Welcome to Loving Kindness Meditation.
In the traditional instructions we start with ourselves and expand rippling well wishes to others.
Loving Kindness practice enables us to conceptualize and share universal human wishes for things like happiness,
Health,
Compassion,
Safety,
And peace.
This can help reduce feelings of isolation and strengthen our common humanity.
I invite you to take a few moments to find a dignified,
Upright position that feels right for you at this time.
Sitting,
Lying down,
Or even standing are fine.
The idea is to be still and relaxed,
And at the same time focused and alert.
For a few moments I will ring the bell to begin our meditation.
If you are comfortable doing so,
The invitation is to begin by wishing yourself loving kindness,
Perhaps inhaling and exhaling with each wish.
Let's begin.
May I be happy,
Truly happy.
May I be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May I be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all living things,
Beginning with myself.
May I feel safe and at ease.
May I feel peacefully present,
Peacefully present.
Perhaps now think of someone close to you,
Someone you care deeply about.
Find this person in your mind's eye.
May this person be happy,
Truly happy.
May this person be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May this person be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all living things,
Beginning with themselves.
May this person feel safe and at ease.
And may this person feel peacefully present,
Peacefully present.
And perhaps now think of a neutral person,
Someone with whom you may not have a deep connection,
But is part of your life in a fairly neutral way.
Take a few moments to find this person in your mind's eye.
May this person be happy,
Truly happy.
May this person be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May this person be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all living things,
Beginning with his or herself.
May this person feel safe and at ease.
May this person feel peacefully present,
Peacefully present.
Perhaps now think of a person with whom you have some difficulty,
Some sort of mild to moderate discomfort,
Perhaps at work,
School,
Or in the classroom,
Or at home.
May this person be healthy,
And may this person be healthy in the classroom,
And may this person be healthy in the classroom,
Perhaps at work,
School,
Or in your broader community.
Find this person in your mind's eye.
May this person be happy,
Truly happy.
May this person be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May this person be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all living things,
Beginning with his or herself.
May this person feel safe and at ease.
And may this person feel peacefully present,
Peacefully present.
And now the invitation is to broaden your attention to the neighborhood that you're in,
Those in your general vicinity.
You may define this any way you like.
Find those in this area and focus on them in your mind's eye.
May these people be happy,
Truly happy.
May these people be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May these people be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all living things,
Beginning with themselves.
May these people feel safe and at ease.
And may these people feel peacefully present,
Peacefully present.
And now the invitation is to broaden your attention to the town or the city where you are right now.
Find those in this area and focus your mind's eye on this vicinity.
May the people in this town or city be happy,
Truly happy.
May these people be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May these people be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all living things,
Beginning with themselves.
May these people feel safe and at ease.
And may these people feel peacefully present,
Peacefully present.
And now,
Perhaps broaden your attention to the country where you are right now.
Draw your attention to the country that you're in and focus this in your mind's eye.
May the people in this country be happy,
Truly happy.
May these people be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May the people in this country be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all living things,
Beginning with themselves.
May the people in this country feel safe and at ease.
And may these people feel peacefully present,
Peacefully present.
And now I invite you to broaden your attention to the hemisphere in which you are right now.
Find this area in your mind's eye.
May the people in this hemisphere be happy,
Truly happy.
May the people in this hemisphere be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May the people in this hemisphere be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May the people in this hemisphere be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all living things,
Beginning with themselves.
May the people in this hemisphere feel safe and at ease.
And lastly,
May the people in this hemisphere feel peaceful and present,
Peacefully present.
And now the invitation is to broaden your attention to the whole world.
Find those in the world,
The people of the world,
And focus on them in your mind's eye.
May all the people on Earth be happy,
Truly happy.
May all the people on Earth be happy,
Truly happy.
May all the people on Earth be healthy,
Truly happy.
May all people on Earth be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May all people on Earth be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all living beings,
Beginning with themselves.
May all people on Earth feel safe and at ease.
And may all people on Earth feel peacefully present,
Peacefully present.
And now the invitation is to broaden your attention to all living beings.
You may define this any way you like.
Find your conception of all living beings in your mind's eye.
May all living beings be happy,
Truly happy.
May all living beings be healthy in mind,
Body,
And spirit.
May all living beings be kind,
Loving,
And compassionate toward all other living beings,
But beginning with themselves.
May all living beings feel safe and at ease.
And may all living beings feel peacefully present,
Peacefully present.
Thank you so much for meditating with me.
I would like to close with a poem by Martha Post-Await entitled,
Clearing.
Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose.
Instead,
Create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently.
Until the song that is your life falls into your own cupped hands and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world so worthy of rescue.
Thank you again.
Go in peace.
