Hello and welcome to this loving kindness meditation.
My name is Silas Day and I will be your guide for the next short while.
Begin by finding a comfortable position either in a chair,
On a cushion,
In the cross-legged position,
Laying on the floor,
Or standing.
Come back into the body.
Feel the ground beneath you.
Feel the air on the skin.
Feel the heat of the body.
And bring your attention to the breath for just a moment and find a center.
Stop and take a look into your heart and see if there is any worry,
Any fear,
Any grief,
Any disharmony,
Resentment,
Rejection,
Stressfulness,
Unease,
Or anxiety that seems to dwell there.
If in your searching you come across anything notice it,
Sit with it,
Be with it as fully as you can,
Forgive it,
And let it float away.
Then let warmth and gentleness,
Friendship and kindness,
Compassion and love arise in its place in your heart for yourself.
Realize that you have to be your own best friend,
That before you can have great compassion for others you must be able to have compassion for yourself.
If you cannot forgive yourself it is hard to forgive others.
If you cannot see the light in the darkness of your own mind and heart,
Then you cannot see the light that dwells in others.
Before you can ever summon the compassion that is needed for those around you,
For your family,
For your friends,
And for strangers,
And even enemies,
You must be able to love yourself.
Surround yourself with loving thoughts.
Surround yourself with gentleness and ease.
Surround yourself with a simple feeling of contentment within you and without you,
And be the essence of loving kindness that dwells in the present moment.
Now think of someone that you hold very dear.
Think of someone that you may love,
A family member,
A spouse,
A dear friend,
The person you hold closest,
And fill the thought of them with loving thoughts,
With gentle thoughts,
With thoughts of total sincerity and generosity towards them.
Find peace with them.
Find safety with them,
And sit with this,
With that person in mind,
For just a minute.
You now surround yourself and that person with loving thoughts and try and think of a few more people that you hold dear let the feeling of peacefulness and generosity extend to everyone in your mind and think of yourself as a good friend to all these people as a noble sovereign of compassion as an example of a good Dharma friend think of your parents whether they are alive or not bear them in mind whether they were good to you or bad to you forgive them surround them with peacefulness surround them with love fill them with sincerity and gratitude touch into your heart and touch into their being be their good friend may they be happy maybe they be healthy may they be at peace and may they be filled with the essence of generosity and peacefulness think of those people who you know friends and acquaintances bring them to mind embrace them with that same love that same serenity that same gentleness that you extended to your own heart fill them with peace and kindness as a gift from you without expecting an ounce of anything in return if they have crossed you even if they have upset you forgive them open your heart to them show them your concern your love your kindness your natural sincerity and your forgiveness giving it to them without expecting anything in return sit with them in mind for just a minute you now turn your mind to those who you may not know so well your neighbors the people you've met from your work and your hobbies people that you run across in shops people that cut your hair customer service people you drive by on the road and see them as friends and as fellow beings all on the same journey as you are let them into your heart without any reservation show them love show them patience show them kindness and generosity show them all those things that you would give unto yourself and embrace them in peacefulness and in serenity embrace them in the gentle teachings of the Dharma and know them as good friends think of all these people and sit with them in mind forgiving them for just a minute Now,
Think of anyone who you dislike.
Think of those who cause you anger,
Those who cause you hate,
Those who cause you stress and great annoyance,
Those who have made your life more difficult,
Perhaps even hurt you,
Perhaps even those that you consider enemies or who have crossed you to the greatest degree,
All those who you would not consider your friends.
Think of that person.
Think of them with gratitude.
Think of them with peacefulness and serenity.
Think of them with forgiveness and with kindness.
Think of them as a teacher,
Teaching you about how you react and how much you can forgive.
Let your heart go out to that person.
Forgive them and forget.
No progress is made without this.
If we hold on to that burning coal of hatred,
Of anger and of frustration,
It will not harm them.
All it will do will burn our face,
The coal.
Think of all those people all across the world and all beings in the universe,
Whether they are wealthy,
Poor,
Hungry or full,
Crippled,
Orphans,
In war-torn nations,
Without friend or shelter,
Or surrounded by good beings and safety.
Open your heart to them.
Open your kindness to them.
Open your forgiveness and your gentleness to them.
Show them love and wish them happiness.
Now,
Bring your attention back on yourself.
Feel contentment arising in you from making an effort of happiness which comes from love and that comes from joy.
Be aware of these feelings.
Be aware of the experiences and the thoughts that you had and those you had in mind and those that you forgave.
