Let us begin our practice with three deep breaths in and out together.
Breathing in and out.
Breathing in and out.
And one more breath in and out.
Gently place your hand just over your heart and take notice of your heartbeat.
Is it fast or slow right now?
Is it easy to feel or do you have to look for it a little bit?
No judgment here,
Nothing to change,
Just beginning to drop into your heart center.
Feel your own heart.
Allowing your hand to gently rest upon your legs or in your lap.
Set an intention to experience loving kindness in this practice,
Not just with your thoughts,
But with your whole body to really feel loving kindness.
We practice loving kindness to become more loving and kind to others in our day to day and to ourselves.
And we begin this practice by picturing a loved one,
Someone very dear to us,
Seated right in front of us.
Really feel your love for this person.
Let it resonate within your body.
In this practice,
You will send this loved one meta or loving and kind energy in the hopes that they feel safe,
Happy,
Healthy,
And at peace.
Imagine first by wishing this loved one of yours the feeling of safety.
And to do this,
Call to mind a memory when you yourself felt safe,
Felt totally protected.
If you can't recall a time like that,
Imagine what it would feel like to be truly safe.
Where does this feeling of safety live in your body?
Let it expand until you are filled with the sensation of safety and then begin to send the sense of safety to your loved one.
You can imagine that this energy flows easily from your heart center right into theirs.
And you can couple this with the words,
May you be safe.
Gently repeating them and continuing to send this energy into your loved one.
May you feel safe.
May you feel safe.
Your loved one is so grateful that you've taken this time and this care to send them this feeling of safety.
And next,
You want them to feel truly happy.
And so call to mind a memory when you felt utterly joyful,
So,
So happy.
And same as before,
If you can't easily recall a time when you felt this sense of happiness,
That's okay,
Simply imagining what it would feel like to be truly happy.
What does the feeling of happiness feel like in your body?
Where do you feel it?
Does it have a sort of color or maybe shape?
However you experience happiness,
Let it expand until it fills your whole body.
And when you're ready,
Begin to send this feeling of happiness to your loved one along with the words,
May you be happy.
May you be so,
So happy.
May you be happy.
Both of you vibrating with this happiness,
You begin now to wish your loved one a feeling of health.
And so call first to mind a memory of when you felt really healthy,
So vital.
Or maybe you imagine what feeling healthy would be like.
But as before,
Really paying attention to what this sensation of health and vitality feels like in your own body.
Where does it live?
And as you let this feeling of health and vitality fill you up,
You become so full that you want to send this feeling of health to your loved one,
Letting it flow right from your heart center to theirs.
With the words,
May you be healthy.
May you be healthy.
May you be healthy.
And lastly,
Call to mind a time when you felt utterly at peace,
So,
So at ease.
Let this sense of peace and tranquility vibrate in your body,
Noticing where it starts,
Where you carry peace inside you,
And allowing it to expand.
It's so easy.
It wants to fill you up.
And when you are totally absorbed in this feeling of peace,
You want to share it with your loved one.
So begin to send this energy of tranquility to your loved one with the words,
May you be at peace.
May you be at peace.
May you be at peace.
Your loved one is so grateful to you that you've shared these feelings of safety,
Happiness,
Health and peace with them.
And now it's time to send loving kindness to yourself.
So again,
Bringing to mind that memory or that feeling of safety.
And again,
Letting that feeling of safety really resonate in your body,
Allowing it to expand until you feel a sense of safety from your head all the way to your toes,
Surrounding you,
Holding you.
And say to yourself the words,
May I be safe.
May I be safe.
May I be safe.
Calling to mind now again your memory of being happy or your practice of rehearsing what happiness feels like,
Either way,
Letting this feeling of happiness fill you up,
Noticing where it begins in your body and allowing it to expand till every atom inside you is feeling happy.
And say the words to yourself,
May I be happy.
May I be happy.
May I be happy.
Just call to mind your memory of health and vitality.
Noticing again,
How does being healthy feel?
And allowing the sensation of health expand again until you are filled to the brim with this feeling of vitality and wellness.
And say to yourself the words,
May I be healthy.
May I be healthy.
May I be healthy.
And lastly,
Call to mind your feeling of being at peace.
Where does tranquility live in your body?
Does it maybe have a shape to it,
A color?
Let this expand until it resonates throughout your being.
You feel utterly tranquil,
So at peace.
And so you say to yourself the words,
May I be at peace.
May I be at peace.
May I be at peace.
We close our practice now with a dedication that all beings feel even one moment of true loving kindness.
And may we all practice loving kindness so that we can share freely and generously with the world around us.
