Find a comfortable position.
You can sit upright or lie down.
You'll want to find a way of supporting yourself that feels good.
Just to feel ease in your body.
This meditation is designed to increase empathy towards yourself and others.
If you're holding onto stress,
Anger or unworthiness,
You can find release and opening in this practice.
Over time,
It can lead to a deep sense of connection,
Both with yourself and social connection with others.
As part of this practice,
I'm going to ask you to bring to mind three people in your life.
Someone you deeply care for,
A neutral acquaintance and a challenging person in your life.
As you settle in now,
You can choose the people you'll put your attention on.
Try to choose whoever comes up for you without too much deliberation.
Someone you feel very positive about.
Someone you feel neutral about.
And someone with whom you feel challenging emotions.
We're going to get started by filling up with love.
Beginning with someone with whom it's easy for us to direct our lives.
Beginning with someone with whom it's easy for us to direct our loving compassion towards.
So closing your eyes now.
Sinking into whatever comfortable position you've chosen.
Your face,
Eyes,
Jaw and tongue relaxed.
Finding a sense of softness in your body.
Allowing your body to settle.
A silence of your body.
And invite a sense of ease to the mind.
Let go of anything that has happened before now.
And any expectation for your practice.
Give yourself this moment to settle in.
Give yourself this moment to settle in.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
Don't change anything about it.
Just notice that you are breathing.
Notice the flow of your breath.
Awareness of your relaxed inhale.
Awareness of your relaxed exhale.
Awareness of the spontaneous natural breath.
Just as it is.
Breathing.
Just as it is.
Breathing.
Now expand this awareness and bring to mind someone you deeply care for.
Someone with whom you are very close.
They may be part of your life today or they may have passed on.
Someone whose love for you is clear.
Their care for you is clear.
Their care for you,
Palpable.
Bring this person into your current awareness.
As though they are standing right in front of you.
Picture their face.
Picture their face.
See their eyes.
See their mouth,
Their smile.
Their nose and ears.
See them now before you.
And looking into their eyes,
Feel their blessing directed towards you.
How they love you.
How they want what's best for you.
How they want what's best for you.
How they want what's best for you.
And now,
Hear them give you these words.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain and sorrow.
May you live your life with ease.
And looking into their eyes,
Feeling the blessing.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain and sorrow.
May you live your life with ease.
May you be free from pain and sorrow.
May you live your life with ease.
And you can direct the same blessing back to them.
Looking into their eyes and repeating the words in your mind.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain and sorrow.
May you live your life with ease.
Feeling now the benefits of this energetic exchange.
Both of your lives more blessed.
Filled with love.
Compassion.
A deeper sense of ease.
And coming back to yourself.
Awareness of your breath.
Filling yourself up naturally with the inhale.
Letting go,
Relaxing with the exhale.
And seeing yourself now like looking into a mirror.
See your own face.
See your eyes,
Your mouth.
Notice your facial features.
And as if you were in a dream.
As if you were in a dream.
And as if you were looking into your own eyes.
Give yourself this blessing of compassion.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from pain and sorrow.
May I live my life with ease.
Seeing yourself directing this benevolent energy towards you.
And seeing yourself now as you are.
Seeing yourself directing this benevolent energy towards you.
And repeating again the phrases in your mind.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from pain and sorrow.
May I live my life with ease.
My life with ease.
Give yourself a smile.
Knowing that you are better now than before.
Because of your own care for you.
Your own loving attention.
Your own loving attention.
And now building on this love and compassion within will extend it outward again.
Bring to mind an acquaintance in your mind.
Bring to mind an acquaintance in your life.
Someone you know but who you aren't very close with.
Someone you feel neutral about.
Someone you feel neutral about.
Maybe it's someone at work.
A person who serves you coffee.
Someone you pass on your morning walk.
Someone you've seen many times.
Or someone you've only seen a few times.
Bring this person into your current awareness.
And as though they are standing right in front of you.
Picture their face.
See their eyes.
See their mouth.
See their smile.
Their nose and ears.
See them now before you.
Looking into their eyes.
Giving them the blessing of compassion and compassion.
Giving them the blessing of compassion and kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain and sorrow.
May you live your life with ease.
Remembering that all beings everywhere share the same desire to be happy.
To be healthy.
To be free.
To be free.
To be healthy.
To be free.
Although you don't know this person well.
They are just like you.
Seeing into their eyes.
Repeat the blessing again for them in your mind.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain and sorrow.
May you be free from pain and sorrow.
May you live your life with ease.
Hope for more moments to come.
See their face a little brighter.
Lighter.
Because of you.
Because of this blessing you've shared.
Now bring to mind someone in your life with whom you've had some difficulty with.
This is someone you might find irritating or who you've had a disagreement with.
You won't need to excuse any distasteful behavior.
And you don't need to change how you feel towards this person.
As you prepare to direct compassion towards them.
Understanding that this person too just wants to be happy.
Seeing their face clearly now before you.
Picture their eyes.
Their mouth.
Their smile.
Their nose and their ears.
Seeing them and repeating these words in your mind.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain and sorrow.
May you live your life with ease.
See their face soften.
Letting any tension that lies here ease up.
Perhaps a sigh of relief can be felt between you.
And repeating the blessing one more time.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain and sorrow.
May you live your life with ease.
Eye to eye with this person.
Seeing their energy lighter.
In sharing your simple wish.
And now with this growing capacity to direct compassion.
You can send this blessing to the entire world.
Without exclusion.
Intending this blessing for all beings everywhere.
May they be happy.
May they be healthy.
May they be free from pain and sorrow.
May they live their life with ease.
May they be happy.
May they be healthy.
May they be free from pain and sorrow.
May they live their life with ease.
Your compassion,
Your kindness,
Your love is infinite.
And coming back to you.
If there's any area of your life where you feel tension.
Whether towards yourself or others.
You can direct this blessing towards this relationship.
Towards this area of your life.
As we sit in silence directing this blessing here.
Allow yourself to feel the support.
Allow yourself to feel the support of the blessing.
And gently as you're ready you can let go of the words.
Coming back to your inhale.
Feeling a sense of ease in the body.
Keeping your eyes closed just a moment longer.
You can make any movements in the body now.
And perhaps place a hand over your heart to seal in this practice.
Whenever you feel ready you can slowly open your eyes.
And let go of the words.
