Welcome.
Let's begin our loving kindness meditation.
Create a tall,
Alert seated posture.
Press your sit bones down to rise up tall through your spine,
Reaching the crown of your head up towards the ceiling or sky.
Draw your chin in towards the back of your neck,
So your head is upright and balanced nicely on top of your neck.
And let's begin with a few deep breaths.
In through your nose,
And out through your nose.
And this one even deeper,
Filling up,
Open,
Expand,
Pause,
And empty out,
Relax,
Relax.
One more extra deep breath in,
Filling up.
A brief pause,
And gently exhale,
Relax,
Relax,
Relax.
Bring your attention to your forehead and the skin,
Especially between your eyebrows,
Softening any tension that might be there.
Bring your attention to your cheeks,
Your nose,
Your mouth and jaw,
Relaxing your face.
Bring your attention to your neck and throat.
Just the space that's there from the inside out to the skin.
Your breath freely flows.
Bring your awareness to your chest and upper back.
Maybe lift your chest slightly and feel it open wide,
Relaxing your shoulders back and down.
Just notice the space here in your chest and belly,
Your back,
From the inside out to the skin.
Notice the space here.
Bring your attention to your shoulders and down your arms.
Noticing your arms relaxed,
Your upper arms,
Your lower arms.
Notice your wrists,
Your hands.
Notice your fingers.
Can you relax your hands even more and observe the sensations you feel in your hands?
So like a pulsing of energy here in your hands and your fingertips.
Bring your attention back up your arms to your shoulders.
Your attention down your spine to your seat and your hips,
Where you connect to your physical foundation here on your seat or cushion.
Bring your attention to your thighs,
Your knees,
Your shins and calves.
Notice that even as your legs assist you with this alert,
Tall seated posture,
Can they relax a bit more right here?
Notice your ankles,
Your feet and your toes.
Then dial your awareness out to include your whole physical body.
Even as your eyes are closed here,
Have a sense in your mind's eye of the periphery,
The outline of your seated shape here and everything within it.
Just observing each sensation or the sensation of your body as a whole.
Perfect and complete exactly the way it is.
Observe the flow of your breath in through your nose and out through your nose.
Now,
Send your loving kindness thoughts to yourself.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be well.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be peaceful.
Really meaning each word gently,
Lovingly,
Wishing them to yourself,
Blessing them to yourself.
Continue in your mind,
Sending your loving kindness thoughts to yourself.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
Each time you notice your mind wandering after thought or distraction,
Be gentle and kind to yourself in that moment.
Simply return to your loving kindness thoughts.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
Send your loving kindness thoughts to your loved ones,
To your friends,
Your family members,
To your pets.
Sending your loving kindness thoughts to your loved ones.
May you be well.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be peaceful.
Continue sending your loving kindness thoughts to your loved ones.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May I be well.
And now,
Send your loving kindness thoughts to the whole world.
May all living beings be well,
Be happy,
Be peaceful.
Send your loving kindness thoughts out to all living beings.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
Each time you notice your mind wandering or getting distracted by thoughts,
With kindness and gentleness,
Return to your loving kindness thoughts for the world.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
Now you are filled with metta.
You are filled with loving kindness.
Let's continue our mindfulness practice.
Simply observing the flow of your breath in the present moment in through your nose and out through your nose.
Breath only occurs in the present moment.
By simply relaxing our attention to be focused on observing the flow of our breath.
Keep our mind and awareness in the present moment.
Let's continue our mindfulness practice.
Let's continue our mindfulness practice.
Let's continue our mindfulness practice.
There's no need to stop our thoughts or repress our thoughts.
The practice is simply to become aware of our thoughts.
Observing them come and letting them go.
With loving kindness in that moment.
Perhaps you simply label thinking or aware.
Return to the simple present moment awareness of breath in through your nose and out through your nose.
Let's continue our mindfulness practice.
Let's continue our mindfulness practice.
Each time you become aware of your thoughts.
So wonderful opportunity to strengthen the muscle of returning to present moment awareness.
Simply label thinking or aware.
Return to your breath in through your nose and out through your nose.
Take an extra deep breath in.
Exhale,
Let it go.
Begin to move around your fingers and your toes.
Bring your palms together,
Place them in front of your heart center.
Deep breath in.
Exhale,
Let it go.
Place the knuckles of your thumbs to the center of your forehead.
May this practice be of benefit to you.
May this practice be of benefit to everyone you come into contact with.
May this practice be of benefit to the world.
Namaste.
