Welcome to your loving-kindness practice,
Also called Maitra in Pali and Maitri in Sanskrit.
The purpose of this practice is to connect with suffering,
Our own and that of others,
And bring to it a mindful loving-kindness,
A genuine wish for it to be alleviated.
This practice allows us to see that while on the surface we are all very different,
The basics of our being remain the same.
We all want to be happy.
We all wish to avoid pain and suffering.
Whatever the behavior,
The unconscious underlying motivation remains the same.
We start by connecting with our situation and slowly expand a circle of compassion to include others.
First,
Our loved ones,
Then people we know,
Then people we find difficult,
Then every single person and finally every sentient being.
I add an extra twist at the end.
I include the planet and its ecosystems.
There are traditional phrases that I will be using at each step.
You can repeat these in your mind or out loud or use phrases of your own.
The more you personalize this practice,
The more impactful it will be for you.
So let's get started.
Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
Make any movements or make last minute adjustments to relax completely in your current posture or seat.
Notice all points of contact with the earth.
Now take a big inhale through your nose till you can breathe and no more and exhale audibly and completely through your mouth.
Do that again.
Take a big inhale through your nose.
Long,
Open mouth,
Audible exhale and once more.
Your biggest inhale through your nose.
Your longest,
Fullest,
Most exaggerated exhale through your mouth.
And now bring awareness to your natural breath.
Just observe your belly and chest rise and fall as you breathe in and out.
Just observing,
Not regulating.
And perhaps you want to notice the temperature of the breath.
So bring awareness to your nostrils and your upper lip and notice any sensations that arise at the openings of your nostrils or at your upper lip,
At the touch of your breath.
And now bring to mind an image of someone that loves you and step into a moment with them,
An actual one or an imaginary one.
Notice how you feel in their presence.
Notice their tone,
Their words,
Their body language towards you.
Anything and everything about their being,
Their mannerisms that make you feel loved and accepted.
Notice how your body,
Your mind,
Your mood responds to them.
And as we move forward,
We will aim to embody the same mannerism towards ourselves and others.
Now bring to mind an image of yourself.
Lean in towards yourself embodying all the qualities of the being,
The person,
The creature that came to mind that makes you feel loved and accepted.
Then we say,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be free of pain and suffering,
May I be peaceful,
May I live with ease,
May I love and accept myself,
May I find healing in my mind,
Body and soul,
May I awaken to my highest self,
May I share my merits with all.
Then you can add phrases of your own here or just stay here and breathe for a few moments allowing these wishes of loving kindness and compassion,
This genuine wish or wishes that we have for ourselves to encode into our being.
And now bring to mind the image or images of someone you love deeply.
Those people or creatures or beings that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside,
The thought of whom makes you fill up with warmth.
And let their names and faces float in and out of your consciousness as you continue to expand your circle of compassion.
And just be here for a few moments wordlessly embodying the same affectionate mannerisms that you did for yourself or you observed the being do for you at the beginning of the practice.
We know that our loved ones and everyone,
We all have the same desire to be happy and to be free of pain and suffering.
They are just like us and so be safe,
Just like me may you be happy.
Just like me may you be healthy.
Just like me may you be free of pain and suffering.
Just like me may you be peaceful.
Just like me may you live with ease.
May you love and accept yourself.
May you find the healing that you need in your mind,
Body and soul.
May you awaken to your highest self.
May you share your merits with all.
You can add your own phrases here or just breathe with this being or beings for a few moments enjoying the sharing of loving kindness and compassion.
And now bring to mind the image of a neutral person or being.
Perhaps someone you know as an acquaintance,
Just someone that you have no strong feelings for either way.
It could be one person or being or many.
Allow names and faces to float in and out of your consciousness and breathe with them here.
As if there's any difference in the emotions that arise in your body and mind as you think of these people or this person.
Is it different than how you felt about the people or person that you love?
Being that you love?
There's no right answer.
We are just observing here.
But knowing that even these people,
Even this person,
This being has the same needs as you,
As us and our loved ones.
And so we embody that same loving kindness,
That same affectionate warm mannerism towards them as we did for ourselves and our loved ones.
