Letting the sound of the bells bring you into this moment,
This practice.
This meditation will be loving kindness meditation.
An opportunity for the willingness to be with oneself in a compassionate,
Kind and open way.
So finding a comfortable seat,
Allowing yourself to settle into sitting,
Feeling the body,
Connecting to the floor,
To the cushion or to the chair.
Just allowing yourself to really sense and feel the embodiment of sitting with an intention to pay attention.
And so now drawing your awareness to the body,
Becoming aware right now of sensations being felt or known in the body.
Just allowing yourself to tune into any places in the body that might need attention or care and taking the time to do so.
Now moving the attention to the region of the chest,
To the place where the heart resides.
Trying to allow your attention to settle into this region and feel the sensations of the body here.
Maybe noticing the heartbeat or noticing gentle rhythm of the inhale and the exhale.
Just allowing yourself to become fully aware of the heart and the heart center.
Now bringing into your mind's eye and awareness someone for whom you have a fond affection for,
Someone with whom you hold in high regard.
This can be someone who is alive,
Who has passed.
This can be a person or a spiritual being or a pet.
Just allowing yourself to bring that person into awareness.
Allowing yourself to take notice of the feelings and the experience of the sensations felt in the heart center towards this person or this being.
Allowing yourself to really feel and experience what it's like to begin to send this person or being loving kindness from this place within your heart center in this moment.
Allowing to send sentiments of loving kindness,
May he or she be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May he or she be healthy and strong.
May he or she be happy and peaceful.
May he or she have ease of being.
May he or she be safe,
Free from inner and outer harm.
May he or she be healthy and strong.
May he or she be happy and peaceful.
May he or she have ease of being.
Continuing for the next few moments to just allow yourself to feel and sense the offering of this loving kindness to this person or being safety,
Health,
Happiness and ease.
And now allowing yourself to shift the focus of attention from this person or being and turning it inward towards yourself,
Allowing yourself to fully experience what it's like to bring your being into awareness,
To hold your being in regard and begin to send yourself loving kindness.
May I be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I be happy and peaceful.
May I have ease of being.
May I be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I be happy and peaceful.
And may I have ease of being.
Continuing to allow yourself to feel and experience these sentiments of loving kindness to yourself of safety,
Health,
Happiness and ease.
Now shifting the focus of attention from yourself and bringing into awareness someone with whom you have a neutral or very acquaintance-based relationship to.
So this might be someone with whom you know in a work setting and have some small contact or interaction with,
Someone you know from,
A story you might frequent,
Just someone with whom you have a very neutral relationship or interaction to and don't know well.
Continuing to allow yourself to send this person loving kindness.
May he or she be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May he or she be healthy and strong.
May he or she be happy and peaceful.
And may he or she have ease of being.
May he or she be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May he or she be healthy and strong.
May he or she be happy and peaceful.
And may he or she have ease of being.
Continuing to send these sentiments,
These expressions of loving kindness to this person of safety,
Health,
Happiness and ease.
And now shifting the focus of attention again.
Bringing now into the mind's eye and into awareness someone with whom you have a bit of difficulty,
Someone with whom you may have experienced a strained interaction.
Calling yourself to bring into awareness this person and beginning to offer and send this person loving kindness.
May he or she be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May he or she be healthy and strong.
May he or she be happy and peaceful.
And may he or she have ease of being.
May he or she be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May he or she be healthy and strong.
May he or she be happy and peaceful.
And may he or she have ease of being.
And continuing for the next few moments to send this person loving kindness of safety,
Health,
Happiness and ease.
Now shifting the focus of attention and bringing into the mind's eye and awareness now a community or a group of people with whom you're familiar.
This might be family,
Close friends,
The people you work with,
A group you might know.
Allowing yourself to hold these people in awareness and beginning from the space within this heart center and loving kindness experience from within beginning to send that out towards these people.
May they be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May they be healthy and strong.
May they be happy and peaceful.
May they have ease of being.
May they be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May they be healthy and strong.
May they be happy and peaceful.
And may they have ease of being.
Continuing to experience and send these sentiments of loving kindness,
Safety,
Health,
Happiness and ease.
We're now shifting the focus of attention again.
Allowing yourself to now bring into awareness from that community,
That group with whom you are familiar,
Expanding out from that group to those that that group might know and then beyond to those people that those people may know.
Beginning to move your awareness out to expand out into the entire community around you.
That include locally,
Those near you,
Those within the state you live,
The country you live,
The world you live,
Maybe even the universe in which you live and beginning to send to all beings loving kindness from that place within that loving heart center.
May all beings be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May all beings be healthy and strong.
May all beings be happy and peaceful.
And may all beings have ease of being.
May all beings be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
May all beings be healthy and strong.
May all beings be happy and peaceful.
And may all beings have ease of being and continuing to sense,
Feel and know inwardly the experience of sending,
Expressing these sentiments of loving kindness to all beings of safety,
Health,
Happiness and ease.
May all beings be safe and free from inner and outer harm.
Really allowing now your experience of this practice to be fully felt,
Fully integrated into this moment,
Being present right now to the experience of your body,
Your mind and your heart after having chosen to practice loving kindness,
Allowing yourself to tune in to what it's like to be here right now just as you are.
Allowing yourself a moment of gratitude for allowing yourself to practice in this way to be present to the moments as they unfold to the deeper knowing and love you're allowing for yourself.
