And welcome everyone to today's loving kindness meditation.
As we settle into our practice today,
I want to invite you to come into a comfortable seated position.
You might sit in a cross-legged position on the ground,
Or maybe you might sit on a chair,
Whichever feels more supportive for you.
And as you exhale,
Could you release and relax the whole of your body,
Feeling the weight of your body supported by the ground,
Or the chair,
Or the surface that is underneath you.
Now as you exhale to settle in,
Start by noticing your breath,
Noticing each rise and fall of your breath,
And with every exhale allowing yourself to become more settled,
More relaxed,
And more stable.
If it feels good for you,
You can gently let your eyes either fully close or they might half close.
Start to guide your awareness inwards into the inner landscape that is you.
Notice and connect with the feeling deep inside of you.
Notice how it feels to be here in this present moment.
As you acknowledge and allow yourself to be fully here in this present moment,
Could you start to allow yourself to see yourself through the eyes of someone who loves you.
Maybe you can recall the last time you were with someone whom you felt supported,
You felt loved by.
Imagine that you are in their presence.
Connect with this feeling of being in the presence of someone you love.
What does this person love about you?
Perhaps you recall the unconditional love that you felt from a pet,
Or from a family member,
Or from a trusted friend.
Feel yourself in their presence.
And use your imagination to picture yourself in their presence,
Feeling their loving gaze.
As you experience this,
Begin to notice how it feels in your body.
Maybe you feel a feeling of warmth as if you are cocooned by this gaze of love.
Maybe you feel a feeling of expansion in the chest,
In your lungs,
In the whole of your being.
Or maybe you notice the corners of your mouth gently turn up into a soft smile.
All of these are the feelings of love.
All of these are signs of loving kindness.
And we allow this loving kindness to begin to take root,
To sprout,
To blossom,
To grow,
And to permeate and saturate all of you.
Let's take the next three breaths to rest and reside in this feeling of loving kindness.
And now we begin to wish yourself well by extending words of loving kindness like affirmations towards yourself.
I'll be offering some of the words and phrases that I often use in my own practice that resonate deeply with me.
And if you wish,
If they resonate with you,
You're welcome to listen to them and repeat them either out loud or silently in your mind along with me,
Whatever feels best for you.
If you prefer,
You can just listen to the sound of my voice without repeating.
Now we begin to offer these words of loving kindness for yourself.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be held in loving kindness.
May I feel connected and calm.
May I accept myself just as I am.
May I be happy.
May I know the natural joy of being alive.
Now let's repeat these affirmations once more.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be held in loving kindness.
May I feel connected and calm.
May I feel connected and calm.
May I accept myself just as I am.
May I be happy.
May I know the natural joy of being alive.
Now we open this circle of loving kindness by bringing to mind someone who is dear to you,
Close to your heart,
Someone whom you really care about that you want to send this loving kindness to.
Visualize this person and feel as if you are in the presence of this person and this person is right in front of you.
See and feel their presence and in your heart feel this deep appreciation and loving kindness for this dear person.
And now we begin to offer your loving kindness to this person you love.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be held in loving kindness.
May you feel my love now.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you be happy and may you feel the natural joy of being alive.
Now we continue to extend the gift of loving kindness to a neutral person.
This could be someone you don't know.
It could be someone you see regularly but you don't know very well or don't have a deep connection to.
This person is someone you love and you want to send this loving kindness to.
This person is someone you love and you want to send this loving kindness to.
This person is someone you love and you want to send this loving kindness to.
This person is someone you love and you want to send this loving kindness to.
This person is someone you love and you want to send this loving kindness to.
This person is someone you love and you want to send this loving kindness to.
This person is someone you love and you want to send this loving kindness to.
And think of this person as you connect with these words.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be held in loving kindness.
May you feel my love now.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you be happy and may you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now if it's possible for you and if you would like,
I invite you to bring to mind someone you may have a challenging or difficult relationship with.
This could be someone you've been struggling to maintain a relationship with.
It could be someone such as a family member or someone from work,
Someone who used to be a friend.
Bring to mind this person.
And now we're going to extend this loving kindness to this person,
Knowing that everyone is deserving of this loving kindness.
As you feel and see yourself in the presence of this person,
Sending this loving kindness to them.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be held in loving kindness.
May you feel my love now.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you be happy and may you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now lastly,
We allow your awareness and this gesture and the gift of loving kindness to be extended beyond your imagination,
Beyond the people you know,
To all beings and living things on this planet.
Knowing that all beings and living things on this planet,
This earth,
Are worthy of the gift of loving kindness.
Connect with all that is around you.
Feel yourself in deep connection with all of nature,
All of the beings around you.
And now we extend this loving kindness to them.
May all beings be filled with loving kindness.
May all beings awaken and be free and may all beings be happy.
May all beings know the natural joy of being alive.
As you extend this loving kindness to all beings around and on this earth,
Draw your awareness back inwards to yourself,
To this little seed of loving kindness you have planted deep within you.
Know that this seed has already began to take root,
To germinate,
To sprout and to blossom and soon it will bear fruit.
Know that you can continue to water this seed and allow it to grow so that it becomes a beautiful tree.
At any point of time you are welcome to return to this practice.
If and when you begin to feel ready to join me as we conclude this practice,
We bring both of your palms together in front of your heart in a gesture of gratitude,
Of this loving kindness and we bow your head down towards your heart,
Sending and receiving this loving kindness and with your next breath in slowly and gently opening your eyes.
Thank you so much for joining us today for this loving kindness meditation.
