Welcome to Loving Kindness Meditation.
My name is Elena and I will be your guide.
This meditation is also called Metta,
Which is a Pali word meaning loving kindness.
It was taught by the Buddha as a way to cultivate pure love without attachment.
This meditation will bring harmony into your relationships,
Cultivate compassion towards yourself and others,
Infuse your day with a sense of deep peace and a loving intention.
Ultimately,
This meditation will guide you on the journey of living with an open heart and expanding your capacity to give and receive love.
To let the benefits of this meditation unfold,
Practice it with me for the next 30 days.
The best time for this meditation is either when you wake up in the morning or just before bedtime.
As we begin,
Make sure you are seated in a comfortable or supported position or lying down.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
Notice the flow of breath through your body,
An ongoing wave-like movement of inhalations and exhalations,
A feeling of expansion on an in-breath and a grounding sensation on an out-breath.
All the mental activity is starting to subside and gradually fade into stillness,
And you are continuing to simply observe your breath flowing in and out.
Place your awareness on your chest.
Pay attention to the movement and the sensations in your chest and your ribcage as you breathe.
Notice the feelings and emotions as they arise and dissolve.
Let go of any tension you might come across in your chest and around your heart.
Now bring your awareness to your diaphragm and your belly.
Observe the movement and sensations in your diaphragm and navel area.
Notice the feelings and emotions as they arise and dissolve.
Let go of any tension you may discover in your diaphragm area and in your belly.
Let go of any tension you may discover in your diaphragm area and in your belly.
Move your awareness to your lower belly and pelvic area.
Notice the movement and sensations in those parts of your body.
Notice the feelings and emotions as they arise and dissolve.
Let go of any tension in your lower abdomen and pelvis.
As you begin to relax and allow for breath and sensations to flow through you,
Visualize a feeling of love emerging from the center of your chest as radiant light.
Let it spread throughout your whole body.
Let it spread throughout your whole body.
The feeling of love flowing through your cells,
Filling the spaces in between the cells,
Filling the spaces in between the thoughts.
In a moment,
I'll share with you the phrases that are traditionally used in Metta meditation.
As we begin,
The phrases will first be directed towards you,
To be able to share love,
Compassion and benevolence with others.
We must first start with ourselves.
As we proceed,
You'll be directing the phrases towards someone you love.
The next step is directing the phrases towards someone neutral,
Like an acquaintance.
Eventually,
When you feel ready,
You can bring to mind someone who challenges you or who you find difficult to be around,
Or someone very different from you.
If this part is too much for you right now,
Just do the easier ones.
To complete the practice,
We'll extend the love and intention to all sentient beings.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be free.
May I let go.
May I live a life of ease.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be free.
May I live a life of ease.
May I be safe and protected.
Now think of someone very important to you.
Think of this person with love and warmth.
Send this person your love and intention.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free.
May you be free.
May you live a life of ease.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free.
May you live a life of ease.
May you be safe and protected.
Now think of someone neutral,
Like a neighbor or an acquaintance.
Someone you don't have any particular feelings for.
Send this person your love and intention.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free.
May you live a life of ease.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free.
May you live a life of ease.
May you be safe and protected.
Now think of someone you're having difficulty connecting with.
Think of this person with love and warmth.
Send in him or her the kindest of your intentions.
Reminding yourself that ultimately this person just wants to be loved,
Just wants to be happy.
Just wants to be happy,
Just like you do.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free.
May you live a life of ease.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free.
May you live a life of ease.
May you be safe and protected.
Extend your intentions now to include all the people you know and then to every single being.
Feel how the intention you send out returns to you multiplied and fills you with an even stronger vibration of loving kindness,
Expanding and growing with every breath.
May all be happy.
May all be healthy.
May all be peaceful.
May all be free.
May all live a life of ease.
May all be safe and protected.
May all be happy.
May all be healthy.
May all be peaceful.
May all be free.
May all live a life of ease.
May all live a life of ease.
May all be safe and protected.
Feel the effect of this meditation and allow it to cultivate a vibrational frequency of loving kindness inside you and let it create an energetic shift in you.
That you can carry into your day or night.
