This meditation is particularly powerful if you find yourself struggling with a difficult person in your life.
And maybe you are telling yourself a story about this person and you can't let this story go about how they've hurt you or why you're right.
But you know this story is causing you pain and you know that this is the meditation,
The antidote that will help you pull the thread out of the story thereby abandoning it and abandoning the negative mind state,
Replacing it with a positive mind state.
So let's begin by coming into a comfortable position.
Make sure that your back is straight.
Take your chin slightly.
Close your eyes.
And at your own pace,
Take a few big inhales,
Long slow exhales,
Really filling up on the inhales and balancing that out with the relaxation of the exhales.
And now allow your breath to flow more naturally without trying to control your breath,
Just letting it find its own rhythm.
And bring your attention down to your heart.
And imagine as if you are breathing in and out of your heart.
Feeling this area expanding and contracting with each breath.
And now imagine in your mind's eye an image of yourself.
And as you see yourself in your mind's eye,
Silently say the words,
May I be happy?
May I be safe?
May I be healthy?
May I know that I am loved?
May I feel accepted?
May I feel included?
May I know that I belong?
May I be wise?
May I always be kind to myself and others?
May I know deep inner peace?
May I be free?
And then imagine that you take your arms and wrap them around this image of yourself.
And you whisper softly that everything is okay.
There is nothing to fear.
I am here for you and I have always been here for you.
And really feel that sense of being cared for,
Of being loved,
Of being held,
Of giving love and receiving it.
And then slowly let that image fade away,
Returning your attention to your heart.
Imagining as if you are breathing in and out of your heart.
And now imagine in your mind's eye all of your family,
One by one placing them there.
And even if they're not all there yet,
It's okay.
It's our intention that all of our family is here.
And as you look at your family in your mind's eye,
Say to them,
May you be happy.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you know deep inner peace and contentment.
May you feel loved.
May you feel accepted and included.
And maybe a few family members stick out to you because you know they're going through a particularly tough time.
And so you direct your attention to them,
Wishing for them to be happy.
May you be safe.
May you know that you are cared for.
May you know that you belong.
May you know deep inner peace and contentment.
And then imagine that you take your arms and you wrap them around all of your family.
As you whisper softly,
Everything is okay.
There is nothing to fear.
I'm here for you and I will always be here for you.
And you can feel the collective sigh of relief,
Knowing they're okay as they rest in your arms,
Feeling the love,
The support,
Being cared for.
And just do your best to sustain this feeling of love,
Of care,
Of kindness.
And then slowly let that image fade away,
Returning your attention to your breath at your heart.
And now imagine in your mind's eye all of your friends,
One by one,
Placing them all there.
And if they're not all there yet,
It's okay.
It's our intention for all of our friends to be there.
And as you see all of your friends in your mind's eye,
Silently say to them,
May you be happy,
May you be safe,
May you be well,
May you feel love.
May you feel accepted and included.
And maybe a few friends stick out to you because they're going through a hard time.
So you start to direct more of your attention to them,
Wishing for them to be happy,
Wishing for them to be safe,
To be well.
May you be peaceful,
May you know that you belong,
May you know that you're cared for,
May you always feel loved.
And then imagine that you take your arms and you wrap them around all of your friends,
Holding them tightly,
As you softly whisper,
Everything is okay,
There is nothing to fear,
I'm here for you,
I will always be here for you.
And you can feel that sigh of relief,
Knowing they're okay as they rest in your arms.
And now slowly.
.
.
Let that image fade away,
Returning your attention to your breath at your heart.
And now I want you to think of someone in your life that you're having a challenge with,
Maybe a disagreement,
Maybe you just don't particularly like this person for whatever reason.
And as you imagine this person in your mind's eye,
Silently say,
May you be happy,
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you be peaceful,
May you feel accepted and included,
May you know that you belong.
And as you see this person that is a challenge in your life,
You recognise that this person wants happiness just like you want happiness,
That they want to feel loved and accepted just like you want to feel loved and accepted.
And just like you,
This person has flaws and they have their own struggles.
And it doesn't mean that after this meditation you're going to run out to them and tell them that you love them.
What it means is that you won't be as tempted to tell yourself a negative story about this person any longer and thereby abandoning this negative mind state and in some small way softening your relationship to this person.
And as you allow the image of this person to fade away,
Bring your attention back to your heart,
Feeling your breath here,
Feeling the openness and the spaciousness of your heart and feeling all the love and kindness in your heart,
Because when we give love,
We feel love and when we give kindness,
We feel kindness right back.
Feel how joyful your heart is right now.
Know this feeling of an open heart.
Feel the stretch of life.
Namaste.
Namaste.
