Loving Kindness Supported by the Earth & Sun

This loving kindness or metta meditation comes from a weeklong silent retreat at the Insight Meditation Society. In this practice, Jessica guides us to imagine the unconditional support of the earth beneath us and the choiceless shining of the sun as doorways to connect with unconditional care and self-acceptance. The meditation opens with 7 minutes of introduction and overview of the practice, followed by a 37 minute guided practice.

Transcript

So it's another afternoon with Jemma,

For those who did yoga.

We'll do another meta practice together.

And so what I'd like to try this afternoon is connecting a little bit with the Earth.

So I'm a little bit of a connoisseur of meta.

So I have a lot of different thoughts and thoughts.

And so I'm going to try to connect with the Earth.

And so I'm going to try to connect with the Earth.

And so I'm going to try to connect with the Earth.

So I have a lot of different ways that I like to do this.

So I'll just offer another one.

And what's nice about this is you can see what connects for you.

And what feels supportive for your practice.

And then you can work with that.

So this afternoon one technique that I've been using a lot recently is really connecting with the felt sense of the Earth beneath us.

And this sense of its,

This presence of continuous support beneath us.

And when I first learned this I was kind of like,

It sounds a little,

I don't know,

Crunchy or something.

But there's something I love about this.

It's so just like scientifically true.

That the Earth is providing us everything that we need in each moment.

So there's a way that we can just tap into that unconditional support for life.

For our life as a part of this planet.

This Earth.

So we'll just do a little practice of that.

And then a second piece is like the Sun.

So often times we talk about Metta or the heart of Metta.

Which in other traditions might be called the heart of Bodhicitta,

The awakened heart.

Like the Sun.

Because it just shines choicelessly on everything in its path.

Totally unconditional.

The Sun does not choose whether we're good people or bad people,

Nice people,

Judgmental people,

Not judgmental people,

Selfish,

Not selfish.

The Sun is just shining on us.

So there's a beautiful way that we can kind of imagine that Sun shining down.

Like as if the images,

Like the Sun is rising maybe over a ridge and reaching us.

And then it's just reaching the top of our head first.

And then slowly making its way down across our body.

And filling us with this warmth and unconditional care.

Warmth,

Positive regard.

Which is like love,

Right?

So we'll kind of get it from,

We'll just be surrounded from the Earth and the Sun.

To see how that feels for you.

And then the other thing I think is really important,

I don't know if we've talked about up here yet,

Is that metta often can be very dry sometimes.

Or it can actually bring up its opposite sometimes.

And to me it's like showing us what's blocking.

Kindness.

So it kind of reveals where the blockages are.

So just to see that,

If you notice,

It's not really,

If you have a difficult time or like the painful feelings come up or resistance,

It's very normal.

So that's why we give all these different techniques.

And then you can just fake it till you make it.

Maybe the other thing I'll say is I will often start this practice lying down.

Just lying down on the floor with my knees up.

And I thought about doing that,

But since this is my teaching debut at IMS,

And even though they're not here right now,

I figured I should maybe not be too radical yet.

But maybe when you're going to sleep tonight,

You can do a little of this practice lying down.

And there's just a way when we're lying down where we can just totally release.

And that helps me to really feel the support of the earth.

And just like when I'm at home and I'm trying to have a daily practice,

Right,

For a long time when I was really trying to build up a daily practice,

Great technique especially in the winter when it's cold,

You can start meditating lying down.

It's like how you can,

It's okay,

You can lie here and meditate first.

And then you just sit up after maybe 10 minutes or 15 minutes.

It's kind of like a nice trick to convince yourself to meditate in the morning.

So I recommend that if you have it.

It's hard for you to get out of bed and go to your cushion.

Start lying down and then you can sit up.

Okay.

So I'll just begin.

And again with this practice,

You want to be in a comfortable position as much as possible.

So choose a chair,

Allow yourself to move during the meditation if you need to.

So you don't want to be struggling with pain in your body as much as possible.

And that's another reason why it's great to start lying down when you can.

So let's take a few deeper breaths together.

And even with our breath,

We can just begin to take care of ourselves with our breath.

So if you are feeling restless or agitated in some way,

You can just extend your exhale.

If you're feeling tired or sleepy,

You can take in a little bit more air so you can extend your inhale.

We can kind of condition our practice beginning this way,

Feeling what we need.

Just a simple use of our breath to bring a little bit more balance to our hearts and minds.

And we'll begin by just relaxing our bodies.

So we can start at the top of our heads,

Crown of your head.

Relaxing your forehead and eyes.

Your jaw.

Tongue.

Softening your throat.

Shoulders.

Down through your arms,

Hands,

Wrists.

As you do this,

You can have a sense of any tension just kind of melting down.

Down into the floor,

Into the earth beneath us.

So this is okay,

The earth can compost our tension,

The energy that's caught in tension.

So we can soften through the chest,

Back,

Belly.

And just feel a sense of settling in your hips,

Pelvis.

Down through your legs and feet.

