So let's begin by taking a deep breath in and out.
Now follow your breath as it naturally occurs.
Try to notice some specific feature of your breath that you can connect to.
Maybe it's the temperature of cold air coming in through your nostrils and the warm air coming out.
Perhaps it's the rising and falling of your chest and where that pressure you can feel it against your clothing.
Whatever it is,
Choose something and let's focus on that for a few moments.
Now if at any point you feel distracted,
Your mind wanders,
It's okay.
Just remind yourself to begin again and bring your attention back to this part of the breath.
No matter how many times it happens,
No matter how many times you lose that attention,
Just forgive yourself,
Be compassionate with yourself and bring it back to the breath.
Now allow your head to rest calmly on your neck,
Your shoulders to feel the weight of gravity.
Loosen your back and your hips and your legs.
Allow yourself to fall,
Still sitting tall but relaxed throughout your whole body.
Now imagine somebody that you love very much.
Imagine them sitting right in front of you,
Someone you care deeply about,
Who you feel safe,
Who you feel safe and comforted by their presence.
Maybe more than one person comes to mind,
That's okay.
Try to focus in on one person that really makes you feel that way and imagine them sitting in front of you,
Smiling,
Full of good energy.
Now allow them to move in and embrace you with a warm hug.
Notice the calmness of your breath and the warm loving feeling flowing through you.
Allow yourself to open to this feeling.
You are safe and nothing can hurt you.
Let yourself be open to the loving energy you are creating and those around you are exuding.
Now let's add to the scene in front of us.
Invite in more loved ones and feel their warmth.
Imagine them sitting around you,
Hugging each other,
Smiling.
Feel that warm loving kindness inside of you.
Notice where in your body you feel that.
Lean into that feeling.
Now let's imagine somebody you are not particularly close to,
But you still feel warm feelings towards.
Embrace that feeling.
Allow that loving kindness to flow through you with each breath in and out of your body.
Imagine someone you are not particularly close to,
But you still feel warm feelings towards.
Allow that loving kindness to flow through you with each breath in and share it outwards with each breath out.
Now imagine somebody that you barely know,
Maybe a co-worker or cashier at a store you visit often.
Think of that person and extend the same loving kindness you would share with your closest loved ones.
Accept that you do not know the depths of their experience,
However they are still deserving of the same compassionate loving kindness.
Now begin to imagine someone who you feel negativity towards.
Conjure them up in front of you,
But let go any wrongdoings they've done to you.
Forgive,
Even for just a moment,
Any negative traits that they may possess.
See them as the suffering human being that they are,
Just like you,
Just like all of us.
Extend to them that same loving kindness.
Take a moment here and observe how this feels and observe how this feels.
Does it deepen the warmth you feel?
Are you finding resistance to sharing this loving kindness with this person?
There is no right or wrong experience.
Simply observe.
And if you find yourself lost in thought,
Come back to the breath and begin again.
Let's get back to that feeling of loving kindness if you lost it,
Or settle deeper into it if you're still holding it.
Let's extend that to everyone in this room.
If you're meditating with other people in the room with you or people in the same building as you,
Imagine all of us full of love and light,
Wishing each other release from our suffering.
Extend that feeling to everyone you came in contact with today.
The people you may have said hello to in the morning,
Passed in the street,
Other drivers on the road,
All of them equally deserving of the same compassionate loving kindness.
Extend that feeling to everyone in your city,
All of them embraced in this loving light.
Extend further to everyone in your state,
Region,
Country,
Continent,
Everyone on this planet,
Even the few of us orbiting Earth right now on the International Space Station.
Extend universal love,
Unconditional compassion,
And feel yourself and your capacity for loving kindness swell to meet them.
Now,
Take a deep inhale and exhale.
Fall back into your body and focus on each inhale and exhale.
Allow your shoulders to relax,
Your back and hips and legs,
All to rest calmly.
Now slowly,
In your own time,
Open your eyes and carry this loving kindness with you throughout your day and out into the world.
Take note when you feel you are losing touch with this feeling and try to bring yourself back to it.
Imagine those loved ones that you care so much for,
They're always there with you,
That feeling is always accessible and it's up to you to share that feeling with others.
Thank you.
