Let's practice loving kindness.
So come into your seat.
Relax.
And I'll guide you through the first part of this practice.
Allow your eyes to gently close.
Soften the body.
But be kind to yourself.
Don't hold the body upright with tension.
Just.
.
.
Physical alignment.
So that's your spine.
Just being.
.
.
Relatively upright.
But remember,
It's a gentle S-bench.
So it's not to be poker straight anyway.
And then just soften the shoulders.
And relax from the top of the head.
Down into the face and all the way down to the soles of the feet.
Now the Buddha.
Taught this.
To his monks as an antidote.
To fear.
We're all so anxious.
Life has changed.
But anxiety.
Existed all those years ago.
And this is a remedy for it.
So bring your attention to your heart center.
That's right in the middle of the chest.
And begin to breathe as if breathing in and out from there.
And you can imagine a warm golden sun.
Setting on the horizon and as you breathe in,
Breathe in that light.
That warms.
Breathing it right into the chest.
Into the heart center.
And we're now going to say,
Some loving-kindness phrases to begin to awaken.
That within us.
To open up the heart.
So first we say internally,
As if speaking from the heart.
May I be happy.
So just repeat that inside gently and slowly.
May I be happy.
And the next one,
May I be welled.
May I be well.
And as we recite these phrases,
We do so.
As meaningfully as we can.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be free.
May I be free.
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be free.
So begin in your own time now to recite those,
Slowly and meaningfully.
And if you can only remember two or three of the phrases,
Just use them.
And if you have your own.
Or you'd like to change them a little,
Feel free to do so.
And you may have thoughts of unworthiness You may have thoughts of Why am I wishing myself happy?
What about all of those people who are suffering?
But the Buddha said,
You can search the whole world for someone more deserving of your love.
And you will not find them.
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be free.
And you will.
Wonder into thinking.
That's fine.
Just see that it's happened and return back.
Back to the breath.
And the phrases.
May I be happy.
The people who causes difficulties in life.
Only do so because they themselves are unhappy.
If they were to be happy.
And at peace.
It would be a joy to be around.
So in many ways,
It's our duty.
To look after our own wellbeing.
It's not a selfish thing at all Because when we have our own hearts,
In line,
And happy.
We become a joy to be around.
We uplift others.
And when you recite the phrases,
Remember,
Slowly and meaningful.
Allowing them to sink deep into the heart carry on with the phrases for just a moment more.
Then I'll ring the bell.
Keeping the eyes closed for a moment,
Just stretch.
Move to ease any discomfort.
When you're ready.
Open your eyes.
I hope you enjoyed that and you felt a sense of peace,
Maybe even warmth inside.
Regular practice of this will bring much joy into your life.
I also have a course on here.
It's my best course,
An audio course,
And it's on loving kindness.
So do look for that and give it a try.