And we say,
Just like me,
May you be happy.
Just like me,
May you be healthy.
Just like me,
May you be free of pain and suffering.
Just like me,
May you be peaceful.
Just like me,
May you live with ease.
May you love and accept yourself.
May you find the healing that you need in your mind,
Body and soul.
May you awaken to your highest self.
And may you share your merits with all.
You can add your own phrases here or just stay here breathing with this person or these people,
These creatures,
These beings,
Enjoying the fruits of sharing,
Extending pure loving kindness and compassion.
And now bring to mind a person that you find difficult.
I would recommend choosing someone that you have somewhat of a difficult relationship.
And choose someone that is extremely difficult to cope with.
They will be included as we go along in this practice.
For now,
Just choose someone that you have somewhat of a difficult relationship with,
Maybe four or five on a scale of ten.
And just breathe with them,
Being aware if any discomfort arises as you find yourself in their presence.
We have already established that no matter what the behavior,
The underlying,
The unconscious motivation for every person's behavior is that they want to be happy and avoid pain and suffering.
So without getting into the details of any situation with this person or persons,
We extend loving kindness to them,
Knowing that just like us,
They wish to be happy and avoid pain and suffering.
So we say,
Just like me,
May you be happy.
Just like me,
May you be healthy.
Just like me,
May you be free of pain and suffering.
Just like me,
May you be peaceful.
Just like me,
May you live with ease.
May you love and accept yourself.
May you find the healing that you need in your mind,
Body and soul.
May you awaken to your highest self.
May you share your merits with all.
Perhaps you feel called to add wishes of your own here.
You're welcome to do that.
Or just stay here for a few moments,
Acknowledging yourself for showing up,
Doing this practice,
Extending loving kindness in this tough situation to this tough person.
And know that it gets easier as you practice this,
Comes more naturally.
And now we include every person on this planet,
Irrespective of the caste,
Class,
Gender,
Identity,
Socioeconomic status,
Health status,
Ability,
Disability,
Every single person,
No matter where they live,
How they live,
Their religious political affiliation.
We extend the same warmth,
The same loving kindness that we did to all these people,
All these beings before,
The same warmth,
The same affection that we extended to ourselves,
Our loved ones.
And that was extended to us,
Or that is extended to us by people or beings that love us.
And we say,
Just like me,
May you be happy.
Just like me,
May you be healthy.
Just like me,
May you be free of pain and suffering.
Just like me,
May you be peaceful.
Just like me,
May you live with ease.
May you love and accept yourself.
May you find the healing you need in your mind,
Body,
And soul.
May you awaken to your highest self.
And may you share your merits with all.
And you can add your own phrases here for every single person on this planet today.
Or just be here.
Notice how you feel in your mind and body.
Having practiced this expansive,
Beautiful,
Loving kindness.
And finally,
We include all sentient beings,
All beings that are capable of feeling joy and sorrow,
Pleasure and pain.
May all sentient beings,
Known and unknown,
Born or yet to be born,
Human or non-human,
May all sentient beings be happy.
May all sentient beings be healthy.
May all sentient beings be free of pain and suffering.
May all sentient beings be peaceful.
May all sentient beings live with ease.
May all sentient beings live in harmony with each other and the planet and its ecosystems.
May all sentient beings awaken to their highest self.
May all sentient beings be liberated.
And you can add your own wishes here.
Or just stay here.
Perhaps you feel sensations of expansion.
You feel relaxation in your body.
Just be here for a few moments,
Knowing that you are part of this complex,
Interconnected group of ecosystems.
And finally,
We include our entire planet with all its sentient beings,
Its ecosystems.
May our planet be an embodiment of divine love and grace.
May there be peace,
Cooperation,
Equity.
May all our ecosystems be in balance.
May there be an equitable distribution of resources.
May we all be liberated.
And you can add your own phrases,
Your own words here.
Just stay here,
Enjoying the fruits of this practice.
Knowing that each time you extended compassion and loving kindness,
You filled your own cup.
And the more you do this practice,
The more your cup will fill and overflow till your automatic response is compassion and loving kindness towards yourself and all sentient beings.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes with a big,
Big smile.
Thank you.
