For this practice it's especially important to find a comfortable position,
So that might be lying down or seated,
And to help us focus and gain some initial stability,
Let's bring our awareness,
Our attention to the breath at the belly,
As we inhale and exhale,
Just noticing the sensations of the breath at the belly,
Noticing the rise and fall,
And you might like to experiment by placing a hand gently on the belly,
If that makes it easier to sense the rise and fall,
We'll now shift into the practice of joy,
By bringing to mind someone who we really believe has our best interests at heart,
Someone who's been kind and supportive,
Could be someone you know now or someone from the past,
Choose just one person and bring them to mind as though they were right next to you now,
Smiling at you,
Imagine them truly wishing for you to be happy and fulfilled,
For you to have a life that's flourishing,
Imagine this positive energy flowing towards you from their smile,
Imagine seeing it in the sparkle of their eyes,
And with your next breath inhale and draw in that goodness,
That positive intention,
In meditation and in visualization we can generate positive emotional states right here and now,
The same experience that we might have if the person really was next to us,
Simply through our minds and our imagination,
We can call upon this valuable resource in the here and now whenever we need to,
So for a couple more breaths,
Spend some time and really take in your connection with this person,
And really take in and accept their well wishes,
They want you to be happy,
They want you to feel joy,
They cherish you,
They really do,
Now let go of the image of this person,
Noticing in the body if there's any emotion that lingers,
Feelings of warmth or goodness,
These are the ways we can feel what it's like to receive wishes of happiness,
Relax into the sensation,
Now that we've felt support and happiness we can extend this and we can give others a boost of joy,
So bring to mind a friend or someone in your life who could really use an extra boost right now,
And again bring them to mind vividly as though they were right in front of you,
And without too many stories or thoughts,
Just wish this person to be truly happy,
Fulfilled and joyful,
Visualize yourself next to them and really look at them and wish them well,
As you inhale draw in this intention,
This positive intention towards the other person,
And as you exhale wish this person happiness,
Fulfillment,
Wish that they flourish,
Breathing in,
Drawing in the intention to wish them well,
Breathing out,
Sending out all the positivity to that person,
Then release the image of the person and come back to the sensations in your own body associated with wishing someone else well,
Associated with extending joy,
Offering joy,
And let's bring this practice to a close with three long deep inhales and three long exhales,
Breathing in deeply into the belly and exhaling slowly,
And thank you so much for practicing with me today.
