Letting your body come to rest,
Sitting or resting back however you feel most comfortable.
Allowing yourself to settle.
Come into your stillness.
Let's aid that sense of settling in by taking some extra deep inhales and exhales.
Feeling,
Sensing or imagining that your lungs are in your belly.
Let's take a big full belly breath in.
Opening the mouth and let the breath fall out like a sigh.
Breathing in the belly full.
And breathing out let the lips fall away from each other,
Let the breath fall out with a sigh.
Breathing in the belly full.
And breathing out letting go.
Keep going with your breath,
Your rhythm.
Feeling into how these exhales really support us to drop and let go.
We'll go through the body first and find some softness before we go into the loving kindness meditation.
So we can stay with those breaths.
Breathing in,
Bringing our awareness to our toes.
And breathing out let the toes relax,
Sense of letting go as you breathe out.
Breathing in,
Bringing our awareness to the feet.
And breathing out let the feet relax,
Maybe the ankles can become a little more floppy.
Breathing in,
Bringing our awareness to the legs.
And breathing out let the legs relax.
Breathing in,
Swelling the lower back out with the breath as if you could breathe into the lower back,
Expanding the lower back.
And with the exhale let the lower back relax and release.
Breathing in again to the belly,
Let the belly rise and swell.
And breathing out letting go.
Breathing into the chest.
And breathing out let the chest soften and relax.
Breathing into the shoulders and maybe as you breathe into the shoulders,
The shoulders swell towards the ears just a little.
And with the exhale this feeling that you can just drop the weight of the shoulders.
Breathing into the upper back,
The shoulder blades.
And breathing out let the shoulder blades relax.
Let the upper back soften and relax.
Breathing into the arms.
And breathing out let the arms relax,
Give the weight of the arms to gravity.
Breathing into the hands and the fingers.
And breathing out let the hands and fingers soften and relax.
Breathing into the neck and the throat.
And breathing out let the neck and throat soften and relax.
Breathing into the jaw.
And with the exhale let the bottom jaw fall away from the top jaw.
Breathing into the inside of the mouth.
And with the exhale the sense that the upper palate could soften upwards,
The back of the mouth could open,
And the lower palate could soften downwards and the tongue relaxes from the tip down to the root.
Breathing into the lips.
And breathe out let the lips fall away from each other,
Maybe the jaw can relax a little more.
Feeling that as the lips relax the chin and the cheeks can also soften.
The skin and the muscles of the lower half of the face could soften and become a little more droopy,
A little more saggy.
Breathing into the eyes.
Let the eyes rest.
Let the eyelids close softly.
Bringing our awareness to the forehead as we breathe in.
And with the exhale let the skin of the forehead smooth and relax.
Breathing into the part of the brain that's behind the forehead.
And with the exhale feeling that the forehead can soften and relax.
Breathing into the temples.
And breathing out let the temples soften and relax.
Bringing your awareness to the part of the brain that's inside of the temples.
And with the exhale relaxing.
If you've chosen to rest back,
Really having the sense that you can give the weight of your body to gravity.
And if you've chosen to sit,
Having the sense of the sitting bones grounding down,
The spine flowing upwards.
And the back part of the crown of the head lengthening up towards the sky.
Wherever you are,
See that there's space enough in the belly for the breath to have its fullest expression.
And let's bring our awareness to the chest,
To the heart center.
And let's play,
Sense,
Imagine,
Feel that we could breathe in through the chest as if we could breathe in through the pores of skin at the chest.
Through the flesh,
Through the bone,
Into the heart center at the center of the chest.
And the breath might wind up at the belly.
And then exhale,
Just relax.
If it's helpful for you to put your hand on your heart to help you to connect with the heart,
That's a great option.
Breathing in as if you could breathe in through the pores of skin at the chest.
And breathing out letting go.
Breathing in through the pores of skin at the chest.
Breathing out letting go.
Breathing in as if we could breathe in through the chest to the heart center.
And exhale to let go.
And let's bring the corners of the mouth up in a smile.
Let's turn the corners of the eyes up in a smile.
And just feel inside the body as you come into this smile energy,
How does it feel?
