This is a loving-kindness meditation.
Focused on the specific Buddhist tradition of loving-kindness.
Find a comfortable position.
You can be seated or lying down.
Allow your eyes to close gently.
And take a moment to settle in.
Releasing any urgency or agenda.
For the next few minutes.
Let's begin with three cleansing breaths.
Breathe in slowly through your nose.
And out through your mouth.
Let's do it together.
Breathing in once.
Exhaling.
Breathing in two.
Exhaling Breathing in three.
And exhaling.
Now let your breathing return to its natural pace.
Simply rest here for a moment.
Arriving fully in your body.
Gathering yourself from wherever you were.
To right here.
Right now.
We begin where it can sometimes feel the hardest.
With ourselves.
Place one hand over your heart if that feels comfortable.
Feel the warmth of your own touch.
Bring to mind an image of yourself.
Perhaps as you are right now,
Sitting here.
Or perhaps a younger version of yourself.
A version of yourself who needed care.
And tenderness.
Hold that image gently.
Now silently repeat these phrases.
Letting each one land before moving to the next.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I live with ease.
If any resistance arises,
If offering yourself kindness feels awkward or undeserved,
Simply notice that.
No judgment.
No effort to change it.
You don't have to force warmth.
Just be willing.
Repeat once more softly.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I live with ease.
Now bring to mind someone you love easily.
And naturally.
A close friend,
A family member.
Anyone whose face brings a sense of warmth or tenderness.
See their face clearly in your mind.
Feel the swell of natural affection that you hold for them.
The love,
And the care.
Now directing your attention toward them.
Repeat to yourself.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
Let that warmth grow the way a candle flame grows when it lights another candle.
Nothing lost.
Only more warmth.
And more light.
Repeat once more.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
Now bring your mind to someone you neither like or dislike.
A neighbor you recognize but don't know too well.
A cashier you see regularly,
Or someone at the edge of your daily life.
This person,
Like you,
Carries their own hopes and their own struggles.
They too want and need to be well.
Hold their image in your mind and extend the same warmth towards them.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
This next step.
May be a little more difficult.
Bring to mind someone with whom you have friction or difficulty.
This doesn't have to be your most challenging relationship.
Just choose someone you can hold in your awareness without feeling overwhelmed.
Remember,
Wishing someone well does not mean condoning harm.
It means releasing the weight that resentment places on your own heart.
Call to mind their image.
And if it feels available to you.
Offer them this.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
Now let your awareness expand outward,
Beyond this room.
Beyond your neighborhood,
Beyond city and country.
Imagine waves of warmth radiating outward in all directions,
Like ripples on the water.
Reaching every living being.
All beings who are suffering.
All beings who are celebrating.
All beings who are lonely tonight.
All beings who feel loved.
Every creature drawing a breath on this earth.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings live with ease.
Breathe here for a moment in the spaciousness of that intention.
You are not separate from this.
You are one of all beings.
Include yourself once more in this final wave of kindness.
May I and all beings be happy.
May I and all beings be healthy.
May I and all beings be safe.
May I and all beings live with ease.
Slowly begin to bring your awareness back to your body.
Feel the weight of your hands.
Notice the rhythm of your breath.
Gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
And when you're ready.
Take one deep breath in.
And let it go completely.
Open your eyes softly when you're ready.
And carry this warmth.
With you.
