Hello,
I'm Michael from Pure Turtle and welcome to this loving kindness meditation.
This meditation will help you to build feelings of empathy and compassion,
Both for yourself and the world around you.
Please only listen to this meditation when it is safe to do so,
And not while operating machinery.
To begin,
I'd like you to make yourself comfortable in your space,
Placing both feet on the floor and resting your hands in your lap or on your thighs,
Allowing your eyes to close and begin to breathe slowly,
Starting with a deep breath in and a long,
Slow exhale,
Counting to four as you breathe in and counting to seven as you breathe out,
Finding the pause at the bottom of each breath,
Softening your chest,
Allowing more air into your lungs with each breath and slowly exhaling,
Allowing your chest to sink all the way down,
Enjoying that little pause at the bottom of your breath,
Before breathing in again,
Breathing your lungs with air.
As we exhale,
Feel your muscles relax,
Your jaw to unclench,
Your tongue to relax,
Allowing your forehead to unfurrow,
Any tension around your head to gently drift away.
After one more deep breath in and a calming,
Steady exhale,
I'd like you to bring your attention to your heart,
Quietly beating in your chest,
See if you can feel it beating,
See if you notice the rhythm,
Is it hard or is it soft,
Is it fast or is it slow?
And now,
You see if you can change the rhythm of your heart,
Becoming aware of what it's doing for you.
And now,
Connecting your heart with your breath,
I want you to imagine you're breathing with your heart,
Picture your heart in your mind,
Deep and red,
It's gently expanding and contracting with each breath.
And now,
I'd like you to imagine that your heart is a closed rose,
Picture it in your mind,
With each breath,
The rose begins to open,
Starting just as a bud and as you breathe,
The petals unfurl to reveal a beautiful,
Dark,
Perfect red rose.
And continuing to breathe gently as you think of this rose,
I'd like you to imagine yourself very small and now gently place yourself at the centre of this rose,
The centre of your heart and we have a picture in your mind of yourself in the centre of that heart.
And now,
I'd like you to say to yourself,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you.
And I'd like you to repeat this to yourself as you breathe just a few more times,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you.
And now,
I'd like you to replace that image of yourself with all the people who are closest to you in life,
Your family,
Your dearest friends.
And when you have an image of them in your mind,
I'd like you to gently place them in the centre of the rose,
The centre of your heart and say to them,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well with you,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well with you.
Continue to say these words to those people,
Holding that image in your mind,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well with you,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well with you.
And now,
I'd like you to replace those people with people you know less well,
Perhaps some work colleagues,
Some neighbours,
Some acquaintances you see on a regular basis.
Picture them in your mind and gently place them in the centre of your heart,
The centre of your rose and say to them,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well with you,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well with you.
Continue to repeat these words,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well with you.
And next,
I'd like you to imagine someone or some people who may have wronged you in the past,
With some who may have an unresolved issue.
Picture them in your mind and now gently place them in the centre of your heart,
Repeating those words,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well with you,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you.
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you.
And finally,
I'd like you to imagine the whole of the world,
The whole of humanity,
Rather than sisters across the world.
Choose an image or a symbol to represent all of those people,
All the people you have never met,
You never will meet,
And then place them in the centre of your rose.
Hold that image in your mind and say to them,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you.
And as you continue breathing,
Repeating those words,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you.
I'd like you to imagine that rose slowly starting to close,
Holding all you put there in your heart until the rose is completely closed.
You'll spend a moment with your thoughts and your feelings,
Enjoying that feelings of compassion and empathy of all those around you.
The words drifting through your mind,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May all go well for you.
Now,
Bring your attention back to your breath,
The feeling of peace and calmness and relaxation throughout your body.
I'd like you to slowly bring your attention back to your body,
Feeling the support of the chair,
Feeling the air filling your lungs and slowly moving your fingers and toes,
Bringing yourself back to full awareness and with a gentle smile,
Opening your eyes.