How do the cells respond to this energy of a smile or warmth of a smile?
What's the feeling inside?
Settling for some breaths with the sensations in the body as you come into the smile.
How does it feel?
And then with our awareness at the chest and the sense that we could smile at the chest,
Smiling at the heart center,
Helping to focus the awareness at the heart center.
Let's bring to heart,
Bring to mind the image of someone we love very deeply,
Someone who brings us a lot of joy.
And we're looking for that more pure kind of love rather than the stickier love we might have with a partner.
So if maybe a child or even a pet,
Someone whom you really feel this unreserved love.
And bringing to mind heart this image of this person.
And having the sense that the corners of the mouth and the corners of the eyes are turning up in smile at the image of this person.
Can you come into a sense that you could,
With the power of your smile,
With this feeling of warmth you have inside,
Transmit the love you feel for this person to them.
Maybe there's a sense that you could breathe in this feeling of warmth and love and gratitude you have for this person.
And then with the exhale,
Breathe it out to them.
Breathe that love and gratitude out to them.
Breathing in this feeling of a smile,
This feeling of love and appreciation and breathing out as if you could send that love and appreciation to them.
Breathing in this feeling of warmth as if to take it into your own bones,
Your cells,
Into your own being and then breathing out as if you could breathe it out and fill this beloved person's body and being with your love.
As if you could bolster them,
Fill them up with your love.
And we'll come to the traditional phrases now,
As if wishing,
Saying it to these,
This person's beloved person.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
And you may find that some other words come to you and there's no right or wrong in the words that come to you.
Letting the heart speak.
Letting the words flow.
Could be something quite poetic.
It could be something that just makes sense for you.
You don't have to stand in the way of your heart and filter the message of the heart.
May you bask in my love,
For example.
May my love carry you through this life.
Breathing your words.
Or perhaps for you it's enough just to feel the sensations as you breathe in,
You can feel the love in your heart and connect with it.
And breathing out you can,
As if,
Flow this loving breath to this beloved being.
Breathing out if there are any last words or a last message you'd like to offer to this being.
Before we say goodbye,
Letting the image of this being fade and have the sense that they fade into your heart as if you're just popping them inside your heart to keep them safe,
The sense of them is going to stay in your heart.
And then coming back into your own body,
Resting in your body with this feeling of a smile.
The corners of the mouth turned up,
The corners of the eyes turned up.
Maybe the inside of the mouth can smile.
Maybe you can smile at the heart and maybe the heart can smile back.
And how that feels.
We're going to bring to heart,
Bring to mind now,
The image or felt sense of a benefactor.
So the benefactor is someone who's really supported you,
Someone who's really helped you.
It doesn't necessarily have to be someone that you've met,
It could be a spiritual figure.
Or it can be a teacher,
Someone from your childhood,
Someone who's seen you,
Supported you to grow,
Supported you to be true to your own essence,
To your own heart.
Bringing the image of this being to heart to mind.
And feeling that with the corners of your mouth turned up and the corners of your eyes turned up,
You can smile at them.
Smiling at them.
And there can be this sense that your smile is emitting to this being your sense of gratitude,
Appreciation and love.
Really letting the gratitude flow.
And we could come into the breath.
Maybe there's a sense as you breathe in that you can really feel into the love and the gratitude and you might think of specific instances or you might think of how this being makes you feel or made you feel.
Letting it be as real as you can,
Breathing it in.
And breathing out,
Sending it to them.
And breathing in,
Taking it into your bones,
Taking it into your cells,
Into your being.
And with the exhale,
Sending it out to them.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Basking in it as if you could cook up this feeling of love as you bring it into yourself.
And then with the exhale,
Sending it out.
And then we'll come to the phrases.
The traditional phrases are,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you come to no harm.
You might find your own phrases you may wish to express to this person how much they mean to you,
How much they support you.
You might want to really focus in on specific details or you may find you can just bask in this feeling of gratitude,
Appreciation and love.
And again,
Let the words flow and you can really allow the heart to gush,
Saying all the things you might not feel comfortable to say or you may not be able to say just due to time or space.
