Welcome to this compassion and loving kindness meditation.
As a part of this session,
I'll be asking you to bring to mind a number of people from your life,
Specifically three people.
A friend or someone close to you,
A neutral acquaintance,
And then a person with whom you've had some difficulties.
As we get settled,
You should choose which people you'll put your attention on.
Again,
Someone who is close to you,
Someone you have a neutral feeling toward,
And someone with whom you have some difficult emotions.
It's often most difficult for people to direct loving attention toward themselves,
And so that's where we'll start today.
Directing loving attention toward the self,
And then expanding that loving attention outward.
Expanding our sphere of love and compassion.
We'll do this using a simple phrase and intention which we'll repeat throughout.
Remember these words are the vehicle for our heart's energy.
Let's sit comfortably.
This means both literally,
Physically in your body,
Spine upright.
Relaxing the shoulders.
Relaxing the face and jaw.
Allow yourself to be relaxed but alert.
Softening the muscles of the face.
Let's also look to be comfortable in the mind.
Getting go of any expectations and not trying to force anything special to happen.
Just relax the body and mind and be at ease.
Gently close the eyes.
Sit comfortably and allow yourself to settle into this moment.
Just feel the natural state of your body today,
Noticing any sensations.
Then notice the natural state of your breath.
The simple natural structure of the breath as it is.
Not having to change anything.
Just noticing and allowing it to be.
Notice the simple structure of the breath.
The tummy rising and falling.
Easy,
Comfortable and relaxed.
Now picture yourself from an outside perspective.
Picture yourself right here,
Right now where you're sitting.
See the outline of your body and picture your face clearly.
As you see yourself,
Begin to direct some loving attention towards yourself.
We can start by saying this simple phrase.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from pain.
May I live my life with ease.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from pain.
May I live my life with ease.
Allowing these words to be the vehicle that shares our heart's energy.
We now extend our attention towards someone close to us in life.
Someone we love and someone we care for.
Perhaps that person is still with us or maybe they've gone out of our lives.
But whoever it is that comes to mind,
Picture that person's face and see them clearly.
Imagine they're sitting here with you right here,
Right now.
Loving you and caring for you.
Now we'll send that same loving attention that we wish for ourselves toward that person.
Repeating our simple phrase.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain.
May you live your life with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain.
May you live your life with ease.
As we allow these words and phrases to send our heart's energy.
Just notice any tension you're holding in the face and let the face and jaw soften.
Maybe turning the corners of your lips up just a little bit,
Creating that little smile.
Sending a signal to the body and mind that we're relaxed and safe.
Now picture a neutral acquaintance from your life.
One you know but don't have a deep relationship with.
Picture this person and see their face.
This might be someone you pass on your daily walk.
The barista from the local coffee shop.
Maybe a colleague at work or a neighbour.
Someone you see on a regular basis.
We know that all living beings wish to be happy and so does this person.
And so we wish for this person the same love,
Freedom,
Happiness and joy that we wish for ourselves.
We can do this by repeating that simple phrase.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain.
May you live your life with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain.
May you live your life with ease.
Now again just noticing any tension in the face,
Jaw or body and just allowing yourself to soften a little more.
Picture someone in your life with whom you've had some difficulty.
Perhaps someone you've had an argument or disagreement with.
There's someone you just find difficult,
Irritating or annoying.
Picture this person.
And as we send them compassion,
Remember that we're not saying that we excuse any behaviour or we're not trying to feel anything that we don't truly feel.
We're just recognising the oneness of our desires.
Understanding that all living beings wish to be happy and so too does this person.
Of course although all living beings have that same hope of happiness,
We all see the world through a different lens and so we all have different hopes and dreams and fears and we can all look for happiness in different ways.
But for now look to visualise yourself alongside this person,
Putting yourself on an equal footing to them.
In your mind repeat that simple wish.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain.
May you live your life with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain.
May you live your life with ease.
Now we expand our attention a little further,
Going out from the people that we know to all beings everywhere,
Without distinction,
Without exclusion.
We send our attention to every living being.
We move to a sense of boundlessness,
Going beyond any judgments or labels.
Again recognising the oneness of our desire to be happy.
We direct that same simple wish in our minds.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain.
May you live your life with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from pain.
May you live your lives with ease.
Now sit with yourself.
Wherever there is an area of life,
Some relationship,
Either with yourself or with someone else,
Where you felt a strain,
Just direct that phrase toward that part of life,
Toward that relationship,
Allowing that phrase to be the vehicle of your heart's love and energy.
Just sit in silence and feel that intention.
As you feel fully nourished by that intention,
That loving attention,
You can gently let go of the intention.
Coming back to the body.
You may shift the body,
Noticing any discomfort and allowing yourself to move,
To feel comfortable in the body.
And in your own time,
Please do take your time,
There's no rush.
When you feel ready,
Slowly open the eyes.
It was good.
It was easy.
This is the loving kindness meditation.
We don't mind if the mind wandered while we were meditating.
This is okay and this is normal.
We simply notice when the mind wanders and come back to our loving intention,
Expanding our sphere of love and compassion.
Namaste.
