Hello,
And thank you for joining me.
Give yourself a moment to settle in and get comfortable.
In your own time,
Whenever you feel settled,
You can just start to be aware of your breathing.
If you're sitting,
Adopt a dignified posture,
With your feet planted on the ground,
Back straight,
Perhaps imagining a golden thread from your crown holding you upright as it pulls you taut towards the sky.
If you're lying down,
You can allow your arms to just be at your side,
Perhaps with one hand on your heart and the other on your stomach.
You can check back in with your breathing again and just notice its natural rhythm.
How does it feel?
Can you feel your chest or belly rising as your hand touches either one?
Are you breathing heavily or quicker than usual,
Perhaps?
Either way,
Just take note without any judgement.
Another great way to relax yourself is to focus on areas that might be holding tension,
Such as your jaw,
Your neck,
Or your shoulders.
You can check in with those areas now,
And if they feel tight,
Just gently let them loosen and relax.
Now,
As we move into this practice,
You can try recalling a time where you experienced a sense of warmth and safety with another being.
It might be something you felt before,
Or maybe an imagined situation that brings you comfort.
Perhaps you could invite this feeling by thinking of a favourite pet or animal that you love to make things a little easier.
And just think about how you feel in this moment and become familiar with that sensation.
Remember that sense of compassion,
And try to treasure it,
Nurture it inside you.
Think about how you feel internally,
And maybe emotionally.
Just gently acknowledge if there is maybe any hint of a smile that might want to form.
And if not,
That's okay too.
Next,
Think about someone you care for,
Maybe someone you love deeply.
Someone who brings about that warm,
Compassionate feeling.
Someone you have a positive connection with.
You might imagine you're with that person now,
Just watching kindly over them,
Protectively.
Or instead,
Maybe you could imagine they're here with you now,
Keeping you company during this practice.
In your own time,
Nurturing and understanding that feeling of compassion that you've begun to feel inside you.
We'll offer that person words of kindness and compassion.
You can follow along with the phrases that I use,
Or you can deviate from those and elaborate too,
Based on how you feel.
Quietly,
Together,
We can repeat this.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from suffering.
Notice any feelings which might arise from this gesture.
And if there are any,
You can simply let them be.
Next,
Turn your attention to someone who maybe you don't know very well,
Or someone you feel neutral about.
Perhaps an acquaintance you recently met,
Or someone who you've encountered working in a shop before.
Picture that person in your mind's eye,
Or imagine yourself watching compassionately over them as they go about their day.
Next,
We'll offer that person words of kindness and compassion too,
Despite not knowing them as well as our loved ones.
Very aware of the fact that everyone deserves and is entitled to love.
In your own time,
Gently repeat.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from suffering.
Once again,
Just take note if there are any feelings attached to sending out this positive energy to a stranger,
Or to someone who you may not know quite as well.
Finally,
Let us now extend our awareness to the people in our immediate area,
In the block we live in,
Or the neighbourhood.
If you wish,
Extend it further to the wider area you live in,
The country,
Or perhaps even all beings in the world.
Let the sense of awareness for these beings conjure compassion for all life as you imagine it.
Allow your kindness and generosity of spirit to emanate outward and reach those beings as we repeat one final time,
Sending out the very best for them.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from suffering.
It's a truly selfless thing to project kindness like that,
And on such a scale.
You've done really well,
And you should be proud of yourself too,
For being here at this practice.
As we extend kindness and compassion to others,
I want to invite you also to extend that same generosity to yourself,
Knowing that,
Like those we've offered our compassion to previously,
Each and every one of us deserves this same love,
Including you.
So if you feel comfortable,
In your own time,
Say after me.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from suffering.
As we slowly bring this practice to a close,
You might want to just take note of how you feel while you return your attention to your breathing.
What emotions has this practice brought you?
Are there any physical sensations?
Are you calm?
How is your breathing at the moment?
Do you feel the compassion lingering or warming you?
When you're ready,
Just allow your awareness to come back to the room you're in.
Let each breath bring movement back into your fingers,
Your toes,
Arms,
Legs and neck.
Then when you're ready,
Slowly allow your eyes to open as we bring an end to this practice.
Thank you so much for joining me today,
And once again,
A very wonderful job for making the time to do this practice.
I wish you a lovely day or evening ahead,
And hope we meet again soon.
