Hi,
This is Lisa McCaskill.
Today I'll be guiding you through a loving kindness meditation practice.
Loving kindness is also known as metta.
It's a practice that the Buddha first taught as an antidote to fear.
In this practice,
We'll first offer loving kindness to ourselves through the use of various loving kindness phrases,
And then we'll offer those same phrases out into the world.
Before we start any meditation practice,
We want to find a comfortable seat.
You can sit in a cross-legged position on the floor,
Or you can sit in a chair.
If you're on the floor,
Feel free to use any support your body needs to be comfortable.
If you find your spine round or you feel like you're falling backwards,
Use a folded blanket or a firm pillow to elevate your hips.
If you're sitting in a chair,
Keep both feet on the floor.
In either position,
Lengthen the spine as much as you can.
If being seated does not work for your body,
You can practice lying down.
Once you've found your position,
Close the eyes or slightly drop the chin to focus the gaze on a spot on the floor out in front of you,
Letting go of visual stimulation so you can more easily take your attention inward.
Relax the muscles in your forehead.
Soften your eyes and let your teeth be slightly parted in the mouth so the jaw is relaxed.
Take a moment and connect with the physical body.
Start by feeling all the places where the body is touching a surface or noticing where two parts of the body come together if they do.
Now notice the sensation of the breath as it moves in and out of the body,
Feeling the gentle expansion and contraction as you breathe.
Take your attention to your heart space,
Perhaps putting one or both hands over the heart to help guide your attention into this area.
It's here that we want to focus our attention during our practice.
We'll start with the phrase,
May I be safe?
May I be safe?
Repeat the phrase slowly over and over.
You can say it to yourself silently or you can say the phrases out loud.
As you repeat this phrase,
Imagine the sensation of safety in your body,
Noticing what it feels like to be safe.
Now offer yourself the gift of happiness by saying,
May I be happy?
And we're talking about happiness that is beyond anything material.
Maybe you feel a slight smile at the corner of the mouth as you repeat the phrase,
May I be happy?
We'll shift now to offering ourselves good health by saying,
May I be healthy?
Body,
Mind and spirit,
May I be healthy?
And the last phrase we'll offer is,
May I be at peace?
No matter what is going on in my life or the world,
May I be at peace?
Now we'll offer these phrases out to all beings.
We'll start by repeating the phrase,
May I be at peace?
We'll start by repeating the phrase,
May all beings be safe?
Perhaps imagining sending out white light to wrap around your family,
Your friends,
Your neighbors,
All the people you know and all the people you don't know.
May all beings be safe.
Now let's offer the gift of happiness.
May all beings be happy.
Feel that happiness going out from your heart to all beings.
And now wishing all beings the gift of good health.
May all beings be healthy.
Body,
Mind and spirit,
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings be at peace.
No matter what their circumstances,
May all beings be at peace.
And now let go of the phrase and gently bring your attention back to the sensation of the breath in the body.
And when you feel ready,
Slowly open the eyes.
I encourage you to take this practice out into the world by offering loving kindness to everyone you come in contact with,
Silently offering each person one or more of the phrases.
Thank you for joining me for this practice.
