MBSR Lovingkindness Meditation

This meditation is a core practice of the free 8-week MBSR course found at Palouse Mindfulness.

Transcript

This meditation can be done in any position and begins by taking a moment to be aware of any thoughts or feelings you may be experiencing right now. Acknowledging how things are for you right now. And when you're ready, Beginning to bring awareness to body, Feeling your feet, Legs, Hips, Lower and upper body, Arms, Shoulders, Neck, Head. Beginning to feel the movement of your breath, The actual sensations of breathing. Reminding yourself that you are here, Alive and whole. When you're ready, You might bring to mind the image of a person you know or you've known in your life to be loving and kind to you. Someone who easily evokes feelings of warmth and love. Could be a spouse or a partner, Parent or family member, A mentor or a close friend. Someone who's been good to you, Helps you feel safe and whole. Who's caring easily emanates from them to you. And if a person past or present doesn't come to mind, Maybe someone who you know to be inspirational may come. Someone who's easy to imagine sending wishes of well-being to, Wishing them well. And if it feels right, Imagining saying to them, May you be happy, Healthy and whole. While you're saying this, Picturing them receiving your wishes for them, Seeing them close to you, Hearing your whispers of goodwill. May you have love, Warmth and affection. May you be protected from harm and free from fear. May you be alive, Engaged and joyful. And may you experience inner peace and ease. You may have your own words and wishes for them, So feel free to use words that resonate with you. Taking a few minutes now to feel how it is to wish these things for them. Letting yourself have the sense of the wishes for well-being emanating from you to them, Connecting you to them. Noticing how it feels inside you as you send these wishes of well-being to this person you love or care about. And when you're ready, Seeing if you can imagine this person or figure wishing these very same things for you, Knowing that they have your well-being in their heart. Imagining them saying to you, May you be happy, Healthy and whole. May you have love, Warmth and affection in your life. And as you imagine them saying these words to you, Imagine them close to you, Feeling their presence and unconditional love. As they say, May you be protected from harm and free from fear. May you be alive, Engaged and joyful. May you experience inner peace and ease. Letting those feelings wash over you. Feeling their unconditional love and caring for you. Letting the feelings of love and safety grow in you, Knowing there is nothing you have to do to deserve these feelings and wishes that they are given freely, Without condition. Seeing if you can connect to the meaning of these phrases, Even if you might not feel all the safety and warmth right now. Knowing that that is their wish for you. And now, Seeing if you can have these wishes for yourself. Hearing yourself say to yourself, May I be happy and healthy and loved. May I be safe and protected. May I be alive and free. May I experience inner peace and ease. You may have loved ones for whom it's easy to have these wishes for. A child, Or family member, Or dear friend, Or even a loved pet. And if it feels right, Saying to them, In your own way and with your own words, May you be happy and healthy and loved in your life. May you be safe and protected and not suffer. May you be alive and joyful. And may you have inner peace and ease. And if it feels right, Seeing if there are others in your life you can extend these good wishes to. A friend, A co-worker, A neighbor. Saying to yourself, To them, May you be happy and healthy and loved in your life. May you be safe and protected, Free from harm. May you be alive and joyful. And may you have inner peace and ease. It might even be possible to expand even further out to acquaintances. People you know of, But don't have a personal relationship with. People you see around town, Your neighbors. Even people you don't have strong feelings about, Like the salesperson who checks your groceries. Saying to these people, May you be happy and healthy and loved. May you be safe and protected, Free from suffering. May you be alive, Engaged, And joyful. And may you have inner peace and ease. And even if the wishes aren't infused with the same warmth and love as they were with a loved one, Seeing if you can extend the wish without the expectation that it should make you or them feel in any particular way. Connecting with what these wishes represent. Keeping these people in your awareness as you send these good wishes. Wishing for them to be healthy and whole. Wishing for them to have aliveness and love in their lives. And if you feel strong and secure, And you're comfortable with this, You might try extending these wishes to someone who's difficult for you right now. Not necessarily the most difficult person in your life, Just someone with whom there's been some sort of frustration or misunderstanding. And in doing this it might help to remember that just like you, They want to be loved. And just like you, They want peace in their life. So you could say to yourself, Just like me, They want to feel happiness and joy. Just like me, They want peace and ease. And they want to be loved and to know their loved ones are safe and healthy. And just like me, They're doing the best they can with what inner and outer resources they have. And if this feels possible to you, Silently saying to them, May you feel peace and ease. And maybe remembering that if this were really true for them, That would certainly be easier to get along with. May you have love and warmth in your life. May you be happy, Healthy, And whole. Even if this is difficult, There's value in noticing what it's like to extend the wish. Recognizing that you are not condoning their actions, But seeing in them a human being with some of the same needs as you. To be loved, To be safe, To be at peace. And if this is possible, Remember the circle it began with yourself and the persons that you loved the most. And remember that you are not alone. The persons that you loved the most, Family and friends, Extending that circle to include all the many people you don't know and who may live far away in other countries or cultures, And saying, May you be happy and healthy. May you have peace and ease. May you have love and warmth in your life. You could even imagine extending these wishes to include the animals and plants. All life on our planet and beyond, Including ourselves, And saying, May we all be happy and healthy. May we all be safe and protected. May we all be safe and protected. May we all live together in peace, Ease and happiness. And now as this loving kindness meditation comes to an end, Taking time to appreciate and feel what is generated through this practice. And even if there have been difficult parts of this practice, Knowing that this practice has the potential to increase your sense of aliveness, Of connection and of belonging. And when you are ready, Letting yourself feel again your physical presence, Sensations of your body, Seat, Upper torso, Neck and head, Beginning to notice the movement of your own breath, Bringing aliveness and nourishment to your body as a whole. Just as your good wishes of goodwill bring aliveness and nourishment to those around you. Thank you.

Reviews

Wished it was a bit longer. Other than that it was very nice.

This is a really lovely version of lovingkindness practice! Thank you so much, I found it very tender and helpful, and will definitely return to it. I am grateful for your MBSR offerings here.

Thank you for this beautiful meditation. I appreciate your “unadorned” plainspokeness. This was a gift to me this morning.

Wonderful! Thank you. I really enjoyed how you expand the range of feelings and experiences. I could feel people, and myself, experiencing aliveness and wholeness. A wonderful way to start my day. Namaste.

Just what I needed at this moment. Sometimes I forget to take care of me!
Thank you ☺