Welcome to this meditation practice on exploring self-love,
So taking your time to get comfortable,
Whether that's sitting or lying down,
And whenever you're ready,
Gently closing the eyes and softening the face,
Softening the forehead,
The eyes,
Around the eyes,
Softening the cheeks and opening the jaw,
Softening the shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
Legs and feet,
Inviting the body to settle and noticing if the mind is still arriving and just inviting the mind to watch the breath,
Observe the breath,
Watch,
Experience the body breathing,
Noticing where you feel the breath,
And if you'd like,
And if it feels like it would be supportive to you,
Maybe take a few rounds of deeper breaths,
Deep expansive breaths,
And just noticing where you feel the breath,
Is it the belly,
Is it the chest,
Is it the sides of the ribcage,
The back of the ribcage,
Is it the throat,
Is it the nose,
Where can you feel in your body the breath,
Recognizing that the mind does think,
And just anytime you notice the thought without judgment,
Gently bringing your awareness back,
Back to the body,
Back to the breath,
And back to this practice,
So bringing to mind now some person you love and care for,
Or somewhere where there's this easy,
Uncomplicated,
Unconditional love,
And just picturing them before you,
And there's no wrong answer here,
Whoever you've chosen is perfect,
But picturing them before you,
Picturing their face,
Eyes,
Smile,
Their hair,
Posture,
Maybe what they like to wear,
And connecting in with how you feel when you're around them,
How your body feels,
How does your body feel as you picture them before you,
Is there a particular body part where you can feel something,
Now connecting in with that sense of loving and caring for this person,
Of wishing them happiness,
Wishing them well,
Of wanting them,
Their dreams to come true,
Wanting to ease their suffering,
Wanting them to live a good,
Healthy life,
Connecting in with those wishes,
And connecting in with how that feels in your body,
Where can you feel this love,
This care in your physical body,
Belly,
Chest,
Face,
Length,
Where can you feel it in your body,
And what does it feel like,
Is there a color to it,
Is there a texture to it,
Is there a warmth,
A tingling,
Is there a squeezing,
Does it feel like a hug,
Or a caress,
What does it feel like in your physical body to love and care for this person,
And just growing that feeling,
Nurturing that feeling,
So increasing it,
Making it bigger,
Making it stronger in your body,
Making this growing,
Nurturing,
Feeding these feelings of love,
So that it expands out and starts to fill your whole body,
All the way to the tips of your fingers,
And the tips of your toes,
As your whole body starts to fill with these feelings of loving and caring for this person,
And starting to send that love towards them,
So whether it's just a felt sense that you're sending love to them,
Maybe there's a visual in your mind of a light or color radiating from you to them,
Just starting to send this love,
These good wishes towards this person,
And as you send it to them,
They open themselves up to receive your love,
They welcome your love,
They receive your love,
And as you send the love,
Just saying the words,
The mantra,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be at peace,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be at peace,
Repeating those words to yourself a few times as you send this love towards them,
And they open themselves up to receive your love,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be at peace,
And as they open themselves up to receive your love,
They start to send that love back to you,
They start to send their love back to you,
Beginning to picture that this,
Their love radiating now from them towards you,
Whether it's a light,
Whether it's a color,
Whether it's a felt sense of them sending love towards you,
As they say the words,
May you too be happy,
May you too be healthy,
May you too be at peace,
You're just opening yourself up and receiving their love,
So opening yourself up to receive their love,
Whether that's just a felt sense,
Maybe you want to open your arms or your hands to resist,
As a gesture of receiving this love,
Or rest a hand on your chest,
But just opening yourself up to receive this love,
These good wishes,
This care from this person,
You start to reaffirm,
Reaffirm what they're saying to you,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be at peace,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be at peace,
Just repeating those words a few times in your mind,
As you open yourself up to receive this love,
This care from this person that you also love,
Receiving that love,
Their heart to yours,
Repeating the words,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be at peace,
And then just letting go of the words,
Connecting back in with that feeling of loving this person,
Caring for them,
Feeling it in your body,
Recognizing those good wishes,
Wishing them well,
Wanting them to be happy,
Recognizing that they feel the same way towards you,
They want you to be well,
They want you to be happy,
Want to ease your suffering and good things to happen to you,
Just connecting in with this feeling of loving and in return being loved,
And then again,
Just one more time,
Resting your hand on your chest,
Connecting with the warmth,
That warm support of your hand,
Recognizing you're trying your best,
And that's enough,
And just one last time,
Reaffirming those words,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be at peace,
Really giving yourself full permission to feel you're allowed to wish yourself well,
Want to be happy,
Have good things,
You are allowed,
Giving yourself full permission to receive these words,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be happy,
Connecting back in with your breath,
Noticing the body breathing,
And you can leave your hand there or bring it back down,
Noticing if any tension has built up in your body,
And just inviting the body to soften,
Softening the face,
Shoulders,
Chest,
Body breathing,
And feeling free to stay here,
Just witnessing your breath for a little while longer,
Otherwise whenever you're ready,
Gently opening your eyes,
Slowly coming back to the room,
And in your own time,
Going back to the rest of your day.
