Coming into a comfortable position and finding some ease in your body and in your mind and giving yourself permission to engage in non-doing.
Maybe deepening your breath a little bit,
Maybe noticing the sensation of the breath as it enters the middle of the body around the heart space.
And as you feel yourself settling in and arriving in this moment,
Calling into your mind's eye an image of a loved one.
This person should be someone for whom it is very easy for you to love.
So a fairly uncomplicated relationship.
Maybe it's someone that's been a benefactor of some sort to you.
Maybe a parent or a teacher,
A grandparent,
A dear friend.
It can be a child or even an animal.
It can be somebody who's living or somebody who has passed on.
But someone that when you imagine or think about this being,
It's very easy for you to feel love towards them.
And getting a real feel for this being as though they were right here with you.
Maybe it's an image or a felt sense or maybe hearing their voice.
And now I will invite you to send out some loving kindness to this being.
You can repeat to yourself after me as you hold the image of this being in your mind's eye and offering them the following wishes.
May you be safe and protected from all inner and outer harm.
May you be happy,
Calm,
And free from mental suffering.
May you be healthy,
Strong,
And free from physical suffering.
May you be at peace.
And just noticing how you're feeling inside after offering up these wishes and sending this message to this loved one.
As you imagine them receiving these kind wishes.
And now imagining this being sending these same wishes back to you.
So this being is saying to you,
May you be safe and protected from all inner and outer harm.
And they're wishing that you are happy and calm and free from mental suffering.
They're wishing that you are healthy,
Strong,
And free from physical suffering.
They're wishing you peace.
And just noticing how you feel now after receiving this loving kindness from this loved one.
Noticing any sensations in the body,
Or in the mind,
Or in emotions.
And now sending some loving kindness to yourself.
So repeating to yourself after me,
May I be safe and protected from all inner and outer harm.
May I be happy and calm and free from mental suffering.
May I be healthy and strong and free from physical suffering.
May I be at peace.
And just noticing how you're feeling right now.
And letting it all be fine,
Whatever is arising.
And now finding a person for whom you really have no strong feelings,
Either positive or negative.
So a neutral person.
And maybe noticing how hard it is to find a person or a being for whom you really don't have an opinion.
But maybe it's somebody that delivers your mail,
Or is a cashier in a store that you frequent,
Or someone that you pass on the sidewalk,
Or in the halls,
Or see as you're commuting.
And once you have a sense of this neutral person,
Hold an image of them in your mind's eye,
And offer them some loving kindness.
So repeating after me to yourself,
May you be safe and protected from all inner and outer harm.
May you be happy,
Calm,
And free from mental suffering.
May you be healthy,
Strong,
And free from physical suffering.
May you be at peace.
And again,
Checking in and noticing how you're feeling after sending out these wishes.
And imagining this person that you don't really know receiving this loving kindness from you.
And now,
If you'd like to do this part,
I will invite you to contemplate the image of a person with whom you have a more challenging relationship.
So maybe not your most challenging,
But finding someone that you'd like to work with that you really don't have the ideal relationship with.
So it may be someone that you struggled with in the past or are struggling with now.
You may have trouble communicating or understanding each other.
And if you'd like to,
You can send some loving kindness out to this being.
If this doesn't feel right to you,
You can hold anyone else in your mind's eye at this time,
Including yourself,
Without any judgment at all.
But if you'd like to try working with this being,
This person,
Hold an image of them in your mind's eye,
A sense that they're here with you.
And repeating after me to yourself,
May you be safe and protected from all inner and outer harm.
May you be happy,
Calm and free from mental suffering.
May you be healthy,
Strong and free from physical suffering.
May you be at peace.
And again,
Just checking in and noticing how you're feeling after sending out these wishes to this other being who also just wants to be happy and have peace.
Maybe imagining them receiving these wishes from you.
And just remembering that all sentient beings want to be at peace and free from suffering.
And now as you sit after having sent out these loving kindness wishes,
We can imagine that our wishes,
Our messages can be spread to all sentient beings.
So if you'd like to,
Imagining the wishes that we'll send out next,
Starting from you,
But radiating out in all directions and touching all sentient beings as they spread across the planet.
Starting in your own building,
Spreading out through your community,
Your town,
Your state,
And can even travel across oceans,
Across continents,
Touching each sentient being as they move.
And so including all of the non-human beings as well that also just want peace and freedom from suffering.
So your wishes will touch all human beings,
All animals,
Can even touch the natural world,
The trees,
The earth,
The oceans,
The air.
And so as you sit,
Repeating to yourself after me and then sending out to all beings everywhere,
May you be safe and protected from all inner and outer harm.
And imagining this wish as it encircles the globe,
Touching all beings.
And sending out from your center to all other beings,
May you be happy,
Calm,
And free from mental suffering.
And imagining all these beings receiving your wishes of calmness,
Happiness,
And freedom.
And as these wishes continue to reverberate out from your center,
Sending out another one,
May you be healthy,
Strong,
And free from physical suffering.
And imagining all the beings in your community,
Your region,
Those you've met and those you haven't met,
Receiving these wishes as you send them out.
And then wishing all sentient beings everywhere,
May you be at peace.
And sending this out in all directions.
And imagining all beings everywhere receiving your wishes of peace,
And freedom,
And safety,
Happiness.
And knowing that there are other beings on the planet right now sending out the same wishes to you.
So giving and receiving at the same time.
Remembering the interconnectedness of all beings,
And how we're all part of the same whole,
The same oneness.
And how our lives affect the other lives,
Our actions,
Our thoughts,
Our intentions,
Our emotions.
So taking great care with how we live our moments as if they really matter.
And checking in and noticing what you might be feeling right now.
Checking in with physical sensation in the body,
Just noticing if there's any spaciousness or opening or warmth that might have been created.
Just noticing and knowing that you can access this at any time.
Noticing any emotions you might be feeling or thoughts that you might be having.
Letting it all be fine.
Not needing to change anything or fix anything in any way.
And knowing that as you become more familiar with this practice that you can send out loving kindness at any time,
In any moment,
To yourself or to another.
So maybe just being curious about how this practice might be helpful for you as it evolves over time.
And for these last few minutes of the practice,
Just coming back,
Back to this moment,
Back to this breath.
And just staying present,
Breath by breath,
Moment by moment,
And resting in whatever has been created through this loving kindness practice that you just did.
And as the practice ends,
Maybe having a moment of gratitude for yourself for showing up and dedicating your time in this very important and particular way.
Anyway.
