Welcome back to 7 days of meditation a mindfulness journey.
So so glad you're back to join me for day 4.
There's a few topics that I find are especially well suited to meditation and they might help you cultivate certain qualities that lead to a more peaceful life.
I'm going to share these meditations with you over the next few days.
Today I want to start with my very favorite meditation.
It's called Metta or loving kindness meditation and it's really a simple one that I like to start every day with.
It includes certain phrases that will help you increase your compassion.
These are phrases that speak to me and you're welcome to come up with your own that resonate with you.
So let's drop right into the meditation.
Take a few moments to make yourself comfortable.
Arrive in the space that you're in,
The room you're in.
Just feel your body on the surface that you're on,
Whether that's the chair or the floor.
And when you're ready,
Allow your eyes to gently close or just soften your gaze.
Take a slow deep breath and then let go of any tension as you exhale.
Feel yourself sinking into the surface that you're resting on,
Becoming still more comfortable,
More relaxed.
Take another slow deep breath,
Releasing your thoughts on your exhale,
Just letting them drift far away.
One more deep,
Slow breath and know that in this moment,
All is well.
And now allow your breath to return to its own natural rhythm,
Knowing that as you are distracted by thoughts or sounds or sensations,
That your breath is always there,
Always there for you to return to,
To come back to the present moment,
To come back to awareness.
And now bring your awareness into your heart,
The center of your chest,
And notice a softness there,
A feeling of peace.
Take a moment to enjoy this feeling as you quietly focus in your heart and follow your breath.
Loving kindness meditation is a way to really cultivate compassion,
Compassion for yourself,
Compassion for all those around you.
And with loving kindness meditation,
We always begin by extending loving kindness to ourselves.
So right now I want you to think of three ways that you practice self-care that might be meditating or eating well or just taking quiet walks in nature.
And now send yourself loving kindness by saying with your inner voice the following,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be free from worry,
May I be peace,
May I be love.
And now bring into your vision someone close to you,
A loved one,
Family member or friend,
Or even all of your loved ones.
And see this person or these people as happy and healthy and think of three things you love about them.
Then think about three ways that they show you love.
Now send them loving kindness by silently reciting to yourself the following,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be free from worry,
May you be peace,
May you be love.
Feel with all your heart that wish for them to be happy and to be free from suffering.
And now bring to mind an acquaintance,
Someone you don't know very well,
But you might see them on a regular basis,
You might run into them at the grocery store or they might be helping you at the post office.
Just think about someone who is neutral and about how this person suffers in their own life.
See this person is happy and healthy and share that loving kindness with them through the same phrases,
Feeling with all your heart that you wish them happiness and freedom from suffering.
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be free from worry,
May you be peace,
May you be love.
Okay,
The next one can be difficult.
I want you to bring into your vision someone in your real life that really pushes your buttons.
Someone you know personally,
A family member,
Someone you work with.
This may be difficult and that's okay.
No judgment here,
Just observation.
And no need to force something you don't feel,
Especially if you have some anger towards this person.
Just see if you could see this person is happy and silently recite the following,
To the best of my ability,
I wish that you may be happy.
To the best of my ability,
I wish that you may be healthy.
To the best of my ability,
I wish that you may be free from worry.
To the best of my ability,
I wish that you may be peace.
And to the best of my ability,
I wish that you may be love.
Just be with that for a moment and see how that feels for you.
Notice what you notice about this.
All right,
Now let's end with a wish for all beings.
So now I want you to see yourself joined by all living beings on all planes of existence as far as the eye can see.
You can feel the joys and the sorrows that all beings experience and you're ready to share loving kindness with all of them.
May all be happy.
May all be healthy.
May all be free from worry.
May all be peace.
And may all be love.
Now before we come back to the outer world,
I want you to bring those thoughts of loving kindness with you into your everyday life.
And when you're ready,
Begin to bring some movement to your body.
Become more aware of what's happening around you,
What's happening in the room that you're in and then allow your eyes to open.
