And then take a moment to call to mind some being.
Could be a human being,
Could be a canine or feline being.
Could be a spiritual being.
Could be the earth herself.
And just in exchange with that being right now,
Having the experience of really loving that being and feeling their love coming back to you in the imagination of this.
I often think about my labradoodle,
How much I love her,
How easy she is to love,
How much she loves me.
At least I think so.
She wags her tail a lot when we're together.
And feeling that love in the heart just begin to expand in the heart.
Or if you feel it in the belly,
Let it expand in the belly and throughout the torso and up into the neck and the head and out the limbs and out the hands and toes until your whole body is just really full of this sensation of love.
Not romantic love,
Nothing possessive about it,
Just this sense of,
Really it's a sense of being connected to some other being in a loving way,
In a loving way.
And then just begin to think about yourself for a minute and think about how much love you have in your heart.
How easy it is to love this being whom you called to mind and also so many other beings.
Driving across Idaho,
We saw a herd of elk and it was easy to fall in love with them,
Their beauty,
Their majesty.
And so just really appreciating this capacity that you have in your own heart for love and wishing for it to be front and center for your own wellbeing.
May I be happy.
Just wishing that for yourself,
May I be happy.
Think of a moment when you were happy recently,
Just could be the smallest of moments,
Sip of tea,
Catching the sunset out of the corner of your eye.
May I be happy.
May I be physically and emotionally well.
May I have wellbeing.
Thinking of a moment when you have felt that sense of wellbeing.
May I have wellbeing in my life.
And may I be free.
May I be free from suffering,
From sorrow.
May I be free from danger of all kinds.
May I be free.
And then calling to mind someone in your circle,
Your inner circle,
Maybe calling your whole inner circle to mind.
Just imagining your people,
Your most beloved people,
The people you see most days,
Working with them,
Family members you only get to see sometimes,
But people you consider to be part of your inner circle.
And just wishing them may you be happy,
Really wanting them all to be happy.
And call some of them to mind one by one.
Wishing happiness for you and for you and for you.
And wishing wellbeing,
Good health,
Physical wellbeing,
Emotional wellbeing,
Mental wellbeing.
May you have wellbeing.
And again,
Calling some of these folks to mind your circle,
Your circle.
May you have wellbeing.
And may you be free.
Free from suffering,
Free from sorrow,
Free from danger.
And then calling to mind to be with this group,
To be part of this group of beings whom you're wishing well for.
Calling to mind some of the more difficult people.
And yeah,
Seeing them,
Really seeing them different from you.
They may think differently,
They may act differently,
They may not act with kindness,
They may not have a metta practice.
Yeah.
And still wishing them well,
To the best of your ability.
May you be happy.
May you be happy,
I want you to be happy.
And if you are happy,
I know in my heart that you will be someone who does not cause harm.
Happy people don't cause harm.
Truly happy people.
And may you be,
May you be well,
May you have physical and emotional and mental wellbeing.
And knowing that if you do,
You won't cause harm.
People with an abundance of wellbeing don't cause harm.
And may you be free,
May you be free from sorrow and suffering and free from danger.
People who are free do not cause harm.
And then just taking one last moment to imagine all of the beings on the earth and the earth herself and just sending out all of this metta,
This loving kindness,
Out to all beings and the earth.
May all beings be happy and have wellbeing and be free.
And then fluttering the eyes open.
