May All Beings Be Happy

Take a moment out of your day to express love and kindness towards yourself and all living beings - even the ones that you may have difficulty with at this time. Put yourself in their shoes, see the world through their eyes, and recognize that, they too, have family and friends who love them unconditionally.

May we all be happy.
May we all be healthy.
May we ride the waves of our lives with grace.
And may we live in peace no matter what we are given.

Transcript

Come to a comfortable seated position,

Either sitting with cross legs or sinking your hips back towards your heels in a kneeling position,

Or sitting on a chair with both feet planted solidly on the earth on the floor below you.

Wherever you are at,

Allow your eyelids to close heavy.

And bring your hands to rest gently on your knees,

On your thighs,

Wherever they fall comfortably.

With your eyes closed and your body still,

Begin to do a mental scan of your physical body.

Ensure that your spine is long and straight.

And on your next in-breath,

Gently guide your shoulders up towards your ears.

And as you exhale,

Roll them down and back,

Further opening through the front of the chest.

Nice,

Proud,

Open heart.

And then tucking your chin slightly,

Finding more length through the back of your neck,

Humble chin.

Just taking a moment to notice if there's anywhere that you're still holding on,

Anywhere that feels tight or tense.

Maybe through the forehead,

In and around your eyes,

Jaw,

Shoulders,

Or hips.

Just doing a mental scan.

And then giving those areas,

Those parts of your body that are still active,

Still holding on,

Permission to be completely passive and soft.

No effort,

No trying.

You are allowed in this moment to settle in and give yourself all of the space,

All of the time that you need.

And then as your body becomes still and silent,

Bring your attention to the fact that you are currently breathing.

Become aware of the movement of your breath as it comes into your body and as it exits and leaves your body.

Trying not to manipulate or change this breath in any way,

But just allowing your awareness,

Your attention to come towards the breath and any feelings associated with it.

So maybe the temperature of the air as you inhale,

Maybe the warmth on your upper lip as you breathe out.

Maybe it's the gentle rise and fall of your belly as you slow and steadily breathe in and breathe out.

Giving your body all of the air,

The oxygen it needs to nourish every muscle,

Every tendon,

Every cell.

And then begin to observe this breath deep down into your belly.

Feel your abdomen expand with every inhalation.

Fill up,

Create space.

And then feel your stomach contract,

Deflate with every exhalation.

Feel your navel drop back towards your spine with every out breath,

Removing any stale or stagnant air from the base of your lungs.

Being totally here,

Totally present with each moment of each breath.

Giving full care and attention to each inhalation and to each exhalation as they follow one after the other in this never ending consistent cycle and flow of breath.

No beginning and no end.

And now drop the awareness of your breath and bring to mind someone for whom you have deep feelings of love.

The first person that comes to mind when I say the word unconditional love,

Who has always been on your side,

Been on your team,

A cheerleader for you.

And bringing this person to mind behind your closed eyelids,

Feeling their presence across from you or near to you.

Seeing or sensing this person and then just noticing the feeling that arises within your own body as you think of them.

Feel their smiling face about one arm's length away from you behind your closed eyelids.

Just notice the physical reaction of your body as you do this.

Maybe a simple smile that spreads across your lips,

A tingling sensation throughout your body,

Maybe it's a warmth in your chest in and around your heart center.

Whatever the effect or sensation you feel in picturing this person behind your closed eyelids,

Allow every one of them to be felt.

Offer love and kindness to this person.

Put yourself in their shoes.

See the world through their eyes,

Feel their worries,

Feel their desires.

And as you continue to picture this person,

Allow these words to become your words.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you ride the waves of your life with grace.

May you live in peace no matter what you are given.

Allow yourself to feel and notice anything that arises as you remain in stillness and silence after these words.

Feelings of love and wishes for happiness flow easily to those that we love the most.

Now turn your attention to someone who is a stranger to you.

Someone you passed briefly today on the street,

The staff to one of the restaurants or stores that you visited.

Someone that you do not know but that you've seen.

And then picture this person behind your closed eyelids and put yourself in their shoes.

See the world through their eyes.

Recognize that they too have loved ones.

That they feel the love that their family and friends have towards them.

And understand that they also are simply aspiring for happiness.

And the fact that they are a stranger to you does not make their happiness any less important than your own or the ones that you love the most.

Visualize this person's face.

And this time don't see them as separate from you.