And then really feeling all the places of contact with the cushion or chair.

You can have a sense of surrendering your weight down to gravity,

To the earth.

Maybe a sense of softening and releasing in all those points of contact.

So on the softening there's a kind of opening of the connection with the ground.

And then as you feel that contact,

Just for a moment imagining.

So beneath us is the floor,

Which is held up by the foundation of this building.

It's embedded in the earth.

You might just kind of trace down the sense of the building,

The foundation,

Supported and embedded in the earth.

And then the earth spreading out in all directions beneath us.

This vast,

Steady,

Support space,

Still.

Kind of deeply equanimous energy.

And so for some breath you can allow this continuing of the softening of tension releasing down,

Down through the points of contact,

The ground.

And then imagining the tension flowing down and out into the earth beneath you,

Releasing down.

And then you can allow your awareness in some way to kind of go with the tension down a few inches beneath you,

A foot beneath us.

A foot down into the space of the earth.

And just feeling that maybe your awareness drops a little deeper into the space of the earth beneath us.

There's this feeling of just kind of release,

Surrender,

Being held,

This stillness.

This kind of unconditional support that is always here beneath us.

And so we keep just letting our awareness kind of drop down.

There's a sort of deep release.

Even as we release our awareness down,

Connect with this vast,

Still,

Supportive energy space of the earth.

And we can allow some of that stillness,

Kind of steadiness to flow up into our bodies.

So you might feel on your inhale just a feeling of some of this stillness,

Support,

Which is a kind of love.

This feeling of care,

Unconditional holding.

And allow that to breathe that up into our bodies.

So we're going to start just where there's contact.

And exploring you with each breath.

And staying connected with the space of the earth,

But allowing the quality of stillness,

Equanimity to flow up into our bodies,

Sitting on the earth.

As it moves up through our legs,

Hips,

Belly,

And up into our chest.

And just here,

Allowing this open,

Vast,

Still space to soften and open our hearts,

Very physical,

Chest,

Heart.

Breathing this energy up into our shoulders,

Arms,

Neck,

All the way up through our heads,

Face.

And just here,

Allowing this open,

Vast,

Stillness,

Equanimity to flow up into our bodies,

Our bodies.

Keeping a sense of our awareness connected with this vast space of the earth beneath us.

And now we can let our attention open more towards sort of above the space above us.

Kind of open sky.

And today the sun has returned to greet us.

And so we can get an image of the sun.

So like this rising over a hill or a ridge in front of us.

And we start to feel the warmth of the sun touch our forehead,

The top of our heads.

And it's just again this unconditional warmth,

No judgment.

The sun is not deciding that we are worthy of its warmth,

Of its light.

Just shining on our top of our heads,

Our foreheads,

And imagine filling our top of our heads and we'll move down through our body with this kind of well wishing,

Very simple care.

May my head and forehead be at ease.

Safe,

Happy.

And as the sun continues to rise,

Moving down over our eyes,

Temples,

Middle of our head.

And feeling that warmth,

Unconditioned,

Freely offered,

May my eyes be at ease.

May my head be safe.

Warmth,

Light moves down over our noses,

Mouths.

As we're penetrating our heads,

May my mouth,

Jaw,

All the way through my whole skull,

My brain,

Be at ease,

Happy,

Healthy,

Safe.

And through your throat,

Neck.

And so especially if you find there's places we meet where you tend to hold tension,

Just really offering,

May my throat,

No ease,

Relaxation,

Openness,

Feeling this unconditioned warmth.

Kind of care every cell,

Our head,

Our throat,

Our neck,

My neck,

Be at ease.

And this warmth moves down over our shoulders.

It's touching,

Filling our shoulders,

Chest with warmth.

Totally unconditional warmth,

Care,

Well wishing.

May my shoulders and chest be at ease,

Healthy,

Safe,

Penetrating through to our upper back,

Shoulders.

May there be ease in my upper back and shoulders,

Muscles,

Bones.

A muscle of my heart,

Top of my lungs,

Filled with ease.

And then allowing your attention to move down through arms,

The warmth is moving down through your arms,

Solar plexus,

Mid-body,

Allowing this warmth to fill upper arms all the way down to mid-back.

So may my ribs,

Diaphragm,

Mid-back be at ease.

Experience well-being,

Healthy,

Safe.

And the sun moves down,

This warmth to belly,

Low back,

Lower back.

So make a sense of the warmth,

Unconditioned warmth and care of the sun filling belly,

Low back,

All of our organs,

Digestive tract.

May my belly be at ease.

All of the organs here,

Liver,

Kidneys,

Intestines,

May they be filled with ease.

Well-being,

May they be healthy,

Safe.

I'm feeling here lower arms,

Wrists and hands,

Warmth of the sun,

Unconditional care and warmth.

My arms,

My wrists,

My hands be at ease,

Safe.

And down through our hips or pelvis,

Filling this whole part of our body with a warmth and care.

May my hips be at ease,

Safe,

Healthy.

All the reproductive organs.

