Hello and welcome.
We'll center our practice today on sending loving kindness to any pain we feel or have felt.
It may be something that you're aware of or not.
Pain is really a way of calling out for love.
When we're unconscious to the pain we carry within,
We may displace that pain onto others or we may walk around with the heaviness of the pains from our past,
Whether they be physical,
Emotional,
Or spiritual.
This practice today is to be with the pains we carry and have loving kindness and sharing this loving kindness to any persons who might be experiencing pain,
Whether you know it or not.
And then we'll send the same loving kindness message out to all beings in the world,
Allowing us to remember our inner connectedness to the human experience,
Inviting ourselves to be compassionate with both ourselves and others.
So wherever you are,
Find comfortable seats.
You can either be cross-legged or seated in a chair.
You could even be lying down in this meditation.
Wherever you are,
Make sure your spine is long and let's just take a few breaths to connect to the body and presence ourself.
So taking a deep breath in through the nose and exhale side out.
Feel the spine be long,
Being relaxed,
Yet alert,
Present.
If you're seated,
Letting the hands rest onto the thighs,
Palms down to help you stay grounded.
Soften the muscles in the face,
Lifting the eyebrows up and away from each other,
Relaxing the temples,
Letting the lower jaw come away from the upper jaw,
Letting the tongue just relax,
Throat soften,
Shoulders soften,
And relaxed.
If you're in a chair,
Feeling the back be supported,
Feeling the spine be long,
Elbows heavy,
And feeling yourself in the seat where you are,
Feeling yourself be supported by the cushion or seat where you are,
And sensing into what it feels like to be supported,
Feeling that support and being held here right now.
Breathing softly in and out here.
If you haven't already,
Gently close the eyes or bring a soft gaze at the horizon.
I'm just taking a steady rhythmic breath in and out,
Staying connected to your breath and bringing your awareness to your heart space and breathing into this place,
The center of your chest.
Taking long,
Full breaths here with ease,
Feeling the warmth of your breath with the exhale.
And as you inhale,
Just feeling the lightness that comes through,
The expansion with the breath,
Allowing your heart to open,
To be present.
And on this next breath,
Center yourself with attention to whatever pain you hold or ache that you hold or carry.
Hold it into your heart space where you're bringing this loving presence.
Maybe it's a pain from the past or maybe it's something you're going through right now.
It could be physical,
Emotional,
Spiritual.
And as you breathe here,
Begin to send this message of loving kindness to yourself and the pain you carry.
May I feel healthy.
May I feel happy.
May I be free from suffering.
May I feel at peace.
May I feel loved.
May I feel healthy.
May I feel happy.
May I be free from suffering.
May I feel at peace.
May I feel loved.
May I feel healthy.
May I feel happy.
May I be free from suffering.
May I feel at peace.
May I feel loved.
And stay present with your breath and this loving kindness and tension towards yourself and the pain you carry.
Just breathing here and slowly beginning to shift your attention to bring to mind anyone you know who may be experiencing any pain.
Might be physical,
Emotional,
Or spiritual pain.
You may know them very well or not very well.
Someone in your life.
As you bring them to mind,
Maybe you visualize them in front of you or nearby you and presence yourself in your heart with your breath.
Staying connected to that open heart and sending them this message of loving kindness.
May you feel healthy.
May you feel happy.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel at peace.
May you feel loved.
May you feel healthy.
May you feel happy.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel at peace.
May you feel loved.
May you feel healthy.
May you feel happy.
May you be free from suffering.
May you feel at peace.
May you feel loved.
Just breathing here,
Presencing in this loving kindness energy with this person and with yourself.
Slowly begin to transition.
Start to bring into mind all those in your life.
Friends,
Family members,
People in your community,
In your surrounding neighborhood,
In your state or country,
Surrounding countries.
Begin to invite in all beings all around the world.
Inviting them into this loving kindness energy.
All those who are carrying the pain,
Whether present or past,
Whether we know it or not,
And sending them this message of loving kindness,
Including yourself.
May all beings feel healthy.
May all beings feel happy.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings feel at peace.
May all beings feel loved.
May all beings feel healthy.
May all beings feel happy.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings feel at peace.
May all beings feel loved.
May all beings feel healthy.
May all beings feel happy.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings feel at peace.
May all beings feel loved.
Staying connected to the breath,
This energy of loving kindness in your heart with yourself and all beings throughout the world.
Just breathing here.
Conscious breath in and conscious breath out.
And slowly bringing one hand to the heart and the other right on top.
Just resting your hands at your heart space and breathing into the hands here.
Feeling the warmth of the hands,
The warmth of your heart.
And take a deep breath in through the nose and sigh it out.
And slowly tuck the chin in towards the chest to honor yourself for showing up to this practice of loving kindness.
Showing up for your own pain and feeling into the interconnectedness of this human experience.
Knowing we all carry a bit of pain that is calling out for love.
And we can use this tool of loving kindness to tend to the pain within our heart.
And take a few more breaths here.
And slowly open your eyes,
Letting your hands rest back down.
And just allowing yourself to reorient back to your space.
Lifting your head and finding a point in the room.
Taking in the colors and textures and the space around you.
And staying with your breath and your open heart.
Thank you for joining in this loving kindness practice.
May you be well.
