Hello and welcome to this Metta Loving Kindness Meditation.
Metta is a practice of developing positive feelings first towards yourself and then towards others.
This type of meditation increases positivity,
Empathy,
And compassionate states of being.
So let's begin.
Begin by finding a comfortable position in which to sit.
And as you allow your eyes to become heavy and gently close,
Begin to tune into your body and make any minor adjustments to help you settle in.
It can be helpful to remember the intentions of both ease and awareness.
So sit in a way that feels comfortable but alert.
We'll start with a few minutes of concentration practice to help our minds settle and meet ourselves in the present moment.
As you allow your body to resume to natural breathing,
See where in the body you can feel your breath.
It may be in your belly where you can feel the rising and falling as your body breathes,
Or it might be in your chest where you may notice the expansion and contraction as your body inhales and exhales.
Perhaps it's at your nostrils where you can feel a slight tickle as the air comes in and a subtle warmth as the body exhales.
You can pick one spot to stick with for this meditation practice.
And as you feel your body breathing,
Try to stay with the breath all the way through.
Stick with it from the beginning of your in-breath all the way through to the end of the ex-breath.
You may have noticed your mind wandering and that's okay.
When the mind wanders,
It offers us an opportunity to cultivate mindfulness and concentration.
Each time we notice the mind wandering,
We're strengthening our ability to recognize our experience.
Each time we bring the mind back to the breath,
We're strengthening our ability to focus on one thing.
So treat this as an opportunity rather than a problem and return to your breath.
Begin the practice by bringing to mind yourself as you sit here now.
Picture yourself.
Connect with your own deep desires for happiness,
Health,
And ease.
You don't have to dive into stories of what will make you happy,
But rather connect with that natural intention you have to be happy.
You can cultivate this intention to open the heart to your own well-being by silently offering yourself some phrases of metta.
So in your head,
Slowly offer yourself the phrases.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free.
You can offer these phrases silently in your head,
Saying them slowly enough that you can be with their meaning,
The intention behind them.
Now bring to mind a good friend.
This might be a loved one,
A teacher,
A mentor,
A friend,
Or maybe even a pet.
Connect with your natural desire to see this being happy and free.
Just like you,
They also want to be happy,
To feel safe,
And to be healthy.
In an effort to cultivate this intention of kindness,
You can offer this spirit a few phrases of metta.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free.
Let this person go from your mind.
And next,
Bring to mind a neutral person.
This is someone you see regularly but don't know very well.
It may be somebody who works somewhere you visit,
Like a coworker,
A neighbor,
Or even a grocery store worker.
And although you don't know this person well,
You can recognize that this person wants to be happy as well.
You don't need to know what their happiness looks like necessarily.
But again,
Offer this person the phrases of loving kindness,
Connecting with the intention to care about their well-being.
May they be happy.
May they be healthy.
May they be free.
As you let this neutral being go,
Bring to mind someone who you find difficult.
You may not want to pick the most difficult person in your life,
Instead choosing someone who is only minorly difficult.
Maybe it's someone you find yourself agitated with or annoyed by.
And now,
Offer the phrases,
Recognizing that this person also wants the same things in life.
To be happy,
To be healthy,
And free from suffering.
Although you may feel some resistance at first,
Recognize that this is all a part of the practice.
This is how we connect with our intention of spreading loving kindness.
So we offer them the phrases.
May they be happy.
May they be healthy.
May they be free.
Take a moment to acknowledge the sensations and emotions that may be coming up for you.
Be with them,
And ask your highest self to show you what to do with this newfound awareness.
Maybe this is a practice that would serve you to return to periodically.
From here,
We cause the ripple effect.
It feels more possible to send love and kindness to everyone in the world.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
Let it out through your mouth.
Feeling refreshed and centered from this space in your heart.
You're on with your day.
