Loving kindness.
In my experience,
Loving kindness practice is the best emergency medicine.
What to do when you feel like there's nothing you can do,
Nothing you can do to help someone you care for,
To help yourself,
To help in this troubled world.
You always begin loving kindness practice with yourself,
Then you extend it to others.
There are phrases to support this practice that you can say silently on the out breath.
There are three basic phrases.
May I be free from fear and anxiety.
May I be at ease.
May I be happy or content.
The first phrase,
May I be free from,
And you can fill in the blank,
Affirms your desire and your ability to be free from difficult states of mind,
Such as anxiety and fear.
The second phrase,
May I be at ease,
Affirms your desire and ability to be balanced.
The third phrase,
May I be happy or content,
Raises us up towards the positive,
Counteracting our mind's tendency to focus on the negative.
It affirms your normal human desire to be happy.
This is the simple happiness of finally lying down in bed when your body is tired,
Or of getting a drink of water when you're really thirsty,
Or of touching the hand of someone you love.
You begin with saying the phrases for yourself.
May I be free from fear and anxiety.
On the out breath.
May I be free from fear and anxiety.
As you say the first phrase,
You may become aware of mental tension.
Also bring awareness to any physical tension in the body,
Particularly in the face,
Mouth,
Jaw,
Neck and shoulders,
Hands and belly.
You can gently soften that tension on each out breath.
Switch to the second phrase when you are ready.
May I be at ease.
May I be at ease.
You can imagine yourself at ease during the day with whatever comes forward.
When you are ready,
Switch to the third phrase.
May I be happy or may I be content.
May I be happy.
Notice if your mouth is tense and relax it into a small,
Gentle smile.
Imagine yourself smiling at some small things that will occur during the day.
When you have done loving kindness for yourself,
You can switch to loving kindness for others.
If anyone enters your mind,
Your family members,
Co-workers,
A troubling patient,
You can breathe these three sincere wishes to them.
May you be free from,
Fill in the blank,
May you be at ease,
May you be happy and you can imagine them so.