And for some of us it might be enough to feel into the way the sensations in the body really awaken with this feeling of gratitude and love.
And you may feel that it's enough to emit this gratitude without words.
No right or wrong,
Just as best you can,
As feels right for you.
Some of us may want to express this feeling of gratitude with some movement of the hands or a gesture of the hands.
Some of us might be just enough to sit with the image of this being and smile at them.
We all have our own ways of tuning into this metta,
This loving kindness.
Letting any final words or sense travel to this being from your heart.
And again letting the image of this being fade and come to settle in your heart.
We'll come back now to this smile feeling inside our own being.
Maybe breathing it in as if to take it into our bones,
Take it into our heart,
This feeling of a smile.
And breathing out,
Letting it go.
Maybe there's a feeling of more than enough love,
Gratitude,
Feeling of metta.
We might feel our cup overflow and that we could breathe it out and send it out.
Let's bring to heart,
To mind now,
An image of ourselves.
Not always the easiest person to send love to.
And for those of us who haven't got unresolved trauma with our childhood,
It can be really,
Really fruitful to bring to heart,
To mind the image of ourself as a child.
This is your practice so making it work for you.
Tuning into our inner child self can be an easier way of opening the heart.
Or maybe there's a point in time where you really felt amazing and you want to tune into that sense of how you were then.
Or maybe now is enough as you feel.
See what comes.
Bringing to the corners of the mouth the smile and the corners of the eyes the smile.
With this image of ourselves,
In our hearts eye or in the minds eye.
You might even be able to have a sense that this image of yourself is located in the heart.
Feeling this feeling that the smile is emitting this sense of love and gratitude and appreciation.
Feeling that you can smile at your own self.
And maybe some of your qualities might come to heart,
Come to mind that you could smile at.
Bringing to your goodness.
Celebrating your goodness.
And there might be this sense that we can breathe in and really take in this feeling of appreciation and let it go.
For some of us it's more difficult to come into this sense of self love,
Self gratitude.
Just as best you can,
Even if it's a tiny strip that you feel or maybe if it feels mechanical just giving it the space to work its magic.
Doing your best,
Doing what you can.
And that is enough.
That is so much better than nothing.
Tuning into that in you which wants to or intends to offer self love,
If it's difficult.
And we'll come into the phrases.
May you be well,
May you be happy.
May you come to no harm.
And let the heart open and let the words flow as best you can.
If nothing comes then you can think of something that you wish for yourself and offer that.
However big that crack of light is,
Stepping into it and basking in it.
It's just a slither of light,
It's enough if you can open the whole door.
Wonderful.
As you are is good enough.
You might want to celebrate your qualities.
Think yourself.
You might want to offer words of support to your child's self or words of appreciation.
Seeing your goodness and celebrating your own goodness.
Breathing into any final message.
Offering that message now.
As you let this image of your child self settle in the heart,
Fade and we'll come back to this smile sense.
Breathing in the sense of a smile,
Taking it into our bones,
Into our heart.
Feeling how it feels to smile.
What is the feeling of a smile?
And then let's come back into this smile sense and bring to heart,
Bring to mind what's known as a neutral person.
So someone you might see around but you don't really engage with,
You don't really talk to.
They're very much bit parts in the story of your life,
Just extras.
Not someone you give any headspace to at all.
And bringing their image to mind and having this feeling of warmth of a smile.
Going out from you to them.
Smiling at this image of them.
And maybe there's a sense that you can breathe in this appreciation or good wishes for them.
Breathing out as if you could emit this feeling to them.
Breathing in,
Taking it into your bones and breathing out,
Sending it to them,
Transmitting it to them.
And we'll come to the phrases.
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you come to no harm.
And the phrases might become a little bit more fluid,
You might find some words come.
Reciting whatever feels right for you.
And feeling if there's any final message before you let this person fade into your heart.
Come to rest in your heart,
Coming back to that smile feeling.
You can breathe it in,
Feeling this warmth of a smile feeling.
Seeing what smiling does to the nervous system.
How does it feel in the heart to smile?
There may be a sense that you can breathe it in.
And perhaps there's a sense that your cup is overflowing and you can breathe it out.
