Offering Loving-Kindness From a Place of Integrity

Dr. Julien Lacaille gently guides you through a loving-kindness meditation from a place of strength, dignity, and integrity.

Transcript

Ей allowing the body to settle to settle in a comfortable and dignified posture sitting or lying with integrity and so as we settle into this dignified posture maybe even reflecting on what are some of my important values what posture would I take if I embodied them maybe a little more open a little bit more straight maybe a half smile on your face releasing tension a sense of being whole maybe allowing myself to be just as I am right now not needing to change or to be different allowing whatever experience is here to be here for now whether I like it or not so kind of just setting your your compass what kind of person do I want to embody right now as I sit here or as I lie here here same if you can feel the body as a whole sitting or lying once we're established in this posture same if we can kind of open up our awareness to our breathing so just getting gradually more and more aware of your breath if the mind or the body is agitated we can take a longer out breaths kind of exaggerating the out breaths and with each exhale kind of letting the body settle a little bit more if it's available releasing some of the tensions and the jar the shoulders the back forehead and then letting breathing return to its kind of normal or natural rhythm seeing if it's possible to feel the body as a whole breathing and as we sit here as we lie here with the whole body breathing I'll invite you now to kind of call up to your mind a person or an animal for whom we feel unconditional love and unconditional love that goes both ways very easily we feel unconditional love and unconditional love that goes both ways very easily and it can be also someone who's no longer alive or someone in the past maybe a child even maybe your own child when it was an infant so someone for whom it's very easy to just feel unconditional caring for just kind of bringing that person up to your mind and be imagining that person in front of you and as you do that notice how your kind of mental posture and even maybe your physical posture is changing maybe softening just being in the presence of this being in this caring relationship and imagine yourself sending loving-kindness to that person or that animal in your own way so that might mean touching them gently and kindly it might mean whispering certain words in their ears or just with no words at all just in your facial expression communicating loving-kindness what's your way of communicating loving-kindness just imagining yourself doing that now so how would you show it how would you touch the person what words would you use I care about you I love you I'm here for you I see you may you be well may you be happy free from suffering may you be peaceful and also imagining that this person is receiving effortlessly those well wishes and they're sending him back to you too in their own way so just sitting with that relationship right now that effortlessly caring relationship and perhaps bringing your attention also into your hands and whether you want to put your hand on your chest on your belly and really feel as though that person may even be touching you around your heart area you can do that and wherever your hands are touching just noticing the warmth noticing the touch as you hold that image like caring relationship image in your mind just keeping on sending these loving-kindness wishes and keep on receiving them back from the person as you feel the warmth in your hands that touch and perhaps the warmth spreading in different parts of your body and then on the next exhalation maybe releasing that person from your mind letting that person be in the background of your awareness and then calling up to mind someone for whom it's still relatively easy to send loving-kindness to but this person is suffering this person is having a difficult time someone you care about a lot but there may be more a more conflictual relationship and perhaps the conflict is arising because of suffering your suffering their suffering but with the same warmth the same kind of unconditional loving wishes see if you can imagine that person in front of you and in whatever ways you can communicate that loving-kindness just imagining yourself doing so you may say the person's name followed by I care about you I see you I'm there for you I hear you I love you I wish you well or whatever is appropriate so just finding your own kind of creative way of communicating with words with facial expressions maybe even with silence with touch maybe acknowledging their suffering maybe even acknowledging suffering in you as you have empathy for them this is a moment of suffering may you be well feeling the warmth at the hands perhaps the warmth spreading through the rest of your body as you sit or lie here with loving-kindness for this person you you you the next out breath releasing that person from your mind letting it recede to the background of your awareness and then finally will will attempt to send loving-kindness to ourselves directly so imagining that you're walking up to a mirror and there you are your reflection perhaps you're not totally content with what you see you see parts of you that you don't like flaws and parts of you that you do like strengths but you're seeing yourself as you are exactly as you are you want to be honest for this practice so seeing yourself in front of you and then finding kind of a creative way in to loving-kindness perhaps it's changing your facial expression a half smile an empathetic smile a compassionate smile perhaps it's putting your hand on your own heart perhaps it's writing something on the mirror with an imaginary sharpie or pen or lipstick or whatever you want to write with or perhaps it's simply saying something to the person you see in front of you because of experimenting now with these methods of sending yourself loving-kindness you and as you do that you might want to feel the warmth in your hands maybe warmth in other parts of your body if you lost that posture of dignity of integrity finding it again as you continue sending yourself loving-kindness in your own way and as you continue doing that seeing if you can partially bring your attention back to your breathing so breathing in sending myself loving-kindness breathing out sending myself loving-kindness seeing if we can be aware of the body as a whole as we do this and just resting with whatever is showing up right now you You

Reviews

Exactly what I needed today. Taking an honest look at my fears and working through shame. Thank you!

Lovely and gentle loving kindness meditation. My husband really liked this one. Thank you for sharing this. ❤️🙏❤️

phenomenal. exactly the right amount of silence to integrate the spoken guidance. moves at a gentle pace and their voice is beautiful. this is my favorite loving kindness meditation i've found on here

That was very helpful for me! Thank you!

Absolutely a favorite.