Welcome.
I'm Lisa and I'll be your guide for this meditation practice.
You're invited to find a posture that feels best for you in this moment.
That might mean sitting or standing.
This practice is a Metta practice or a loving kindness practice intended to extend well wishes to your partner and yourself.
Metta is a universal love that comes from Buddhist traditions.
This practice here is written in a way to dedicate partners to be together and share a practice together.
If you are not with your partner though at the moment,
You can absolutely still practice along.
There may be some additional repeated phrases,
But that simply offers you more opportunities to practice.
If you are with your partner,
Find a way to orient yourself so you are close to each other,
Perhaps facing each other.
You are welcome again to be sitting or standing,
But choose what works best for the both of you in this moment.
Take a moment to gaze up at your partner,
Noticing what that's like without judgment.
There's no right,
There's no wrong.
You're welcome to hold some gaze looking at your partner,
Or you're welcome to gently close the eyes or bring the gaze downwards.
Next,
Choosing one partner that will go first in this practice.
Perhaps the partner wearing the brightest colored shirt,
Or the goofiest socks,
Or the partner who has the birthday that's closest to today.
This partner that will go first is invited to practice some phrases,
Saying them out loud to your partner.
And if you're not comfortable saying them out loud,
Perhaps whisper them or mouth the words,
Just making the actions of speaking it without actually making the sounds of the words.
Whatever you choose,
Know that your partner is supporting you in your choice and your practice.
Let's take a collective breath in through our nose and out through our mouth,
And beginning to extend these well wishes to your partner.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be at ease.
May you be loved and supported.
Taking another collective breath in through our nose and out through our mouth.
If you are the one extending these well wishes,
Noticing without judgment what it was like for you,
What it felt like in your body,
What thoughts were present,
Or anything else.
And if you received the well wishes,
Noticing what that was like,
What you noticed in your body,
Or what thoughts were present,
Or anything else.
Next we'll have the opportunity to switch roles.
So the other partner will now be extending these well wishes to their partner.
And if this partner is comfortable doing so,
They'll repeat these phrases out loud after me to their partner.
And again,
If not out loud,
Perhaps whispering them or mouthing along the words.
Whatever you choose,
Know that your partner is supporting you in your choice and in your practice.
And taking a collective breath in through our nose,
Out through our mouth,
Beginning to extend these well wishes.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be at ease.
May you be loved and supported.
Collectively taking a deep breath in through our nose,
Letting it go through the mouth.
If you are extending the well wishes,
Noting what it felt like in your body,
Or what thoughts were present,
Or anything else.
And if you were receiving these well wishes this time,
Noticing what it was like to receive them,
What the body felt like,
What thoughts were present,
Or anything else.
And now bringing to mind your collective union,
Your relationship,
And we'll extend well wishes together towards that relationship or union.
And so again,
You're welcome to say these aloud,
Whisper them or mouth along the words with me.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be at ease.
May we be loved and supported.
Noticing what that experience is like to have this shared and collective well wish or wishes for one another and your relationship moving forward.
And we'll next extend these well wishes to ourselves.
So again,
You're welcome to say them aloud,
Whisper them or mouth the words.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be at ease.
May I be loved and supported.
Taking a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Bringing awareness to what it was like to extend these well wishes back to yourself.
And as we sit and breathe together,
Bringing this practice to a close.
Take a moment to celebrate yourself and your partner for taking the time to practice,
To tend to your relationship,
Your union.
These practices,
Although simple,
May have ripple effects beyond yourself and your partnership.
So know that these practices here are a radical act of love.
Let's take three collective deep breaths together.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
In and out.
Last one in and out.
If the eyes were closed,
Taking a few moments to gently blink them open.
Perhaps looking at your partner and thanking them for practicing however you both feel would be supportive for you.
Welcome home.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
