Memories of kindness.
So just checking in with our posture,
A posture that is stable,
Alert,
But also kind to the body.
And just placing our mind by setting an intention for this practice,
Perhaps an intention to explore and cultivate kindness in our lives.
To orientate our mind towards kindness.
And then we can reflect on our motivation,
How it might benefit us and also benefit those around us.
And so just beginning to settle the mind in the usual way by settling our breathing,
Using the breath in the body,
Deepening the breath.
And just seeing if we can equalise the in-breath and the out-breath.
And counting can help.
And so perhaps we can breathe in for a count of three or four in your own way that's comfortable for you.
And then breathing out for the same amount,
Just counting very gently.
And there will be activity in the mind and that's fine.
All we do,
Just focusing very gently on the breathing and counting.
And so as we continue to breathe,
Just refocusing whenever we become distracted.
Just noticing if there is a sense of relaxing as we breathe out.
Just seeing if the mind can learn from the body.
The body releases breath and relaxes.
The mind is able to let go of involvement,
Mental activity and just begins to allow itself to settle.
And now we can let go of the counting,
Allowing the body just to return to a natural breathing pattern and allowing the body just to breathe by itself.
Shifting our focus down into the body and maybe noticing if there are any sensations within the body.
Maybe tension,
Discomfort.
Maybe we can soften around these areas as we breathe.
Just welcome them into our experience and just allowing them to be there.
We can maybe just notice our hands,
Whatever the hands are resting on.
Any sensation of contact with the chair.
Our body is just resting.
And we can allow our body just to be supported unconditionally by the chair or the ground beneath the body.
The whole body supported by the ground,
Just surrounded by space.
And just as the ground supports the body unconditionally,
So the body supports the mind unconditionally,
Allowing our mind to come to rest.
Supported here and now by the body.
Letting go of any sense of having to do anything or be anywhere.
And any time we notice that the time or our mind has wandered,
We just return to the mindfulness support of breath or sound.
So now we can bring to mind a memory of when someone was kind to us.
And we can go over the details of this in our mind.
Going over the details of the scenario of when someone was kind to you.
And as you bring this memory forward,
Just noticing any response within the body.
A sense of kindness,
Numbness or maybe other emotions.
And remembering there is no right or wrong in this practice.
We're just allowing our experience to unfold.
So as we go over this memory,
Noticing thoughts about that and any emotion that may be arising and sensations that may be coming or going within the body.
We can just begin to let go of this first memory.
Just back to being aware of this body.
And supported by the ground,
Surrounded by space.
And back to our mindfulness support of breath or sound.
And now this time we can bring to mind a memory of when you were kind to somebody else.
Again just going over the detail of the memory.
Not worrying too much if you can't find one.
Just waiting for one to arise.
Just simply going over this memory.
Becoming aware of any thoughts,
Emotions,
Any physical sensations.
Any felt sense of kindness within the body.
Any numbness.
Just being curious about whatever rises as we go over this memory of when we were kind to somebody else.
And then letting go of this second memory and returning to the body resting here on the ground or the chair.
Just surrounded by space and once again becoming aware of the mindfulness support of breath or sound.
And finally we can bring to mind a memory of when we were kind to ourselves.
Again it may take a while for a memory to arrive and that's fine.
We're just sitting,
Taking our time.
If a memory arises we can go over the detail.
How we were kind.
What did we say to ourselves?
And as we do this just noticing there is no right or wrong about the way we feel about ourselves.
And just checking in with any feelings within the body.
Noticing perhaps any differences in the sensations and the previous memories.
And finally just letting go of this memory.
Once more becoming aware of the body resting on the chair or on the ground.
Awareness of the space that surrounds you and just once more returning to the support of the breathing or sound.
Thank you.