You might find you have more than enough to go around.
We're going to bring to mind now someone known as the enemy.
And if you feel,
Feeling what's best for you doesn't have to be the most difficult person.
Feeling how steady you feel,
Feeling if it's appropriate,
How deep you could go.
Someone may just come to mind,
Come to heart.
Just feel if you can send this feeling of a smile to them.
Feeling into that in you which wishes them no harm.
Which is perhaps able to see without making excuses for them that they're just doing their best.
Their best may not be very good but perhaps they're in a fog,
Perhaps.
Who knows why they are like they are.
And we're not excusing their behaviour,
We're not saying we're going to allow whatever they've done to happen again.
Just feeling for where and how much it's possible to send them warmth.
Allowing as best you can all the feelings that come with this to be there.
And perhaps you now feel that you need to breathe in this feeling of a smile to your own self.
And offer that compassion and then breathing out what you can to them.
Knowing that the forgiveness you can offer is for the benefit of your heart.
The Buddha said hating someone is like drinking poison yourself and expecting them to die.
Their end of hatred is the beginning of our own healing.
Whatever may happen with this person.
Coming into the traditional phrases,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you come to no harm.
And maybe you can really tune into sending them some love.
Maybe you can feel into their goodness,
Maybe not so much.
If you can stay with that meta energy easily,
Stay with that.
If not so easily,
Maybe more that sense of breathing in and bringing the love into yourself.
With the exhale maybe it's more a case of saying I let you go,
I let you go.
Let's feel into letting this person fade.
You may just let their image fade or you may feel safe to let them be in your heart.
Maybe you can put them in a drawer where you keep your memories and your things from your past.
Feeling where they should go.
With as best you can this meta energy.
Just coming back into ourselves now,
Coming back to this smile.
Feeling that we can smile at our heart.
Breathing in and breathing out letting go.
Breathing in this feeling of a smile as if you could smile at your own self.
Breathing out letting go.
Breathing in and breathing out letting go.
Maybe we can come into the sense of breathing in to fill ourselves with this feeling of love.
Then maybe we can come into the sense that we're really full now and we can breathe it out and send it into the room,
Fill the room.
This reciprocal energy as we breathe in this feeling of warmth and love,
This meta feeling.
Breathe it out into the room so it surrounds us.
We might open up to our home,
Send it out to fill our home.
You may live with others,
You may not.
Either way filling your home with this love.
If there are beings in your home,
Maybe the images of their faces come to mind,
To heart and you can send them the love.
The smile feeling,
The smile at the mouth and the eyes.
Breathing it in and opening up,
Maybe sending it out to your community.
You might have a geographical or energetic sense of your community or specific faces might come to mind that you feel to send love to.
With every exhale you can feel this wave of meta feeling grow bigger.
Spreading out your town,
Your area,
Your county,
Your land.
Slowly slowly growing,
Maybe the continent you're in.
The whole world.
Breathing in this feeling of love and breathing it out to centre all beings.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
And you may want to recite the traditional phrases or you may have your own words.
It may be enough for you to rest with the breath and the sense of being able to breathe in the love and breathe out the love.
Breathe in the smile and breathe out the smile.
As best you can,
Staying with this felt sense of love,
Gratitude,
Connection in the body,
In the sensations.
Stay with that love sense.
I read a poem by the Sufi poet Hafiz called Admit Something.
Everyone you see,
Say to them,
I read a poem by the poet Hafiz called Admit Something.
Everyone you see,
You say to them,
Love me.
Of course you do not say this out loud,
Otherwise someone would call the cops.
Still think about this,
This great pull in us to connect.
Why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye?
That is always saying with that sweet moon language what every other in this world is dying to hear.
Maybe resting now in the feeling in the body.
Feeling how it feels.
If you would like to continue to sit or to rest with this feeling,
Please do so.
If you would like to bring this practice to a close,
I invite you to take some extra deep inhales and exhales,
Breathing in,
Let the belly fill.
Breathe outside out,
Let go.
Taking a few more like that,
This is a great way as if to clear the palate of the mind and body.
Deep space and freshness.
