Welcome to this meditation on widening the circle,
A practice of loving-kindness.
Sometimes the world feels heavy,
The news,
The noise,
The heartbreak.
Maybe it's the season you're in.
It can weigh on your heart without you even realizing how much you're carrying.
When things feel uncertain or divided,
It's easy to contract,
To brace,
To close off your heart in order to cope.
This practice is a gentle way of softening where we may have hardened,
Of opening instead of turning away,
First with ourselves and then slowly widening that circle outward.
Let this loving-kindness meditation help steady your heart so you can meet what's hard with more care,
Clarity,
And resilience.
Let's begin by getting settled in the body.
Choose a position,
Whether that's seated or lying down,
And bring your attention to the surface beneath you,
Supporting you.
Close your eyes if that feels okay for you,
Or just soften your gaze.
Then bring your shoulders up towards your ears,
Give them a squeeze,
And then just let them soften down your back.
Let's do that one more time,
This time with breath.
As you inhale,
Squeeze your shoulders up towards your ears,
And then as you exhale,
Soften them down your back.
Allow your breath to return to its natural pace.
Bring one hand to your heart and one hand to your belly.
Allow your breath to settle into a slow,
Gentle rhythm here.
Listen for the beat of your heart.
Maybe you can feel it gently pulsing beneath your hand.
Then bring your awareness to the area around your physical heart.
Notice the shelter of your ribs,
Like walls protecting the palace of your spirit.
How does it feel here?
Is it spacious or full?
Heavy or light?
Guarded or open?
No judgment here,
There's no right answer or wrong way to feel.
Just notice.
Feel any holding patterns of isolation,
Grief,
Or anxiety.
Lift or lighten as you breathe and focus on your heart space.
Within you is the capacity to love and transcend that separation.
If you feel the need,
Allow your hands to rest gently in your lap and relax,
Or you could keep your hand placed over your heart.
With love,
Offer these lines to yourself,
Sending the energy of the words directly into your heart,
Whether you repeat them aloud or silently to yourself.
May I feel safe in my body.
May I trust the ground beneath me.
May I move through this world with steadiness.
May I know love.
May I live with a sense of ease.
Deep breath in,
Slow breath out.
Now bring to mind someone close to you,
Someone you love dearly.
Hold their image in your mind or in your heart as you repeat these lines again for them.
May you feel safe in your body.
May you trust the ground beneath you.
May you move through this world with steadiness.
May you know love.
May you live with a sense of ease.
Deep breath in,
Slow breath out.
Now imagine someone that you don't know.
Maybe the cashier at the grocery store or the gas station around the corner.
Maybe someone you pass by while walking your dog or driving to work.
And if you can't picture their face,
That's okay.
Just hold the idea of them in your heart and in your mind as you repeat these lines again for them.
May you feel safe in your body.
May you trust the ground beneath you.
May you move through this world with steadiness.
May you know love.
May you live with a sense of ease.
Deep breath in,
Soft breath out.
This next one is the trickiest.
Next,
Bring to mind someone that you have closed your heart to.
It might be someone from your past that you've lost touch with.
Maybe someone that's hurt you or someone that you have hurt.
Repeat these lines for them.
May you feel safe in your body.
May you trust the ground beneath you.
May you move through this world with steadiness.
May you know love.
And may you live with a sense of ease.
Deep breath in and a cleansing breath out.
Notice how your heart feels now.
Let's do one more round of these lines.
This time repeating them for all beings,
Near or far,
Great or small.
Sending loving kindness outward from your heart in all directions.
May you feel safe in your body.
May you trust the ground beneath you.
May you move through this world with steadiness.
May you know love.
And may you live with a sense of ease.
Deep breath in.
Slow breath out.
Bring your awareness back to your physical heart space.
Protected by your ribs.
And the pericardium surrounding your heart.
Holding space for all of your compassion and love.
Notice what has shifted.
What feels different in you.
And what has remained steady.
Start to bring your awareness back into the room.
Notice the surface beneath you again.
Maybe the temperature of the air around you.
Wiggle fingers and toes.
And just like we began,
Bring your shoulders and squeeze them up towards your ears.
And let them soften and roll down your back.
One more time.
Inhale as you squeeze the shoulders up.
And exhale as you let them soften away from the ears.
You can start to blink your eyes open.
Slowly coming fully back into your space.
The world may still be complex.
The headlines may still be loud.
But perhaps something in you feels a little steadier now.
A little more spacious.
A little less alone.
This practice doesn't fix everything.
But it strengthens the part of us that knows how to respond with care.
May the kindness we practice here continue quietly beneath the surface of your day.
Softening what feels heavy.
And reminding you that even in a complicated world your heart can remain open.
One more deep breath in together through the nose.
And a soft breath out through the mouth.
With loving kindness from my heart to yours.
Blessed Be.
