When you're ready,
Closing your eyes either fully or partially.
You might like to put a hand over your heart just to remind yourself that we're bringing not just awareness but loving awareness to both ourselves and to our experience.
So I invite you to bring to mind a person or another living being,
It could be an animal,
Someone who naturally makes you smile,
Someone you have a very uncomplicated relationship with,
And just thinking about them makes you smile,
Makes you feel happy,
Just thinking about being in their presence.
This person might be a child that you know,
A grandchild maybe,
Niece,
Nephew,
Your own child if you have an uncomplicated relationship with them.
Could be your grandmother,
Someone from your past,
Could be a cat or a dog,
A beloved teacher,
A coach,
A friend,
Someone who naturally makes you feel good.
And allowing yourself to feel what it's like to be in their presence,
Creating a vivid image of this being in your mind and feeling the warmth that comes from being in their presence.
I love to feel the warmth and the presence And as you're holding the imagery of this beloved being in your mind,
And knowing that they,
Like all living beings,
Would like to be happy and free from tension,
Free from suffering,
Repeating these phrases very softly and gently,
Really feeling the importance of these words as you're offering them to this beloved being.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
Maybe there are some of your own words,
Your own phrases you would like to offer to this beloved being,
Words that capture your deepest wish for your loved one to feel the love that you feel for them,
To feel in the way you would want them to feel.
Repeating the phrases,
And you notice your mind has wandered,
Just bringing your awareness back to the phrases again.
All right.
Starting to include yourself in your circle of compassion,
Of kindness,
Imagining yourself there in relationship with this beloved being,
And offering these phrases.
May you and I be happy.
May you and I be peaceful.
May you and I be peaceful.
May you and I be healthy.
May you and I live with ease.
May we be happy.
May we be peaceful.
May we be healthy.
May we live with ease.
May we live with ease.
Really feeling into what it's like to offer these loving kindness wishes to this beloved being and also to yourself,
Including yourself in that sense of love and kindness,
Bringing those feelings to yourself as well as to this beloved being.
Now gently releasing the imagery of this beautiful of your beloved being,
Thanking them for being a part of this meditation,
For helping you to get in touch with these feelings of love and kindness.
They might not go very far away,
But allowing them to move away,
Allowing that imagery to dissolve a little.
Bringing to mind again those feelings of loving kindness that you were able to bring up for this beloved being and then for yourself as well.
And bringing the full power of that intention,
That wish of loving kindness,
Bringing that to yourself.
You might like to put a hand over your heart to connect with yourself again.
You might like to visualize your whole body as it is,
Seeing yourself,
Allowing yourself to have an image of yourself and offering yourself these phrases.
May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I live with ease.
May I live with ease.
If you're feeling like you're losing touch with those feelings of loving kindness,
You might even invite that of your beloved being back for a little bit to help you get in touch with those feelings again.
And offering yourself these words again from that intention of loving kindness.
May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be healthy.
May I live with ease.
There might be some other phrases that you are accustomed to offering yourself.
Feeling free to use those phrases if you have some that work for you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And as we're moving towards the end of this practice,
Releasing any imagery in your mind,
Knowing that you can come back to this practice when you need it.
Moving your awareness to your breathing and simply being aware that you're breathing.
Take a few deeper than usual breaths.
Moving your awareness to your body as a whole,
You might start to move your body,
Get in touch with the physicality of your body.
When you're ready,
You're ready to move your body.
When you're ready,
Gently opening your eyes,
Maybe taking a look around the space that you're in,
Orienting yourself to this space,
Having a sip of your drink.
