Beginning our practice by coming into a comfortable position,
Whether that's cross-legged at the floor,
Sitting in a chair or the couch,
Or lying down,
Bringing the feet to standing,
Knees pointed toward the ceiling as if two mountain peaks pointing up toward the sky,
Noticing your feet and noticing the sitting bones,
Noticing the shoulders,
And if you're in a seated position,
Lengthening the spine and then feeling the shoulders drop down,
Back and away,
Noticing your face,
Especially the space between your eyes and around your eyes,
Releasing tension in the jaw by parting the lips and the teeth and allowing the tongue to gently come to the roof of the mouth.
The hands can rest comfortably on the tops of the legs if you're in a seated position,
And if you're laying down,
The arms can extend on either side with the palms facing up,
And noticing yourself just as you were sitting here,
Bringing to mind in the past few days a way you have been kind to someone else,
Whether that's holding open a door,
Checking in with a friend,
Smiling at someone,
Having a felt sense of our own true basic goodness.
We'll begin extending phrases of loving kindness toward ourselves.
May I be safe,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
And may I live with ease.
May I be safe,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
And may I live with ease.
A way to extend these phrases toward ourselves silently,
Finding a rhythm,
A repetition that's passing,
Not needing to rush from one phrase to the other.
If and when the mind wanders to thinking or planning or remembering,
Pausing,
And with great kindness and gentleness and without any judgment,
Coming back to the phrases,
May I be safe,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease.
And releasing the phrases for yourself,
Noticing the bottoms of the feet,
The sitting bones.
The shoulders and the face.
Hearing sound enter the ears.
And now bringing to mind the benefactor.
So this is typically someone who we have an uncomplicated relationship with.
So it's best not to choose our spouse,
Our partner,
Or roommate.
This can be someone who we find that we can be totally ourself in their presence.
This could also be a pet or someone who inspires us in our life,
Who we have not had the pleasure of meeting yet.
And bringing one person to mind or being.
Having a felt sense of this being's presence.
And we'll extend these same phrases to this benefactor.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
And may you live with ease.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you live with ease.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you live with ease.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you live with ease.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you live with ease.
Taking up the phrases one last time for this benefactor.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
And may you live with ease.
And releasing the image and the phrases for this benefactor.
Noticing your feet and the sitting bones,
The shoulders,
The face.
And now we'll bring to mind a familiar stranger.
So this is typically someone who is in our life,
But we don't know them very well.
We may only know this person's name and where we see them,
Whether it's the barista at the coffee shop,
A clerk at a store,
The person who brings us our mail,
A friendly neighbor,
Or someone you see in your neighborhood,
Or at the farmer's market.
So we don't know very much about this person.
Having a felt sense of this person's presence and where you see them typically.
And knowing that we may or may not like this person,
It's a very neutral person in our life.
And we'll extend these same well wishes.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
And may you live with ease.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you live with ease.
If the mind wanders away from the phrases,
Pausing,
And with great gentleness,
Coming back to the phrases for this familiar stranger.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
And may you live with ease.
And releasing the phrases for this familiar stranger.
And now we'll bring to mind ourself,
The benefactor,
Once again the familiar stranger,
And our friends and family and colleagues,
Far and near,
People in our neighborhood,
In our cities,
People close by,
People far away.
And now extending these same phrases to everyone we know.
May we all be safe,
May we all be happy,
May we all be healthy,
May we all live with ease.
May we be safe,
May we be happy,
May we be healthy,
And may we live with ease.
May we be safe,
May we be happy,
May we be healthy,
And may we live with ease.
Thank you for your practice.
