Loving Kindness Metta Meditation

Ground to your senses, connect to your body and unwind with this Metta Meditation. Metta is a beautiful way to cultivate forgiveness towards yourself and others, reduce self-criticism, and improve self-compassion, and feelings of joy. Enjoy!

Transcript

Beginning by moving your body in whatever way it's being called to be moved.

Maybe rolling your shoulders,

Stretching your back,

Swaying or shaking,

Allowing yourself to settle into position,

To come back to yourself,

Home to yourself,

Away from the busyness of your day,

Away from your thoughts of the past or your thoughts of the future,

Giving permission for your body and your mind to simply rest in the now,

Here with yourself for the next thirty minutes or so.

And if you're comfortable you may like to mindfully relax the muscles of your face,

Giving permission for your jaw to relax,

For your shoulders to drop away from your ears,

Very gently letting out a soft sigh and breathing gently into the pit of your stomach,

Allowing your breath to soothe your body and your mind as you breathe in and out,

Using it as a way to enter into the present moment,

Following the simplicity of your breath.

And if you've closed them gently reopening your eyes and observing the environment that you're sitting or laying down in,

Observing the different colours,

The objects and the furniture,

The distance between you and what surrounds you and the relationship you have with the objects,

Whether you're sitting on something,

Laying on something,

Near or far to something,

Observing the corners of the room.

And when you're ready very gently closing down your eyes again,

Observing that veil of darkness behind your closed eyes,

What comes up for you there?

Are there any objects,

Pops of colour or light,

Patterns?

Noticing your sense of sight behind your closed eyes,

Drifting your attention to your sense of sound and what you can hear that is far away from you,

Soaking up the sounds of nature,

Of animals,

Cars or the distant hum of life.

And investigating what you can hear that is close to you,

Maybe your own breathing,

The sound you make as you swallow,

Gentle movements in the room,

Or the sound of the music,

Maybe paying attention to the pockets of silence,

What does the silence feel like?

Does it have a sound or a sensation?

Can you rest in the silence?

And witnessing your tongue laying inside of your mouth,

What sensations arise for you there?

Are there any tastes on your tongue or on your lips?

Exploring your sense of smell.

What can you smell in your environment?

A candle,

Incense,

The general smell of the room?

And softly following your breathing pattern as you breathe in and out through your nose,

If that is your comfortable way of breathing.

How does it feel to follow your breath?

Having your breath naturally caress the insides of your body,

Your life giving breath.

Is there a point on your body where you feel your breath the most?

The tip of your nose where the air enters and exits?

Maybe at the rise and fall of your belly or your chest?

Finding where you feel your breath the most and laying with it there.

Knowing too that at any point throughout this meditation your mind begins to wander,

You can always come back to your breath as an anchor point back into the present moment.

Your breath is always going to be there for you to come back to.

Your place of comfort.

Tuning into your sense of touch,

What can you feel that is touching you right now?

Melting into the points of contact between you and what you are sitting or laying down on?

Maybe pressing into those pressure points?

What does the temperature of the outside air feel like against any of your exposed skin?

Your skin on your face or your hands?

Can you feel into those minute details of touch?

Those little kisses of touch?

As the air circles around your face and your hands making that gentle contact?

And when you are ready,

Gently bring your attention to your heart space.

Feeling into the true nature of your heart.

Any sensations that are present there?

Any feelings or emotions?

Only aware of its ability for unconditional love for yourself and others.

Perhaps on your next breath,

Breathing in the unconditional love your heart is capable of and on your exhale allowing that love to spread throughout you through every fiber of your being.

Filling up your whole body with unconditional love.

Perhaps lovingly checking in on the different parts of your body.

On your forehead,

Your temples,

Your eyes,

Your nose,

Your cheeks,

Your mouth and your chin,

Perhaps allowing these parts of your body to relax a little as you send your loving awareness to them.

Relaxing the muscles of your face and maybe noticing your head become a little bit more heavy.

Shifting your gentle awareness through to your shoulders and your collarbone.

How are they feeling?

Infusing them with your love and allowing them to relax a little deeper if they would like to.

Breathing down to your arms,

Your upper arms,

Lower arms and both of your hands.

Witnessing how they are feeling and allowing that unconditional love to spread throughout your arms that do so much for you.

Allowing that love to help them relax.

Becoming a little bit heavy and allowing them to do nothing in this moment.

Resting on your abdomen,

On the rise and fall of your belly.

Allowing this to be a space of love and rest.

Perhaps noticing the unconditional love that you have for each of your vital organs that lay within your abdomen.

Those organs that keep you alive and well.

Working without you even noticing.

Just resting there.

Slowly drifting over to your back.

Your upper back and lower back and your spine that runs in between.

Breathing into your back and perhaps allowing love to spread even more through here.

With your breath and maybe using your breath to allow this love to drift through every vertebrae of your spine.

Drifting down vertebrae by vertebrae.

Moving through to your legs.

Your upper legs,

Lower legs and both of your two feet.

Allowing these parts of your body to sink deeper into the ground beneath you as you lay your attention on them.

Sinking deeper and relaxing more.

Knowing there's nothing your legs need to do right now.

They can simply lay with your loving awareness.

Sinking deeper into relaxation.

Feeling into the love present throughout your whole body now.

Breathing into your body as a whole and sharing that love and the ease and relaxation that comes with it.

And gently bringing your observation back to your heart space.

The catalyst for your unconditional love.

Allowing it to be open and perhaps acknowledging the warmth and safety that may live within your heart,

Your home within yourself.

Again breathing into this place.

And if it's comfortable for you,

You may like to repeat the following phrases in your own mind.

Allowing the words to resonate throughout your body.

May I be safe.

May I be healthy.

May I be happy.

And may I live with ease.

May I be safe.

May I be healthy.

May I be happy.

And may I live with ease.

Allowing yourself to truly mean these phrases as you repeat them.

Listening to the way that they make you feel.

You may now like to expand your loving kindness to include other people.

Perhaps for a person you hold great appreciation for.

Whoever you are thinking of,

May they be safe.

May they be healthy.

May they be happy.

May they live with ease.

May they be safe.

May they be healthy.

May they be happy.

And may they live with ease.

Bringing this loving kindness now to someone you find it difficult to get along with.

Sending them these thoughts of warm and compassion now.

May they be safe.

May they be healthy.

May they be happy.

And may they live with ease.

May they be safe.

May they be healthy.

May they be happy.

And may they live with ease.

Acknowledging now a higher power,

Whether that is something spiritual,

Whether that is nature,

A god,

The ocean,

Holding this higher power in your mind and repeating may they be safe.

May they be healthy.

May they be happy.

May they live with ease.

May they be safe.

May they be healthy.

May they be happy.

And may they live with ease.

Continuing to breathe into these feelings of loving kindness that you have extended within yourself and out towards others.

And you may like to now spend a few moments with yourself to enjoy being in this loving moment.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Gently bringing yourself back into the room.

Following your breathing.

Observing the sounds that are near and far.

Noticing the tastes inside your mouth.

Noticing the sensations of touch that you can feel.

Maybe giving yourself a moment to acknowledge the fact that you spent this time in honor of you and your own self care.

And when you are ready very gently moving your body again.

And in your own time very gently reopening your eyes and continuing on with your day or your evening.

Perhaps with a bit more of an open heart.