The name of this meditation is the Loving-Kindness Meditation.
It's from the Buddhist tradition and this particular version was developed by Thich Nhat Hanh.
So beginning to settle into a comfortable seated position and settling into the body,
Taking a moment to scan the body,
Looking for any places of tension or discomfort and finding a way to make yourself more comfortable,
Relaxing into a centered and grounded kind of posture with shoulders relaxed and head well supported,
The neck in line with the spine.
And then beginning to focus on the breath right at the belly,
Noticing the rise and fall of the belly with each breath,
Slowing down the thoughts as best as you can by giving the mind something to settle on right now,
The belly breath.
Gradually drawing your awareness out of the thinking mind and into the body and into the present moment.
And as you begin to feel more settled,
Shifting your awareness from the belly and right to the heart center,
Noticing the emotions,
The mood states that are there,
Making room,
Allowing whatever is there to be there.
And then as you're ready in your mind's eye,
Beginning to picture someone that you love very deeply,
Someone who is very,
Very dear to you.
It may be a family relative,
It may be a child,
A partner,
It may even be a favorite pet or someone from your past.
It can be a spiritual image,
Taking your time to land on a single person or being for whom you feel a very,
Very deep love.
And beginning to notice the sensations around the heart and making room for those sensations,
Shifting your awareness from whatever mood states were there,
Letting them kind of float back to the background or fade to the background.
And then in the foreground,
Picturing this being the object of your loving attention right now,
Feeling the sensations may be warmth,
A sense of spaciousness,
And then allowing that feeling,
Those sensations to spread,
Radiating out from the heart through your entire body,
The torso,
The limbs,
And the head,
Feeling this wonderful sensation of love.
And with the image of this person in your mind's eye,
We'll begin the loving kindness meditation.
I'll say the words and then leave a quiet time for you to say them yourself.
May you be safe,
May you be protected and free from inner and outer harm.
May you be happy and content.
May you be healthy and whole to the fullest extent possible.
May you know ease and may you know well-being in your life.
And now,
Holding on to the sensations of love radiating out from the heart and through your body,
I'd like you to turn your attention to yourself and offer yourself these same wishes.
May I be safe,
May I be protected and free from inner and outer harm.
May I be happy and content.
May I be healthy and whole to the fullest extent possible.
May I know ease and well-being in my life.
And as you're ready,
Beginning now to picture in your mind's eye someone you have an acquaintance with,
Someone you don't know well.
You may see them regularly in a grocery store or the post office or at work.
Maybe you pass a friendly hello,
But you don't know them well.
And for them,
We'll send these same wishes.
So picturing them in your mind's eye.
May you be safe,
May you be protected and may you be free from inner and outer harm.
May you be happy and content.
May you be healthy and whole to the fullest extent possible.
And may you know ease and well-being in your life.
And now with someone in mind with whom you experience a degree of conflict,
Anger or challenge,
Picturing that person.
May you be safe,
Protected and free from inner and outer harm.
May you be happy and content.
May you be healthy,
May you be whole to the fullest extent possible.
May you be happy and content.
And now continuing on your own,
Extending these wishes to anyone you like.
It's a time at this time in the meditation when we typically expand to a larger group,
Our neighbors,
Our community,
Our country,
The world even.
And choosing to continue with whatever group you would like.
May they be safe,
May they be protected and free from inner and outer harm.
May they be happy and content.
May they be healthy and whole to the fullest extent possible.
And may they know ease and well-being in their lives.
And in a moment you'll hear the bowl chime.
And just either transitioning back from this meditation to awareness of the room where you're sitting.
Or if you choose to continuing with the practice.