See them as a fellow human wishing to eliminate suffering.

A fellow human on the search for peace and happiness and love.

And keeping this person in your awareness,

Allow these words to become your words.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you ride the waves of your life with grace.

And may you live in peace no matter what you are given.

Notice any sensations,

Feelings that bubble to the surface that arise within you.

And like a third party silent observer,

Just watch and notice.

Not attaching to anyone feeling or emotion,

Just acknowledging it and letting it be.

And now think of a person with whom you have some difficulty.

It may be best not to start with the most difficult person in your life,

But perhaps someone who brings up feelings of irritation,

Of annoyance.

And think of the negative things that they have done or said to you that caused you to feel irritation.

And as you sit here with this,

Begin to realize that it was your reaction to their action or words that caused you to suffer,

Not the action or person themself.

Begin to realize that it was your reaction to this person's action or words that caused you to suffer,

And not the action or person themself.

Feel the love that this person's family and friends feel towards them.

Soften your heart.

Let them inside.

Forgive.

Realize that they too are on the same path as you.

They are not different.

They are merely doing their best to find happiness and eliminate suffering in their life.

Continuing to hold the awareness of this person in your mind's eye behind your closed eyelids,

Allow these words to become your words.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you ride the waves of your life with grace.

And may you live in peace no matter what you are given.

Notice the sensations and feelings that arise within you.

And then see if you can just allow these sensations to be exactly what they are.

Not manipulating or changing anything.

Just noticing what comes up as you recite these words to someone with whom you have difficulty.

And now bringing to mind your own self.

Picture your own face behind your closed eyelids.

Look into your own eyes.

How do you see yourself?

Look with love,

Look with compassion without any judgment or expectation.

See and feel your own goodness.

And offer the same love and kindness to yourself that you would a loved one.

Letting these words become your words.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

And may I ride the waves of my life with grace.

May I live in peace no matter what I am given.

And stillness and silence.

Notice what arises as you recite these words to your own self.

Seeing if you can just allow these words to resonate within you.

Feeling for yourself the same love and appreciation you would for anyone on this planet who supports you.

Become your biggest fan.

And now bring to mind the broader community of which you are a part of.

Your family,

Your co-workers,

Your neighbors.

Maybe fan out your attention to include every person,

Every living being within this planet.

And including yourself in this offering of love and kindness.

Allow these words to become your words.

May we be happy.

May we be healthy.

May we ride the waves of our lives with grace.

And may we live in peace no matter what we are given.

Let bubbles to the surface as you say these words.

Feel and notice.

And then let them go.

And then slowly,

Slowly begin to bring your awareness back to your physical body.

And begin to deepen your breath.

Once again becoming aware of the rise and fall of your abdomen.

The gentle expansion and contraction with each nourishing breath in and cleansing breath out.

Keeping your eyes closed and your body still.

Gently draw your hands into a prayer position in front of your chest.

Allowing your thumbs to rest gently on your heartbeat.

Feeling your big,

Bright,

Beautiful heart beating underneath your thumbs.

Your heart with endless capacity to love.

And endless capacity to forgive.

Slowly beginning to bow your forehead just slightly in the direction of your fingertips.

May all beings be happy.

May all beings be free of suffering.

Namaste.

Reviews

Lovely practice♾️✨️
Thank you kindly♾️ ✨️
Namaste 🙏🏼✨️🖤🪔

An amazing relaxing technique for inner reflection.

Lovely. Could you consider doing a 15 minute version?? (My online group holds silence for that time!)

Amazing metta. Thank you.

Love It. So well done.
Thank you Natasha 11🙏💖🙏

Beautiful........*sigh*.

Thank you. I've practiced metta for years, your voice and guidance here was lovely and refreshing.

Perfect antidote to agitation and some daily unease. Thank you.

Beautiful practice

So relaxing and lovely. Thank you.
You have such a sweet soothing voice.
Namasté 🙏🏼

Beautiful equanimity meditation 🙏

Amazingly emotional, immediately cried on envisioning my mum. Felt lighter in heart and hara after. Thank you so much.

A beautiful meditation and a wonderful way to set a loving intention for the day. Thank you.

Very beautiful practice! Thank you very much:)

So meaningful. Thank you.

That was beautiful. At the end I was in tears of joy, thank you, namaste

Thank you, real felt the love❤️🙏

Powerful spiritual moment occurred for me while listening to this.
Amazing