Welcome to today's Metta Meditation where we will be cultivating loving kindness.
So becoming comfortable in your seat,
Sitting with a relaxed and straight posture,
Your spine lengthened,
Shoulders relaxed,
Allowing your hands to rest comfortably in your lap and gently closing your eyes,
Settling into the awareness of your body and the breath,
Feeling any sensations in the body,
Just noticing what's here,
Open to whatever is to be experienced in this moment,
Connecting with your breath,
Noticing the wave like movements in the belly and the rest of the body that you breathe.
In this practice we will be cultivating friendliness,
Loving kindness,
We all have this within us,
This natural capacity for loving kindness that is unconditional,
Open,
Gentle and supportive.
Loving kindness is a natural opening of a compassionate heart for ourselves and for others,
It's a wish that everyone be happy.
Working with developing loving kindness towards ourself,
Allowing our hearts to open with tenderness.
Now allow yourself to remember and open up to your basic goodness,
You might remember times you have been kind or generous,
You might recall your natural desire to be happy and not to suffer.
If acknowledging your own goodness is difficult,
Look at yourself through the eyes of someone who loves you,
What does that person love about you?
You may recall the unconditional love you felt from a beloved pet,
It may help to use the imagination to treat yourself as a young child standing before you,
Perhaps four or five years of age,
Allowing the tender feelings of kindness for your innocence,
For your heart,
And as you experience this love,
Notice how you feel in your body,
Maybe you feel some warmth,
A smile,
A sense of expansiveness,
Loving kindness,
A natural feeling that is accessible to all of us,
Always,
Resting with this feeling of open,
Unconditional love for a few moments,
Allowing yourself to bask in the energy of loving kindness,
Breathing it out,
Inviting feelings of peace and acceptance.
As we begin now to share some of these feelings,
Some words for yourself,
You can repeat these words and feel them in your heart 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.
As we repeat these words to ourselves one more time,
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.
And now you can open the circle of loving kindness by bringing to mind somebody who is dear to you,
Someone who you care about and who has always been supportive.
Reflect on this person's basic goodness,
Sensing what it is in particular that you love about him or her.
In your heart feel your appreciation for this dear one and begin your simple offering.
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,
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now bringing to mind somebody that is neutral to you,
Someone that you might see regularly but don't necessarily know very well,
Like a neighbour,
Somebody from a supermarket,
A post person,
This person in your heart and mind repeating 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,
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now if it's possible for you bring to mind somebody that you've had a difficult relationship with,
That has been challenged,
Perhaps it's someone you don't feel sympathy or compassion for.
Seeing if it's possible to let go of feelings of resentment and dislike for this person,
Reminding yourself to see this person as a whole being,
Deserving of love and kindness,
Someone who feels pain and anxiety,
Someone who is also a child with their own challenges.
Seeing if it's possible to extend these words of loving kindness in your mind and heart,
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,
May you know the natural joy of being alive,
Allowing your awareness to open out into all directions,
To yourself,
A dear one,
The neutral person and the difficult person,
And further still to all beings on the planet,
Humans and animals,
Living in richness,
Poverty,
War,
Peace,
Hunger,
Abundance,
Aware of all the joys and all the sorrows that all beings experience,
May all beings be filled with loving kindness,
May all beings be happy,
May all beings awaken and be free,
May all beings be happy.
Now bringing this practice to a close by coming back to extend loving kindness to yourself,
Sitting for a while and basking in the energy,
Loving kindness,
Whatever may have been generated through this practice,
Compassion,
Forgiveness,
A friendly heart,
May you be happy,
May you know the natural joy of being alive,
May all beings be free,
May all beings be happy,
May all beings be free,
May all beings be free,
May all beings be free.
