Hello and welcome.
My name is Munda Simone and it's an honor to be here and guide you through a compassionate practice.
Today we open ourselves up to our greatest resource,
Our inherent capacity to be compassionate and kind.
This is a powerful practice that reconnects us to our hearts and reminds us that we are all deeply interconnected.
We'll begin by taking a comfortable seat,
The spine is nice and long,
Allowing the eyelids to rest closed or finding a space in front of you to gently gaze at.
Your hands can be resting anywhere that feels most comfortable to you.
The chin is parallel to the ground and the jaw is relaxed.
We'll start by taking a few long breaths in and slowly breathing everything out,
Grounding your attention on the sensations of breathing right in your body,
At the tip of your nose.
And for a few moments,
Simply noticing the breath in and the breath out.
This practice revolves around the repetition of these phrases,
Yet it's not much about the phrases,
Rather the intention behind them.
The intention of gift giving,
Wishes of loving kindness to ourselves and others.
This is a practice of generosity and compassion that benefits ourselves and everyone around us.
And today we'll start with ourselves as at times it is the hardest thing to wish ourselves well.
We're often putting others first,
But today we're going to experience wishing ourselves well first.
Beginning by bringing an image of yourself to mind,
Perhaps a memory of yourself.
Imagining that perhaps you are looking at yourself from the other side of the room.
And begin repeating the phrases at a pace that feels most comfortable to you,
With no rush,
Allowing some space between them and experiencing yourself as a recipient of these wishes.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
And may I live with ease.
If you notice that your attention wanders,
Just begin again.
The practice is in the returning,
Returning to the repetition of the phrases,
Allowing these feelings of compassion to permeate throughout your whole body.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
And may I live with ease.
Taking a long breath in,
And as you exhale,
Gently letting go of this image of yourself.
And now bringing to mind someone who has helped you a lot in your life,
Perhaps a teacher,
A grandparent,
A dear friend,
Someone that when you think about them,
It makes you smile.
Someone who's inspired you.
Perhaps you've never met,
Yet their support is invaluable to you.
The first person that comes to mind,
Allowing that to be the one for today.
Repeating their names to yourself.
Taking a moment to get a feel for their presence,
As if they were right here with you.
And begin gifting them these wishes from your heart and to theirs by repeating the phrases,
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
And may you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
Taking a long breath in,
And as you exhale,
Letting go of the image of this person.
And now inviting to mind a benefactor,
Someone you don't know that well,
Someone you feel neutral towards.
Perhaps the person who works at the coffee shop or the taxi driver.
Someone you don't feel one way or another towards,
Yet you know that this person,
Just like you and I,
Simply wants to experience love.
Visualize an image of this person in your mind.
If you know their names,
Repeating their names to yourself.
Otherwise just getting a picture of them in your mind,
And begin gifting them these wishes of love and kindness by repeating the phrases,
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
And may you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
And may you live with ease.
And may you be happy.
Taking a long breath in,
And as you exhale,
Letting go of the image of this person.
Reflecting to your breath,
And noticing what may be present in your body in this moment.
And now I invite you to bring to mind a difficult person.
Not the most difficult person in your life,
But someone you've experienced difficulties with.
Bringing an image of this person to your mind,
And remembering that they too want what we want to be happy.
And begin extending these wishes from your heart right into theirs.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
And may you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
And may you live with ease.
Taking a long breath in,
And again as you exhale,
Letting go of the image of this person.
Noticing if there's anything new to be experienced in your body,
Perhaps in your heart center,
In your chest area.
Sometimes when we practice in this way,
We may notice a strong emotion,
Perhaps a warmth in the chest.
It's natural.
And if nothing at all,
That's okay too.
And now imagining that you could extend your wishes,
Your heartfelt wishes so much that you could reach all beings everywhere.
All beings with no exception.
So imagining bringing to mind all beings throughout the whole world.
All fish in the sea,
All birds in the sky.
Your heartfelt wishes could reach all beings.
By repeating the phrases.
May all beings everywhere,
Including ourselves,
Be happy.
May all beings everywhere be healthy.
May all beings everywhere be safe.
And may all beings everywhere live with ease.
Allowing yourself to be in the space of compassion,
Embodying the power of love and connection.
And as we begin to bring our practice to a close,
Reconnecting with your breath.
Expressing gratitude to yourself for taking this time,
For self-care,
For taking this time to practice in this way.
This profound practice not only benefits ourselves,
But everyone we come in contact with.
I want to remind you that these phrases are yours now.
And you can use them anytime,
Anywhere.
It only takes a moment to reconnect to your innate qualities of love and compassion.
Whenever you're ready,
Slowly blinking your eyes back to open.
Welcome back.
Thank you for your practice today.
Thank you.
