Let yourself be in a relaxed and comfortable position.
We are going to do the practice of cultivation,
Positive emotion,
In this case loving kindness,
Which is the desire for someone to be happy or yourself to be happy.
It's not dependent on something.
It's not conditional.
It's just a natural opening of the heart to someone else or to yourself.
Check into your body and notice how you're feeling right now.
Letting whatever is here be here.
Let yourself bring to mind someone who in this moment when you think of them you feel happy.
See if you can bring to mind someone,
It could be a relative,
A close friend,
Someone with whom the relationship is not too complicated.
Just in a general sense when you think of them you feel happy.
You could pick a child,
You could always choose a pet,
A dog or a cat.
A creature is fairly easy to feel love for so let them come to mind.
A person who's still alive or maybe someone who's passed on or a pet and just have a sense of them being in front of you.
Can you feel them,
Sense them,
See them?
As you imagine them notice how you're feeling inside.
Maybe you feel some warmth or there's some heat in your face,
A smile,
A sense of expansiveness,
A lightness in your heart.
This is loving kindness.
It's a natural feeling that's accessible to all of us at any moment.
Now having this loved one in front of you begin to wish them well.
May you be safe and protected from danger.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy and strong.
May you have ease and well-being.
And as I say these words you can use my words or you can use your own words and have a sense of letting this loving kindness come from you and beginning to touch this loved one.
Reaching out.
You might think in images.
You might have a sense of color or light.
You might just have a feeling.
The words may continue to bring on more of this feeling and I encourage you to say whatever feels meaningful to you.
May you be free from stress and anxiety.
May you be free from all fear.
May you be free from uncertainty and doubt.
And as you're sending out these words and these feelings of loving kindness also check in yourself and see how you're feeling inside.
Now imagine that this loved one turns around and begins to send it back to you.
See if you can receive the loving kindness.
Take it in and they're wishing you well.
May you be happy.
Meaning you.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
May you be safe and protected from all danger.
May you have joy.
May you have health.
May you have well-being.
May you be free from stress and uncertainty.
Let yourself take it all in.
If you're not feeling anything at all in this point or before,
You know,
The other parts of this meditation,
It's not a problem.
This practice plants the seeds and if you're feeling something else other than loving kindness,
Just check into that.
What is it that I'm feeling right now?
There may be something to learn here.
Now if it's possible and it's not always easy to do this,
See if you can send loving kindness to yourself.
You can imagine it coming down your body from your heart,
Exploding out.
You can just have a sense of it.
May I be safe and protected from danger.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I be happy and peaceful.
May I accept myself just as I am.
And as you ask yourself the question,
What do I need to be happy,
See what arises and offer that to yourself.
May I have meaningful work.
May I have a joyful life.
May I have close friends and family.
Wish it for yourself.
Will it for yourself.
Breathing into yourself now,
Notice what it is that you feel as you do this.
Now let yourself bring to mind one person or a group of people that you'd wish to send loving kindness to.
Send them in front of you.
Sense them,
Feel them.
May you be happy and peaceful.
May you be free from all stress and anxiety and fear.
May you be free of worry and grief.
May you have joy and happiness and well-being.
And now let this loving kindness expand out.
Out from your heart,
Out from your body,
Spreading out,
Touching anyone that you want to touch right now in all directions.
People you know.
People you don't know.
People you may have difficulty with.
People you love.
Just imagine expanding and expanding,
Growing and touching each person or each animal.
Whoever is touched by this loving kindness,
Each person is changed.
You can imagine that.
So may everyone everywhere be happy and peaceful and at ease.
May we all experience health.
May we all experience great joy.
