So this practice is one of the four heart practices in the Buddhist tradition.
Heart-opening practices are practices of compassion,
And they are important in order to allow us to connect with others and with our own heart.
This particular practice is called Mudita.
It is a practice of sympathetic joy.
Usually when we think of sympathy,
We think of suffering.
We think of feeling for someone who's feeling pain.
But Mudita is the practice of feeling others' joy,
Imagining someone else being happy and sharing in their joy.
It's a beautiful practice,
And it allows us many opportunities to feel happy.
So we will be going through this practice,
And as we are,
If you have feelings of resistance,
If you notice that you are not allowing yourself or you're holding yourself back from feeling joy,
Don't worry about it.
Don't judge it,
Just allow for that and notice that you're feeling resistance and just acknowledge it.
We can also know that when we have an intention towards something,
That that is also a powerful practice in and of itself.
If I can't forgive right now,
But I can have an intention towards forgiving,
That is absolutely enough.
So if you cannot feel joy in this moment,
But you have an intention towards feeling joy,
That is part of the practice.
In fact,
It is the very first step.
So if that's where you are today,
Then that's where you are today.
Let's begin.
You can do this practice sitting up or lying down.
Begin to notice your breath.
As always,
We always come back to the breath.
Notice if you are inhaling and exhaling evenly.
Notice if your breath feels tight or constricted and see if you can begin to relax,
Allowing the breath to move freely through the body.
Begin to focus on your heart space,
The area in your chest where your heart is located.
See if you can physically allow that area to soften.
Since this is a heart-opening practice,
We can begin with just the physical.
Now I invite you to imagine a person for whom it is very easy to feel love for,
Someone that you love deeply,
A person that you feel unconditional love for.
Sometimes at the beginning of the practice,
We can even use a pet.
We can imagine our dog or cat that we love deeply.
Bring this person or animal to mind and imagine them overflowing with joy.
Imagine this person feeling so much happiness that you cannot help but feel joyful too.
Notice how their face breaks into a smile,
Their eyes crinkle up.
Notice how their body reacts to joy.
Feeling into your own heart,
Notice how your body reacts to their joy.
Breathing deeply,
Allow this practice to fill you with joy.
Next we'll imagine a person that you don't know very well.
It could be a person that you encountered in the grocery store or someone that you see most days but don't really know,
A stranger.
Bring this person to mind and if many people come to mind,
Just choose one.
Imagine looking at them and imagine that they are happy,
That they are overcome with joy.
Notice how their face breaks out in a smile.
Notice how their body reacts to being happy.
And again,
Just allow yourself to feel and share in this joy.
So we'll let that person go for now and for the third person,
I want you to bring to mind someone that you have a difficult time sharing in their joy.
Maybe you feel competitive with them or maybe you feel jealous of them.
I want you to bring that person to mind and I want you to imagine that they are very happy.
Breathing deeply and staying present,
I want you to see if you can share in their joy.
See if you can allow yourself to feel happy for them.
And again,
Just notice if there's resistance or if you have difficulty around this,
Just notice it and have compassion for yourself.
So know that you are intending to have joy for them.
And stay with it for another moment.
We can let that person go.
Just let those feelings go.
I invite you now to expand your awareness out.
Expand it out to the city that you live in.
Expand it out to the country that you live in.
We can begin to imagine all of the joy that's being experienced right now.
Laughter,
Hugs,
People falling in love.
Studies being born.
Celebrations.
Allow yourself to be filled up with all of this joy.
Notice if your mind immediately goes to a place of,
But what about all the suffering?
Notice that and just allow.
Allow for that and also allow for your noticing of all of the joy.
In this moment right now,
It's okay.
We can also take time to celebrate all of the good that's happening.
As you look out across the world and imagine each of these joyful instances,
These joyful moments that are happening right now,
You can see them as pinpoints of light across the globe.
Now,
Slowly begin to return back.
Come back to your breath.
Come back to your body.
Notice again the points of your body that are making contact with the floor or the chair.
Take a moment to notice again if anything has shifted,
If your energy feels different now,
If your body feels different now,
Your mind feels different than when you started.
These compassion practices are practice.
Remember that even if it's difficult now,
If you continue to practice,
It will get easier.
We are setting the intention of aligning ourselves with joy.
See if you can notice today or throughout the week little moments of joy around you.
Notice someone being generous.
Notice if someone is gazing at someone else with love.
See if you can allow your heart to open to that.
I can see the light in you and I can see that it's getting stronger every day.
And the light in me honors that light in you.
And I know that when we are both working to strengthen that light that we are one.
Have a beautiful rest of the day.