May my body be at ease,

Be safe and healthy.

And then allowing your attention with the warmth of this sun that's rising,

Moving down through legs,

Thighs,

Letting this warmth and care penetrate muscles of our upper legs,

Bones,

Tendons.

May my thighs and upper legs be at ease.

Experience well-being,

Safe,

Healthy.

May my knees,

In the warmth and care of the sun,

Filling the knees,

Fronts and backs,

Penetrating through our knees.

May my knees be healthy,

At ease.

And then allowing your attention to move down through the lower legs,

Just tracking this warmth and unconditional care of the sun.

Shining on lower legs,

Shins,

Calves,

Penetrating through the legs,

Muscles,

Bones,

Being touched,

Every cell touched by the warmth and care of the sun.

May my calves,

Shins,

Lower legs be at ease,

Healthy,

Safe.

Moving down through your ankles,

Feet,

Feeling the warmth,

Just this very natural,

Unconditional care,

Warmth,

Penetrating through ankles and feet,

Toes.

May my ankles and feet be at ease,

Healthy,

Safe.

Whatever it is that you wish for your ankles and feet.

And then feeling your whole body sitting here and just seeing what,

If you can wish your body well.

May this body,

My body,

Be healthy,

Safe,

At ease.

May my body experience well-being and peace.

And then just taking some moments to connect into whichever image,

Visualization,

Connected for you,

Feeling the support of the earth or the unconditioned warmth,

Care of the sun,

Just really every cell in your body.

Connecting with this support,

Just because we were born.

You can continue to work with these images or just repeating the phrases for yourself.

But if you feel a sense of connection to being cared for,

A sense of connection to being able to wish yourself well,

There is kind of like we're a cup that overflows and we can allow that energy of care and well-wishing to just open to the beings around us.

This is like it was taught by the Buddha in the suttas that we just connect into the sense of kindness,

Care,

Well-wishing in ourselves.

And as it grows,

We emanate.

This is simple.

It's very simple.

It doesn't have to be a big emotional experience,

But just like I would like for you to be happy.

That would be nice.

That would be better than I don't want you to suffer.

I don't want you to struggle.

I would like for you to have peace of mind.

It's that very simple,

Knowing that all these beings around me are humans with these totally uncontrollable minds,

Completely vulnerable hearts and bodies.

So may you experience ease.

May you experience peace.

May you be safe.

May you know joy in your life.

May you be free from suffering.

So you can just see if it's helpful to have a word or phrases.

Just that felt sense of care.

Again,

It's very simple.

Like the child who cares about another crying child,

It's the very natural part of being human.

I would like you to be happy.

I wish for you to experience safety and ease,

Well-being in your mind and body.

May you be at ease.

May you experience joy.

So you can just see how wide this well-wishing goes from you to all the beings in the room.

Maybe just to the circle around you,

You can just feel,

Feel what feels appropriate right now.

Maybe beyond the room to the other humans and non-humans that we're sharing this space with,

The squirrels,

Chipmunks,

The hawk,

Black bear,

Wherever it is.

Birds,

Frogs.

Maybe even you can share this well-wishing with the ticks,

Just being ticks,

Doing their tick thing.

May you be at ease.

May you know well-being,

Whatever that means for a tick,

For a squirrel.

And so just seeing how wide the circle of care wants to flow for you to the town,

The state,

Country,

Potentially to the planet.

And just as you feel that sense of well-wishing,

Seeing how a fic can encompass everyone.

The beings that you like,

The beings you don't know,

The beings that you really don't like.

What would that be like if this energy of care,

Connected,

Encompassed,

Like the sun,

Everyone,

Everything?

I just would like you to be happy.

May you be at ease.

May you be happy.

May you be safe and protected.

May you be with joy and ease.

You are.

Just because you are born.

And letting this emanation of this simple well-wishing go as far as it wants to go,

Maybe throughout the universe.

And then bringing your attention just back into your body,

Sitting here,

Standing here.

Letting go of any technique or effort.

Just feeling what's happening now.

Humph!

Bells Thank you for listening.

To learn how you can support the teachers and Dharma Seed continue these offerings,

Please visit dharmaseed.

Org.

Reviews

Always such an amazing experience!

Deep gratitude 🙏🏼

Wonderful, generated ease & supported openness. Perfectly paced. Thank you, JMo for this.

I enjoyed the extended sense of grounding, and being grounded. This was the longest time I’ve stayed with it. Thank you for that. Thank you also for your relaxed and lighthearted approach. May you have many opportunities to feel free, and whole, and simply breathing, with gratitude. Blessings to you as you practice, and help others to explore their own practices, too. I am grateful.

I Love J-Mo. She's a very accessible teacher.

Pure stillness ♡

Beautiful! Thank you! Feel so relaxed and well! Love to life!

Very real and beautiful. Your voice is calming. I feel so relaxed. 💫💕🙏

Fell asleep 😴 namaste. Zzzzz

A very lovely meditation, thank you!

A rich & quality practice thanks you

Restful and caring