Lovingkindness Meditation

In this lovingkindness meditation, we practice sending love to our own loved ones, as well as those that we've had some challenges with in our lives. This can be a very effecive meditation for removing blocks in our relationships, replacing them with love. The last part of this session directs love to ourselves, which is just as important because we often forget to do this! Hope you enjoy.

Transcript

Today's guided meditation is going to be focused on a very,

I don't want to say hard,

But advanced technique of meditation to being gentle with ourselves as we explore what it feels like in our body today as we practice loving kindness.

This spiritual form of meditation is where we cultivate and send love and kindness to all types of people in our lives,

People we know and love,

Our support systems,

People we see often but don't know very closely or aren't in our close network or circle,

As well as people we may have a conflict with,

Someone that it might be harder or more difficult to send positive feelings of well-being to,

As well as practicing loving kindness to people we do not know just infinitely,

To all of humanity around the globe,

And then finally taking all of that loving kindness we've cultivated and allowing it to embody ourself,

Because we too deserve love and deserve to feel worthy and at peace.

Just seeing how it resonates with you,

Exploring with non-resistance,

Allowing whatever comes into your awareness to just be.

As we get comfortable in our chair,

Whether we're seated or lying down,

Being gentle with ourselves as we know this advanced practice is difficult but so effective in that it helps change our brain's emotional processing,

Helps us develop more empathy for others and compassion as we begin to take the deepest inhales and exhales of our day,

Breathing in through our nose and releasing two more times,

More forceful inhales and exhales,

Breathing in and exhaling one more time taking in your space if your eyes are still open and exhaling as you flutter your eyes closed,

Paying a little bit more attention to the weight in your body,

Seeing how your body feels today as we're settling in,

Feeling our inhales and exhales flowing without stopping or without pause,

Knowing at any point during this meditation when our mind does wander,

Because if it hasn't yet,

Knowing it will,

Gently smiling at yourself,

Tapping into our human condition and remembering our point of focus,

Back into the sensation of our deep inhales and exhales,

Cultivating that compassion and love for the people around us.

And as you settle into the weight of your body,

Seeing what it feels like to be in your space today,

Zooming out now,

Beginning to envision yourself breathing here,

The inhales and exhales,

The rise and fall of your breath,

Just watching yourself in your space,

And begin to envision yourself seated here,

Looking right in front of you,

Bringing to mind someone who is very close to you,

Someone you love deeply and who has loved you unconditionally and supported you,

Someone very close and caring in your life,

Maybe it's a good friend,

A family member,

Favorite person,

Mentor,

And maybe it's your favorite pet,

Allowing that being to come into your awareness,

Sitting right in front of you,

You feel safe with this person,

With this being,

And just begin to watch them,

How do they look,

How are they sitting,

How do they sound when they talk to you,

And how do you feel as you watch them right in front of you,

Inhaling here,

Exhaling to them,

Peace,

Love,

And well-being,

Repeating the phrase to yourself or even out loud,

Inhaling here,

May you be safe,

May you be peaceful,

May you be healthy,

May you be at ease,

And continuing to repeat this phrase,

May you be safe,

May you be peaceful,

May you be healthy,

May you be at ease,

With every inhale and exhale,

Just watching that loved one in front of you,

Watching as this energy flows into their space and their awareness,

Calming them,

Helping them feel safe and loved,

Genuinely getting in touch with this feeling of care and love that you have for this person or being,

You may even notice a smile coming to your face,

Maybe one by one more loved ones begin to come into your awareness,

Sitting next to that first person,

As you continue to repeat the phrases,

May you be safe,

May you be peaceful,

May you be healthy,

And may you be at ease,

This energy is just flowing through every person that's coming into your awareness,

Every being,

Allowing this sensation to flow throughout your body with every inhale and exhale,

Beginning to bring to mind an acquaintance now,

Someone that you don't know the details of their story specifically,

But you do see them pretty often in your life,

Maybe it's that coffee barista that takes your order every morning,

Or that person that happens to be on the same schedule as you and maybe always opens the door as you walk into a building together,

Maybe it's that front desk staff in your condo or apartment building,

Or maybe it's your neighbor in the house that you live in,

You see them every day you walk outside to get the mail or to go on a walk,

Maybe it's that co-worker that you work with pretty often but you don't know them personally,

Inhaling here as those people begin to come into your awareness,

And then exhaling that same cultivated love and peace that you sent to your loved ones,

Knowing that while you don't know this person deeply,

You know they deserve love and compassion,

Imagining them receiving this love,

This peace,

As we repeat the phrases,

May you be safe,

May you be peaceful,

May you be healthy,

May you be at ease,

And while this may be difficult,

I invite you to imagine someone in your life that you're currently having a conflict with,

No matter what the span of this conflict is,

No matter how big or small,

Just bringing this person into your awareness,

Beginning to send love and peace to their awareness,

Noticing the feelings that you feel in your body as we recognize that they too are a human being that deserves compassion,

Being gentle with yourself as you may notice your mind wandering,

Or different storylines,

Or content coming in from the people in your life,

Just tapping back into that sensation of love and peace,

Continuing to imagine yourself looking onto these people,

The group of loved ones,

The group of acquaintances,

Maybe that person or group of people you might have a conflict with,

All together in a bubble receiving your love,

Your kindness,

Your compassion,

And just for a moment while it may be difficult,

Begin to imagine yourself entering this bubble with those people,

You're marinating in this love,

Kindness,

Peace,

That you've cultivated as we breathe in together,

May we be safe,

May we be peaceful,

May we be healthy,

May we be at ease,

And all these people are looking at you,

Smiling onto you as you smile back at them,

As we slowly begin to get back into our body,

Carrying the feelings and sensations with us,

But allowing our awareness to travel back into your space,

And just for one moment,

Feeling the sensation as it courses through your body,

Recognizing the love and compassion and the well-being that you deserve for yourself,

Inhaling,

May I be safe,

May I be peaceful,

May I be healthy,

And may I be at ease,

And as we're in our body,

Taking one final inhale,

And then sending this feeling to everyone in the entire universe,

This feeling of love,

Connection,

Compassion,

To all of humanity,

Just for a brief moment here,

Smiling as we envision this,

As we raise our collective conscience,

Slowly getting back into your body,

Opening your eyes when you're ready,

Seeing how long you can keep this feeling and this sensation with you throughout your day,

And seeing how this meditation of loving kindness resonated.

Thank you so much.

Reviews

Thank you Melena
That was a wonderful guided meditation

Loved this meditation. Helped me to be Grounded in the moment 🙏🏻 Thank you

This was my first Insight meditation since coming from Headspace and I loved it. I felt much more inspired by this than the Loving Kindness course on Headspace. Such a great visualization of sharing loving kindness with your loved ones, acquaintances, ones you have conflict with, and yourself. So soothing and wonderful! Love love love

Phenomenal meditation on loving kindness—I loved this teacher’s focus on gentleness as we walked through sending compassion to others in my life. High production quality too! Thank you.