Welcome to your Metta meditation.
Metta is sometimes called loving kindness meditation.
It's basically compassion training.
Many of us have a whole lot of compassion for everybody else,
But we kind of forget to include ourselves in that equation.
So this practice will help increase compassion,
Not only for yourself,
But for others as well.
I love this practice.
I do this pretty much every day.
Get as comfortable as you can possibly be.
You can sit in a chair on the floor,
You can lie on the floor,
On your bed,
On the couch,
Whatever is going to make your body the most comfortable.
You can let the eyes gently close,
And then bring the attention to the breath just for a moment.
Maybe deepening the breath,
Breathing in and out through the nose.
Take any tension out of the body,
Relaxing through the jaw,
The belly,
Letting the legs be heavy.
And then if you'd like,
You can repeat the following phrases in your mind.
And if the words I use don't work for you,
You can use other words.
This is just a guide.
May I be well.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I live with peace.
May I be well.
Be safe.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
May I be well.
May I be safe.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
Now bringing to mind somebody who you just absolutely adore.
When you think about them,
You just feel good.
That can be a human,
That can be an animal,
They can be living,
They can be past.
Imagine they walk into the room.
They sit down next to you.
Maybe they take your hand.
And repeating the following phrases in your mind.
May they be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
May they be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
May they be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
And live with peace.
You can thank that person for coming.
And imagine that they get up and walk out of the room.
And now bringing to mind someone who maybe you don't know all that well.
Maybe it's that neighbor that you wave at from time to time or someone at the grocery store.
Bring that person to mind.
Bring that person to mind.
Bring that person to mind.
Bring that person to mind.
Have them walk in the room.
Sit down next to you.
May they be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
May they be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
And live with peace.
May they be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
And live with peace.
And live with peace.
You can thank them for coming.
And say goodbye as they stand up and walk out of the room.
And now bringing to mind someone with whom you just have a difficult relationship.
You wish things were better with this person,
But they're just not.
Bring them to mind.
Imagine they walk into the room.
Sit down next to you.
Come sit down next to you.
May they be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
May they be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
May they be well.
Be safe.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
You can thank them for coming.
Watch them walk out of the room.
And now extending this compassion,
This loving kindness out to the entire world.
May all sentient beings be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
May all be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
May all be well.
Be safe.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
Be happy.
Be healthy.
And live with peace.
And finally returning to ourselves,
Knowing that we cannot give away what we do not have,
Increasing compassion for ourselves results in more compassion for others.
And that can only be good for the world.
May I be well.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I live with peace.
May I live with peace.
Deepening the breath now.
Maybe stretching the body a little bit,
Taking some movement,
Maybe taking a deep breath through the nose and sighing it out.
Thanks for being here with me today.
I'll see you next time.
