Hello.
Welcome to the Loving Kindness Meditation,
Asking for a Friend.
To begin,
Sit comfortably in a quiet place where you can be free from distractions.
Hold your spine neutral and tall.
Let your hands rest comfortably in your lap.
Close your eyes or gaze softly at a space you've chosen right in front of you.
As you breathe slowly in and out through your nose,
Spend some time to turn your attention to your breath.
Without forcing,
Gently nudge your way into a longer inhale and a much longer exhale breath.
Let the breath get quieter as your body softens a bit and your mind too gets quieter.
And now,
At the center of your heart,
Imagine a source of radiant,
Soft,
Warm light.
It can be any color,
Glowing blue as the sky,
Gray as the sea,
Golden bright like the sun,
Pure,
Warm,
White.
The light is alive,
Vibrating,
Pulsing.
Feel the light within your body,
Its warmth,
Its movement,
Its energy.
It's the limitless source of love,
Positivity,
And well-being within you.
And because it is limitless,
You can share it.
Invite before you someone with whom you'd like to share this light.
Someone you know.
Someone you care for.
Someone you love.
And sit them directly across from you,
Sitting just as you are,
Their spine tall and neutral,
Their hands in their lap.
You can see them breathing.
You can sense the rise and fall of their chest.
And now,
Because you love this person so much,
You decide to send them four wishes as you send them your light.
You say silently to yourself,
May this person have happiness and all the causes of future happiness.
And as you send them this wish,
You also imagine light traveling across all space and time from your body to theirs,
Filling them up with light.
And then you say to yourself,
May this person be free from their pain and suffering and all the causes of their pain and suffering.
And as you send them this wish,
You again send them more light,
The light now filling their entire torso with well-being.
And then you say to yourself,
May this person never be separated from joy.
May they always be immersed in joy,
Never touched by pain.
Again,
Imagining even more light sent over with this wish.
The light has now filled up their arms and their legs.
And then you say to yourself,
May this person live always in a state of contentment,
Free from all their grasping and free from aversion.
And as you send over more light with this wish,
It fills up their neck,
It fills up their head,
Their entire body is now glowing with light.
And because of all the well wishes you sent,
Your loved one,
Your friend is now glowing.
You see them having received your wishes and you understand that they are happy,
Free from pain,
Joyful and content.
Their light is so bright that it bounces back to you.
Your own light now,
Even brighter.
Rest now in the presence of this light and rest in the sensation in your body.
How does it feel to see your friend so happy and so free?
Recognize that it's by sharing with others that we experience fullness.
Recognize that you are whole.
You are perfect.
And you have everything that you need.
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
