To begin,
Let's find a quiet and comfortable space where you can either sit or lie down.
Close your eyes and just take a few deep breaths to drop down out of the mind and into the body,
Allowing yourself to relax and let go,
Allowing tension to melt.
Today we are focused on cultivating a sense of compassion with this longer loving-kindness meditation.
We'll also focus on our inner connectedness,
What bonds us all and how we can find strength in that,
Just by tapping in to goodwill,
Both toward ourselves and to others.
Continuing to breathe slow,
Steady and deep,
I want you to really feel as though every breath is preparing you a little bit more for this meditation today.
Feel the breath coming into the body,
Filling the body with a calibrated energy.
And as you breathe here,
I invite you to begin to really focus on wishing yourself goodwill,
Wishing yourself loving-kindness.
So as you sit with the breath,
With the eyes closed and the body soft,
Just begin to repeat,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease and joy.
And as you repeat this very simple mantra in your own mind,
Really feel it coming true for you in this moment and in your life in general.
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease.
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease.
And really feel that these words are true.
Really imagine each phrase truly being absorbed into your body.
We'll repeat this one more time.
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease.
Allowing that mantra to just settle in your body,
To become part of your narrative,
Understanding that you deserve to be happy,
You deserve to be healthy and to live with ease.
Now we'll direct this same positive energy,
The same intention to a loved one.
To bring to mind someone that you care very deeply about.
It could be a family member,
A friend,
A pet,
Visualize whoever they are sitting right in front of you.
And as you begin to wish them good will and loving kindness,
Really feel a connection between your heart and theirs.
Repeating to yourself silently or just in your head,
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
And feeling the power of those words going directly from your heart to theirs.
Continuing the mantra,
Wishing them happiness,
Health and ease.
I really invite you to truly see them happy,
Truly see them healthy.
See them at ease,
Totally fulfilled.
And really imagine what this looks like for them.
Feel the love that you have for this person and imagine that that love can truly provide them with this happiness,
This joy,
This health and this easeful life.
Continuing to wish them joy,
To wish them health and ease.
Feel this connection,
See them happy.
And then gently let this image,
This person or pet,
Let them fade from your consciousness and just notice how you feel.
Now we will imagine someone that you know peripherally.
So this might be someone that you pass in the park while walking your dog,
A neighbor from around the block that you say hello to here and there.
Maybe it's a co-worker who you do not know very well.
Just someone that you don't have very strong feelings about one way or the other.
And visualize them in whatever area you normally see them.
And send them love.
Feel the connection from your heart to theirs as you repeat the phrases in your mind.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
Continue the mantra,
The intention and feel the love from your heart charging this intention.
Slowly see this person happy and healthy and living with ease and joy.
And as you imagine this,
Feel your capacity for true compassion expanding,
Growing larger and also strengthening you.
For the final segment,
We will let the image of this neutral person go.
And begin to imagine that you can send the entire world love,
Light and joy just from the energy of your heart,
People,
Animals,
Plants,
Every living being.
Send them this compassion,
This heart energy.
So feeling this energy wash over the entire planet,
Simply repeat.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings live with ease.
Continue to repeat the mantra,
Wishing this happiness,
Wishing this health,
Wishing this ease,
And really tap into that heart energy,
Sending love to the entire world.
Feel the interconnectedness of all living beings and of you to all living beings.
Sit with this energy.
Feel this compassion charging you up.
And for a final time,
I invite you to return to the original intention,
Directing your focus on yourself and your role in this interconnected world.
And just repeat to yourself,
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I live with ease.
And see your place within the dynamic,
Complex,
Beautiful harmony of the world.
Take a moment to appreciate the love and compassion you've cultivated with this practice.
Please know that you can return to this practice whenever you really need to reconnect,
To tap into this incredibly powerful loving energy.
I wish you happiness.
I wish you healthiness.
And I wish you ease and joy.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
Wishing you all good things.
