Loving Kindness Meditation,
Metta Meditation,
Whichever name you go by,
Was one of the meditations
that really helped me break through and be able to meditate for periods longer than 5,
10,
15 minutes.
And so let's begin by getting yourself comfortable and allow yourself to switch from your usual
mode of doing to non-doing and simply being.
We want to connect with our body and bring our attention to our breath.
Following your breath as it comes in and out of your body without judging,
Without trying
to change,
You are simply aware of it and any emotions that may be associated with your
breath and you are giving full attention to each breath in and to each breath out.
You are fully present with each breath.
And when distracting thoughts arise,
Just acknowledge them and let them go.
Label them and let them go.
And let's now take a moment to consciously set an intention for this practice.
My intention is to open my heart so that I can receive.
Let's begin by visualizing a picture of ourself smiling back at us.
I always tell people if they get stuck here,
You can visualize maybe your profile photo
or your professional photo,
A well-known picture of you that you like and you're smiling
back at yourself and you begin to offer yourself loving kindness.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from anger.
May I be free from anxiety and may my heart be filled with love and kindness.
May I be safe.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from anger.
May I be free from anxiety and may my heart be filled with love and kindness.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from anger and anxiety.
May my heart be filled with love and kindness.
Begin to notice the feelings and sensation that are arising and let them be.
If you're struggling envisioning yourself before we move on,
You can perhaps envision
a baby or a puppy or a kitten or anything that makes you feel good in place of our other
visualizations.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from anger.
May I be free from anxiety.
May my heart be filled with love and kindness.
Consider yourself smiling back at you and now I would like you to envision maybe somebody
you don't know so well,
Someone in your neighborhood,
Someone you see occasionally in your commute
and begin to picture them smiling back at you and begin to say may you be safe.
And you're saying these words to yourself,
You do not need to say them out loud.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from anger.
May you be free from anxiety and may your heart be filled with love and kindness.
Picture them smiling back at you and just repeat this two more times.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from anger.
May you be free from anxiety.
May your heart be filled with love and kindness.
Just picture them smiling back at you.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be free from anger.
May you be free from anxiety.
May your heart be filled with love and kindness.
Noticing the feelings and sensations that arise and let them go.
And let's turn our attention towards somebody that we love.
Somebody that we love deeply and care about and picture them smiling back at us.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live in free from anxiety.
Free from anger.
And may your heart be filled with love and kindness.
Maybe you can think of a few other people that you love and you can see them all together
smiling back at you.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from anxiety.
May you be free of anger.
May your heart be filled with love and kindness.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live in peace.
May you be free from anger.
May you be free from anxiety.
May your heart be filled with love and kindness.
And once these feelings for the loved ones flow easily,
I would like you to turn your
attention to someone with maybe you have a difficult relationship with.
Someone who brings up feelings of annoyance or irritation and see if you can let these
words become your words as you keep this person in your awareness.
Picture them smiling back at you.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from anger.
May you be free from anxiety.
May your heart be filled with love and kindness.
May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from anxiety.
May you be free from anger.
And may your heart be filled with love and kindness.
And continue to see this over and over in your mind and bring to mind the broader community
that you are a part of,
Your family,
Your colleagues,
Your neighbors,
Including yourself,
Maybe your entire town,
Your county,
As far out,
Spread it out,
Spread this love and kindness
as far out as you can,
Envisioning everybody smiling back at you.
May we be safe.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be free from anxiety.
May we be free from anger.
May our hearts be filled with love and kindness.
And just notice the sensations and feelings that arise within you and just sit with them
for a few minutes until you are ready to end the practice.
I would like you to take a few minutes to journal.
How did you feel when you connected with your body and brought your attention to your breathing?
What kind of feelings did you have?
If any distracting thoughts arose,
What were they?
Were there any common themes between your thoughts?
What kind of person or pet did you bring to mind to make you happy if you were unable
to envision yourself?
And what about the person if you were able to move on that you have difficulty with?
How did you imagine this process made them feel?
And how did it feel when you offered your loving kindness to the broader community?
What feelings and sensations arose when you included yourself in your loving kindness?
Take the time,
Create the space,
And write until your heart's content.
