Welcome to your practice.
This metta meditation practice is a loving kindness meditation that invites us to extend qualities of kindness,
Compassion,
And heartfulness to others and ourselves.
And it's important to note that this is an unconditional love and care that goes beneath the superficial layers,
So it's deeper than the kindness we might extend to someone because they made us feel special or because they're deemed important by some external measure.
This practice instead acknowledges our inherent worthiness and the interconnectedness of all beings.
So take a moment to get settled into your space as we prepare for this practice.
Find a comfortable seated position.
As you start to feel rooted in your seat,
Allow your spine to grow long and spacious and seal the lips,
Inhaling and exhaling through the nose.
Begin to release any tension you might be holding in the body.
Close down the eyes if you haven't already.
Just begin to receive the fullness of your breath,
Softening the belly,
Relaxing the jaw,
And becoming aware of the physical sensation of breathing.
As we enter into this meditation practice,
We'll start by bringing to mind someone that you love unconditionally.
Allow that person to enter into your mind's eye,
Imagining their face,
Connecting with the feeling of being in their presence,
That person that you love unconditionally that requires no effort.
We'll begin to shower that person with well wishes.
And you can mentally recite these phrases.
May you be healthy,
Happy,
And free.
May you remember your inherent worthiness.
May you always feel safe and supported.
And may you be loved.
Take a moment to just rest in that space,
Offering loving kindness to this person you care so deeply for,
And filling up with breath.
And as you exhale,
Extending those well wishes out.
Now bring to mind an acquaintance.
So this might be a person who you encounter regularly at the grocery store,
Or maybe you pass on your morning walk but have never stopped to get to know.
Whoever comes to mind first,
Just begin to visualize this person,
This acquaintance of yours,
And hold them in your awareness.
And once again,
You can mentally recite these phrases with me.
May you be healthy,
Happy,
And free.
May you remember your inherent worthiness.
May you always feel safe and supported.
May you be loved.
Once again,
As you breathe in deeply,
Filling all the way up into your heart space,
And extending that exhale out,
Just showering that person with well wishes.
And taking a moment to notice how it feels to extend this loving kindness to someone you don't even really know necessarily.
And just taking a moment to be in that space.
Now focus your mind on someone you're having a difficult time with,
Where those feelings of love and kindness might not come as easily.
And begin to visualize this person and hold them in your awareness.
Being gentle with yourself,
Notice if this has brought up any tension in your body,
And just allow yourself to soften and relax.
Focus on breathing deep into your lower abdomen,
Grounding into yourself.
And again,
As you focus on this person you're having a difficult time with,
You can mentally recite these phrases with me,
Extending well wishes out to them.
May you be healthy,
Happy,
And free.
May you remember your inherent worthiness.
May you always feel safe and supported.
And may you be loved.
And take a deep inhale breath,
And a cleansing breath out,
Releasing,
Letting go,
And continuing this cycle for a few rounds.
And lastly,
Turn your attention inward towards yourself.
As you direct loving kindness towards yourself,
You might even choose to rest your hands over your heart,
Placing one hand on top of the other.
Just follow me in reciting these phrases towards yourself.
May you be healthy,
Happy,
And free.
May you always remember your inherent worthiness.
May you feel safe and supported.
May you be loved.
And just rest in that space for a moment,
In that space of receptivity,
Absorbing the loving kindness that you've directed back inward towards yourself.
And reconnecting with the sensation of breathing,
Feeling the inhale pass through your nose,
Inviting it to descend all the way into your lower belly,
Filling up the ribs,
All the way into the heart space.
And let your cleansing exhale breath empty you,
And release any tension that might be lingering in the body.
And whenever you feel ready,
You can just begin to slowly blink the eyes open and move gently into the rest of your day.
Thank you for joining me for this loving kindness meditation.
