Kindness to you,
A benefactor meditation.
So finding your own way to settle into this practice,
Inviting a soothing breathing rhythm to emerge and resting your awareness on the breath for a few moments and inviting an atmosphere of kindness towards yourself to emerge in your experience.
Maybe feeling the breath saturated with kindness flowing through your body or perhaps connecting with the gentle wishes of loving kindness towards yourself.
Allowing your whole being to be suffused with those qualities of kindness and gentleness,
Spaciousness and warmth.
And now letting somebody arise in your mind who you consider to be a benefactor,
An example of wisdom and compassion.
Alive or deceased,
It can be a dear relative,
A teacher,
An inspiring historical or religious figure,
Somebody radiating goodness into the world.
It may be helpful to imagine this person in front of you at a comfortable distance and looking into their face,
Their eyes.
How does this affect you?
And then gently begin repeating the wishes of kindness towards this person.
And if you like you can do this on the soothing rhythm of the breath.
For instance on the in-breath saying may you and on the out-breath saying feel safe,
Healthy,
Happy,
At ease or any other wish that comes from your heart and connects with this person.
And gently repeating this wish and mindfully observing the effects of this practice on your body,
Your thoughts and feelings.
And if difficult emotions arise,
Perhaps you feel sad,
There could be sense of loss,
Because you miss the actual presence of this benefactor or worry about his or her welfare,
Then you can always introduce a mindful pause and just return to the breath,
Feeling the soothing rhythm.
And then let a kind or compassionate wish flow towards yourself.
And then when you feel the space to return,
Resume your kind wishes towards this person.
May you be free from suffering,
May you be joyful,
May you be in peace.
You may wish to stay with the same person or expand the practice to other benefactors and continue for a little longer and then end in the practice in your own time.
