Hello,
Welcome to your loving kindness meditation.
To begin,
Please take a good seat.
What that means is you're sitting in a way that allows for attention and also relaxation.
So creating stability in your seat,
Allowing the torso to be upright but not uptight,
Softening the front body,
Allowing the shoulders to drop away from the ears,
Resting the arms loosely at your sides,
Allowing your legs to be either loosely crossed or your feet flat on the floor if you are sitting in a chair.
Tilt the crown of your head slightly to the sky,
Lengthening the back of your neck.
Soften the brow.
Allow your eyelids to close either fully or partially.
Soften the muscles in your face,
Allowing the lips to part slightly.
And just notice what's present for you in this moment.
What's here?
And as your mind wanders to answer that question,
Allowing your attention to move inward toward the breath,
Feeling yourself being breathed.
No need to change the breath.
You might notice a rise and fall in the belly or the chest.
You may experience sensation of the breath at the nostrils,
Breathing.
Allowing your attention to rest on the space and place where you notice you're breathing most easily.
And for the remainder of this practice,
If it feels good,
You can choose to place a hand over your heart and feel the connection between your hand and your heart space,
Maybe noticing a warmth.
And loving kindness,
We offer wishes of health and safety and well-being to ourselves,
To those we love,
To those we don't know,
To those who may be challenging for us in our lives,
And to all beings.
So bringing attention again to that felt sense of the hand connected to the heart,
And visualizing yourself in this moment,
Offer these phrases silently.
May I be safe?
May I be happy?
May I be healthy?
May I live with ease?
May I be safe?
May I be safe?
Now bringing someone or another being,
Could be a favorite pet,
Someone or something that you love unconditionally and brings a smile to your face when you consider them.
Bring that person or being into your mind's eye,
And maybe imagining them right here,
Right in front of you in this moment,
And offer them these loving-kindness phrases.
May you be safe?
May you be happy?
May you be healthy?
May you live with ease?
Noticing if there's any shifts in the energy of your heart space,
Just being present to what's in your experience.
Now releasing this person or being from your mind's eye and calling to mind someone that you do not know well.
It could be someone that you live near,
Someone you come in contact with at the coffee shop or the grocery store,
Someone who you would consider a neutral person in your life.
So bring them now into your mind's eye and offer them these phrases.
May you be safe?
May you be happy?
May you be healthy?
May you live with ease?
Releasing this person from your attention and thinking now of someone who is a challenging person in your life.
There may be some discord or strife in your relationship.
Being mindful to choose a person that would not create stress on a large scale for you.
Thinking about this person now and offering them loving-kindness.
May you be safe?
May you be happy?
May you be healthy?
May you live with ease?
Checking in with your experience,
Noticing any physical sensations,
Noticing any emotions that have come up.
Just allowing them to be.
I'm coming home now to the breath and the beat of your heart.
Offering loving-kindness to all beings without exception.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings live with ease.
Now bringing both hands over your heart or together in a gesture of offering,
Bowing your head to your heart and closing your practice.
Thank you so much.
