So gently closing your eyes,
Feel the body,
Feel the temperature against the skin,
Bringing the heart and the mind and the body into the present moment if you can.
Now rest in the breath,
Resting your awareness on the actual sensation of breathing,
Enjoying the sensation of breathing.
And if your mind wanders,
Include that in the embrace of your compassion and awareness,
Gathering your attention on whatever aspect of the breath is easier to feel,
Keeping your face relaxed,
And just allowing your attention to gently ride the waves of the breath for a few more moments,
Returning your awareness back to yourself,
To the experience of breath whenever you become aware that it has wandered.
Bring your awareness now to the heart,
What do you feel around the chest,
Do you feel your heart beating,
Do you feel the expansion of each in-breath,
The rising and falling like waves in the ocean,
Tuning into those sensations,
And now imagine breathing in and out of the heart,
That you can send the breath straight to the chest,
Lungs,
And heart,
And breathe out of the lungs,
Heart,
And chest.
Now imagine a person it would be easy to send compassion to,
Someone you want to send compassion to.
Imagine this person,
And feel the wish that they be well,
And warmth coming right from your heart to this person.
Imagine sending compassion out right from your heart,
A light that physically reaches your loved one.
And send the wish,
May you find beautiful inner peace,
May you be happy,
A heartfelt wish that begins in joyfulness,
I really want this for you,
May you find peace,
May you be happy.
And keeping your face relaxed,
Now imagine someone you don't know well,
A stranger,
Sending this person the wish,
May you find peace,
May you be happy.
Just as you are right now,
Just as you are today,
May you find peace,
May you be happy.
And now feel into your body again,
And imagine yourself,
Sending yourself the wish,
May I find peace,
May I be happy.
Even if I make mistakes,
Even if I don't meet all my own expectations,
Or my own to-do lists,
No matter what I do,
Or what I feel,
Send yourself the wish,
May I find a beautiful inner peace,
May I find joy,
Happiness,
Well-being.
And as you send this to yourself,
Notice if a part of you is resisting sending yourself compassion.
Notice if there is any unwillingness to give it.
Perfectly natural to have this.
For a moment,
Keep any resistance in your own open-hearted,
Compassionate awareness.
Send the wish,
May any part of me that is resisting compassion,
May that part of me find peace.
May any part of me that needs peace,
May it be peaceful.
Sending compassion to your own barriers to compassion,
May that which resists compassion,
May that find ease.
And now imagine your difficult person,
Someone you have some discomfort with.
See who naturally comes to mind,
And if you want to find a less challenging person,
Giving yourself permission to do that.
Notice how you feel when you think about this person,
And now that we've held onto their image for a while,
Consider the fact that just like me,
This person has ups and downs in his or her life.
Just like me,
This person has wishes and dreams.
Just like me,
This person can feel fragile sometimes,
And can feel vulnerable sometimes.
See if it feels true to you that just like me,
This person has experienced physical pain,
And knows what it's like to be disappointed,
Or sad,
Or scared.
And just like me,
This person wants to love and be loved,
Wants to contribute and be accepted and appreciated.
Can you see this difficult person through the eyes of the heart?
Can you see their humanity?
That just like me,
This person seeks love and happiness.
And just like me,
This person makes plenty of mistakes by virtue of being human.
Now see if any part of you is willing to silently express these wishes toward your difficult person.
May you be safe,
May you be protected,
May you be free of suffering,
Free of harm,
May you be out of harm's way,
May you feel peace and joy.
And if you have any boundaries to your own compassion,
May you be free of those.
Just like I want to be free of mine.
May any part of you that is causing harm,
Or is hurtful or aggressive,
May anything that is agitated inside you,
May that find ease,
May that find peace.
May you be at ease and happy,
And share that with all others around you.
Notice how saying these phrases feels,
And now sending wishes to all your difficult people,
Perhaps dotted around the earth,
All your difficult people on this earth.
Sending the wish,
May you be safe,
May you be free from harm,
May you feel peace and joy,
Health and lightness of heart,
And may you be free of your own boundaries to compassion.
Just like I hope to be free of mine.
And now extending your heart out to the whole world,
Imagine all the people on this earth,
And you wish,
May each of you be free from suffering.
May each of you experience peace and joy.
So many people,
Near and far,
Young and old,
Each with their own struggle,
Each with their own heart and story and voice,
Just like me,
All these people wish to be happy and free from suffering.
Wishing for all these loved ones,
All these difficult people,
All these strangers,
May you be safe inside and out,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you find peace.
Invite the heart and the mind to expand your compassion to include all beings everywhere.
May all beings be happy and free from suffering.
Feeling these wishes fill your heart like a warm glow of light,
And knowing that as you send compassion to others,
Countless others in this moment are sending their compassion and their good wishes to you,
Resting for a moment in this state of open-hearted,
Open-minded compassion.
And let's conclude this meditation by dedicating the positive effort of this practice to the peace and well-being of all creatures throughout the world.
Gratitude to yourself for doing the practice.
Gratitude to all others sending compassion to you.
