Hello and welcome.
Thank you for joining today's compassion meditation.
Begin by settling into a comfortable position that may be seated on a chair with your feet flat on the floor,
Or perhaps seated on the floor or a cushion.
And just allow yourself to begin to relax.
Take a deep breath and release it with a sigh.
Spend these first few moments just noticing your breath.
You don't need to change it in any way,
But just notice when you are breathing in and notice when you're breathing out.
Allow yourself to experience and be aware of the sensations of your breath.
Picture someone who is close to you,
Someone for whom you feel a great amount of love.
Notice how this love feels in your heart.
Notice the sensations around your heart.
Perhaps you feel warmth,
Openness,
And tenderness.
As you continue breathing,
Focus on these feelings as you visualize your loved one.
As you breathe out,
Imagine that you are extending a golden light that holds your warm feelings from the center of your heart.
Imagine that this golden light reaches your loved one,
Bringing them peace and happiness.
At the same time,
Silently recite these phrases.
May you have happiness.
May you be free from suffering.
May you experience joy and ease.
May you have happiness.
May you be free from suffering.
May you experience joy and ease.
As you silently repeat these phrases,
Remember to extend the golden light to your loved one from your heart.
Feel with all of your heart that you wish your loved one happiness and freedom from suffering.
Now think of a time when this person was suffering.
Perhaps they experienced an illness,
An injury,
Or a difficult time.
Notice how you feel when you think of their suffering.
How does your heart feel?
Do the sensations change?
Do you continue to feel warmth,
Openness,
And tenderness?
Are there any other sensations?
Perhaps an aching?
Continue to visualize your loved one as you breathe.
Imagine once again that you are extending the golden light from your heart to your loved one.
Allow this golden light to ease their suffering.
Extend the light to them during your exhale with the strong heartfelt desire that they are free from their suffering.
Recite silently to them.
May you be free from the suffering.
May you have joy and happiness.
May you be free from the suffering.
May you have joy and happiness.
Notice how this feels in your heart.
Did anything change?
Did you continue to feel warmth,
Openness,
And tenderness?
Did you experience any other sensations?
Did you have a wish to take away the other person's suffering?
Now think about a time when you have suffered yourself.
Maybe you experienced a conflict with someone you care about,
Or perhaps you did not succeed in something you wanted,
Or maybe you were physically ill.
Notice how you feel when you think of your suffering.
How does your heart feel?
Do you continue to feel warmth,
Openness,
And tenderness?
Are there any other sensations,
Perhaps an aching?
Just as we wish for our loved one's suffering to end,
We wish that our own suffering would end.
We also envision our own pain and suffering,
Leaving us so that we may experience happiness.
Continue to visualize yourself as you breathe.
Imagine that the golden light emanating from your heart is easing your suffering.
With each exhale,
Feel the light emanating within you,
And feel the strong heartfelt desire that you are free from your suffering.
Silently recite to yourself,
May I be free from this suffering.
May I have joy and happiness.
May I be free from this suffering.
May I have joy and happiness.
May I be free from this suffering.
Then notice how this feels in your heart.
What kind of sensations did you feel?
Did they change from when you were envisioning your loved one's suffering?
Did you feel warmth,
Openness,
And tenderness?
Were there any other sensations,
Perhaps a pressure?
Did you have a wish to take away your own suffering?
Now visualize someone that you neither like nor dislike,
Someone that you may see in your everyday life,
Maybe a classmate or coworker,
A bus driver,
A stranger that you pass on the street.
Although you are not familiar with this person,
Think of how they may suffer in their own life.
This person may have conflicts with loved ones,
Suffer an illness,
Or have difficulties.
Imagine the situation in which this person may have suffered.
Notice your heart center once again.
Does it feel different?
Do you feel more warmth,
Openness,
And tenderness?
Are there any other sensations that you notice?
How does your heart feel different from when you were envisioning your own suffering or loved one's suffering?
Continue to visualize this person as you breathe.
Imagine that you're extending the golden light from your heart once again,
Extending this light out to them and easing their suffering.
Send it to them during your exhale with the strong heartfelt desire that they are free from their suffering.
See if this wish can be as strong as the wish you had for your own or your loved one's suffering to end.
Silently recite to them,
May you be free from this suffering.
May you have joy and happiness.
May you be free from this suffering.
May you have joy and happiness.
Again,
Notice how this feels in your heart.
Did the sensations change?
Did you continue to feel warmth,
Openness,
And tenderness?
Were there other sensations?
Were you able to wish this person suffering away?
How are these feelings different from when you were wishing to take away your own or loved one's suffering?
Now visualize someone with whom you have had difficulty in your life.
This could be a family member with whom you disagree,
Someone with whom you've had an argument,
A co-worker with whom you do not get along.
Although you may have negative feelings towards this person,
Think of how they may have suffered in their life.
This person may also have had conflicts with loved ones,
Dealt with failures,
Or has suffered illness or injury.
Think of a situation in which this person may have suffered.
Notice your heart center.
Does it feel different?
Do you feel more warmth,
Openness,
And tenderness?
Are there other sensations?
Maybe an aching?
How does your heart feel different from when you were envisioning your own or loved one's suffering?
Continue to visualize this person as you breathe.
Imagine that you're extending the golden light from your heart to them.
Allow this light to ease their suffering.
Send the light to them during your exhale with the strong heartfelt desire that they are free from their suffering.
See if this wish can be as strong as the wish you had for yourself or your loved one.
Silently recite to them,
May you be free from this suffering.
May you have joy and happiness.
May you be free from this suffering.
If you have difficulty wishing for this person's suffering to be relieved,
Try to think of a positive interaction you have had with this person.
This may help you in wishing them joy and happiness.
Perhaps there were some times when you got along,
Shared a laugh,
Or worked well together.
Continue to silently recite,
May you be free from this suffering.
May you have joy and happiness.
Again,
Notice how this feels in your heart.
Did the sensations change at all?
Did you feel warmth,
Openness,
And tenderness?
Were these feelings different from when you were wishing your own or a loved one's suffering to end?
Were there other sensations,
Maybe a tightness in the chest?
Did you have a wish to take away this person's suffering?
Now that we are nearing the end of this meditation,
Let's end with a wish for all beings suffering to be relieved.
Just as I wish to have peace,
Happiness,
And be free from suffering,
So do all beings.
Ask in the joy of this open-hearted wish to ease the suffering of all people and all beings.
Notice how this brings joy,
Happiness,
And compassion to your heart at this very moment.
Recite silently to yourself,
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings have joy and happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings have joy and happiness.
Then visualize the golden light sent out to all beings to ease their suffering.
Extend the light out on your exhale with the strong heartfelt desire that no being suffer.
See if this wish can be as strong as that which you had for yourself or your loved ones.
Allow your attention to return to your natural breath,
Noticing once again the inhale and the exhale.
Notice any sensations in your body.
Notice the warmth in your heart.
Notice your own feelings of happiness,
Joy,
And ease.
And when you are ready,
Begin to invite some natural movements,
Perhaps wiggling your fingers,
Wiggling your toes,
And allow your attention to come back to the moment.
And allow your eyes to open,
And enjoy your day.
Thank you for joining.
