Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

It's not easy to love yourself. Drawing inspiration from Leviticus 19:18, let's do an exercise in Loving-kindness. First, a reflection on what makes you unique, great, and lovable. Second, a reaching outward toward the ways in which loss and grief are signs of abiding love. Third, an acceptance that grudges and resentments stem from a lack of loving behavior.

Transcript

I invite you to find a comfortable seat, Come into stillness if you're moving. If you'd care to, You can lie down. If you're ready and comfortable to do so, You might close your eyes. Become aware of yourself settling in. Notice the mass of your body as well as its volume, The way gravity pulls on every part of your body and the space you take up from elbow to elbow, Knee to knee, From your big toe to your thumb, The way you expand into the world. Settle in, Listen to the quiet that is not silent and a stillness that cannot be frozen. You are in that moment. You might notice your breath where it is as it is and then you might stretch it out a little, Expanding, Broadening your chest, Drawing the inhale deeper, Exhaling slower, Guiding the breath to places of tension or restriction. Perhaps you can dimly perceive your heartbeat or imagine its rhythm pulsing and pulsating with energy from your chest radiating outward. Maybe you notice the beat in your throat or sense it in your wrist and hands. If at any point this meditation becomes difficult or you find yourself distracted, You can attend to my voice, Return to the sensation of your breath, The perception of your pulse, Maybe just the weight and digestion of your belly. You might feel the work that it's doing to metabolize. Maybe you wanna take a moment to congratulate yourself for making time and space to meditate. Be grateful that you can and did. In this meditation, We'll explore themes of love, Grief and loss, Resentments and grudges. At times it may become emotionally or spiritually challenging. If it does, Just breathe, Follow your own path, Take what you need out of this time, But use it for your welfare. What's the thing that you love about yourself? Your nose, Your singing voice, Your creative spirit, Your ability to cook a good omelet. Small or large, Draw your attention to something special and precious about you. Breathe into it. Acknowledge that specialness with a deep and generous awareness, A gratitude and a faithfulness. Let it come to life in your mind and grow. Maybe you'd even use the words I love you to yourself, A special and unique aspect. I love you for your ability to eat spicy foods. Write a beautiful thank you note. Be generous with a stranger. Acknowledge something good, Even great about yourself and send your love toward yourself. If at any time in this meditation you become uncomfortable, Distracted, Fidget, That's also the good, Very normal. Your nerves and cells are in regular motion. You can't stop thinking. Just come back to the space and place of meditation. My voice, Your breath, The pulsing of your heart, The action of your digestion. Use any of those as a focus to return. In each and every life there is loss and the grief of loss. Might be loss of a human, A favorite sweater, An ideal, A physical capacity as you age. Many ways life is losing and letting go. Can you do that too with love? As you breathe, Just acknowledge that loss would not cause you grief if not for deep love you have. And grief is necessary to make space for new love. Breathe into that sorrow with a paradoxical gratitude. You're breathing, Absorbing the feeling, Letting it flow through you. And again, If you wander, When your thoughts depart momentarily and scramble as neurons have to do, You might wanna return to your digestion, Your pulse, Your breathing, My voice, Or just your environment to come back to reality when you get lost in dreams and embrace the moment in which you find yourself wishing it could last. This next section may be challenging if it is just breathe. You don't have to do this exercise. We can talk about grudges and resentments. Perhaps there is a person or an institution or a system with which you have a grudge or feel resentment. Maybe there's even something internal you resent. Just unavoidable in human life, In no small part because we love and want to be loved in return. When we don't experience that, We might feel, In some ways, It only hurts ourselves. Breathe into that deficit of loving. See if you can reduce awkward attraction to you. Let it get smaller. Take a few breaths to our last moments together in this meditation before the closing bell. Just breathe, Just settle, And be grateful for love, Which is, In many ways, The currency of human relationships whenever we can. Be grateful that love exists for self and through grief and even amid resentments and grudges. Continue breathing deeply.