aversion,
But not indifferent.
As you share this energy of loving kindness,
Begin to expand your heart,
Opening and inviting all beings known and unknown,
Those within your town,
Your state or province,
And even farther,
Opening up to include the whole planet,
Those old and young,
In conflict and at peace,
And offering loving kindness to all beings,
Whether they two or four-legged,
Knowing that they,
Just like you,
Want to be happy and healthy and know peace.
May all beings be peaceful,
Happy,
And light in body and spirit.
May all beings be safe and free from injury.
May all beings be free from anger,
Afflictions,
Fear,
And anxiety.
May all beings learn to look at themselves with the eyes of understanding and love.
May all beings be able to recognize and touch seeds of joy and happiness in themselves.
May all beings learn to identify and see the sources of anger,
Craving,
And delusion in themselves.
May all beings know how to nourish the seeds of joy in themselves each and every day.
May all beings be able to live fresh,
Solid,
And free.
And may all beings be free from attachment and aversion,
But not indifferent.
Feeling into your heart now and just noticing what's here,
Following the breath as it moves in and out of your body,
And honoring yourself for having spent this time nurturing love from within,
Opening your heart and sharing that with the world.
