This is a meditation to cultivate a loving and generous heart.
So,
Let's begin.
To start,
Allow yourself to come into this moment fully,
Relaxing where you notice any tension in your body,
And then coming into stillness.
Take a few deep,
Slow breaths.
Then return to your natural breathing.
If you feel comfortable doing so,
I recommend you close your eyes.
Focus on your breath as your anchor of attention.
Let the breath be in the foreground of awareness unless some other strong sensation,
Sound,
Thought,
Or feeling calls for your attention.
As you focus on your anchor,
Bring mindfulness and compassion to the breath and body or any other strong experiences as they arise.
Now,
Bring to mind someone you care about,
Someone who is dear to you.
Imagine them in your mind's eye.
As you visualize them,
Know what you appreciate about them,
Their kindness,
Perhaps,
Their generosity,
Perhaps their care for you,
Their helpfulness,
Or any other beneficial qualities.
Now visualize yourself offering them some act of kindness towards them.
It could be a kind word or gesture.
Or imagine giving them something of value to them.
As you imagine this,
Take some moments to feel in your body and heart the experience of generosity.
Imagine their pleasure in receiving what you've offered.
Allow the feelings of generosity toward this person to deepen.
Note what it feels like in your heart and the rest of your body.
Note the pleasurable feeling of a generous heart.
Now,
Bring to mind someone else toward whom you'd like to develop generosity.
Take some moments to sense what you appreciate about them.
Now,
Imagine offering this person some gift of kindness or generosity.
As you give to them your gift,
Sense what it feels like in your heart and in the rest of your body.
What does it feel like to give to this person?
See if you can sense it fully.
Now,
Imagine what this person is feeling in receiving your gift.
What is it like for them?
Allow your feelings of generosity toward this person to deepen.
Now,
Think of a situation at work or in your life in the world that calls for generosity.
Imagine bringing a generous spirit to this situation.
Imagine offering your actions to support the well-being of others.
Open to and feel the pleasure this image brings and the goodness of serving life within and around you in a generous way.
Now,
Return to your core practice for a few minutes,
Keeping with you the feelings of generosity that arose.
As you reflect on this exercise,
You will notice that when we give,
We give the most to ourselves,
For we benefit the most.
John Wesley once wrote,
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
