Hi everyone.
I'm going to lead a meditation based on the idea of Mudita,
Which means sympathetic joy.
The idea that there is some joy we experience that is not defined by material items,
But instead has no condition,
Has no boundaries.
So I invite you to either lie down or find a comfortable seated position either in a chair or on the ground.
Feel your spine lengthen and begin to deepen your breath.
Your eyes can close if that feels comfortable or have a soft gaze.
As you deepen your breath,
Notice how your heart lifts and expands slightly on the inhale and softens on the exhale.
Take the deepest breath of the day,
Fully inhaling.
Feel the chest and heart lift.
And on your exhale,
Sigh it out.
Do that one more time,
Nice full inhale and sigh it out.
Maintain these nice full breaths as you bring your awareness to your fingers and to your toes.
Very slowly begin to wiggle your fingers and toes,
Just noticing what the subtle movement feels like.
Allow them to become still again and see if you can soften them just a little bit more.
Move your awareness now up through your ankles and shins and calves,
Up through your wrists and forearms and elbows,
Noticing your knees and quads,
The backs of the legs,
Noticing your upper arms and shoulders,
Seeing if you can soften both legs and both arms,
Allowing any tension to melt away.
Now moving your awareness up through your belly and back to the bottom of the ribs,
Noticing now the top of your head and your face,
Your neck and shoulders,
Until your awareness rests in the center of your heart,
The center of the area around your chest.
Take a few deep breaths into this space,
Really feeling the chest and heart expand and lift and soften.
Moving like a wave again,
Nice big inhale and exhale.
With your mind resting in the space around your heart,
I invite you to think about what brings you the most joy.
This could be an activity like walking in nature or doing artwork.
This could also be inspired by thinking about someone you love doing what they love.
For me,
This is imagining my husband surfing.
Take a few moments to find whatever source of joy comes most naturally.
Breathe into that source of joy.
Feel this joy arising out of the heart space.
Begin radiating that sense of joy outward throughout the body.
Now moving the joy down through the belly,
Up through the neck,
Radiating outward through the arms,
Through the legs,
Down to the fingers and toes,
Out through the top of the head.
Take a full breath as the cell in your body was soaking up this joy and exhale radiating it out.
Let's do that two more times.
Big inhale through every cell in your body,
Building this joy and exhale,
Sending it out.
One more time,
Full inhale,
Cultivating joy and exhale radiating it out.
Allow yourself to rest in this feeling of contentment and joy that arises from within and is not dependent on any material item.
Connecting with the boundless joy that exists within you.
Whether continuing to rest here or as you're ready,
Wiggling the fingers and the toes and gently opening your eyes.
You carry this sense of joy with you throughout the rest of your day.
