Welcome friends to this meditation on loving-kindness.
The practice of loving-kindness supports us in cultivating compassion,
Acceptance and love for ourselves,
For those around us,
For people we don't know.
So,
When you're ready,
Bring yourself into a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down,
Allowing yourself to let go of what the days had in store for you already,
Arriving in your body,
Arriving in this moment.
Be with your breath as it comes in,
As it goes out.
If any distractions arise,
Simply notice these,
Let go and come back to your breath.
Maybe take a moment here to set an intention for this practice.
Maybe you want to open your heart,
Maybe you want to care for yourself,
Maybe you want to show love and kindness to somebody else.
Now bring to mind a person or a pet for whom you have deep feelings of love and gratitude.
Imagine this person or this pet in your mind's eye and notice the feelings you have for them that arise in your body.
Maybe a sense of lightness,
Ease,
A smile that spreads across your face.
Whatever it is,
Allow that feeling to be felt.
Let go of this person or this pet and continue to keep in awareness the feelings that came up.
We're going to try to give ourselves that sense of love and kindness.
Repeat after me,
May I be safe and free from suffering,
May I be peaceful,
May I be filled with love and kindness,
May I accept myself just as I am.
Notice the feelings and sensations that arise and let them be.
Now we'll offer this sense of love and kindness to someone who supports us.
Bring to mind someone who is easy for you to love,
Someone who is easy for you to get along with,
Again maybe bringing their image to the forefront of your mind.
We say to them,
May you be safe and free from suffering,
May you be peaceful,
May you be filled with love and kindness,
May you accept yourself just as you are.
Noticing again the feelings and sensations that arise without trying to hold on to them,
Without trying to change them,
Simply observing.
Now bring to mind someone who is a little bit more challenging for you to get along with,
Someone who maybe brings up feelings of annoyance or irritation at times.
And we say to them,
May you be safe and free from suffering,
May you be peaceful,
May you be filled with love and kindness,
May you accept yourself just as you are,
Again noticing feelings and sensations as they arise,
Maybe now it's feelings of resistance,
Making the stance of neutral observer as you come back to your breath,
Back to your body.
Now bring to mind the broader community of which you are a part of,
Imagine your family,
Your neighbors,
Your friends and colleagues,
The people in your city,
Your state,
Across the nation and the globe,
And we say to them,
May all beings be safe and free from suffering,
May all beings be peaceful,
May all beings be filled with loving kindness,
May all beings accept themselves just as they are,
And as we begin to close out our practice,
Noticing one more time any feelings or sensations that arise,
Sitting with them for a few moments,
Checking back in with that intention you set at the beginning of our practice,
Allowing those words to sink into your subconscious,
To sink into your heart,
To slowly fill your body,
May you carry that intention with you through the day,
Through your week,
Taking one last breath together to close our practice,
Gentle inhale through the nose,
Open mouth side to exhale,
And in your own time waking up your sensations,
Wiggling your fingers and toes,
Blinking your eyes open when you're ready.
