And so let us begin by finding a comfortable posture,
Ideally if we can be either seated upright or laying down flat on our back in the Shavasana.
And we can spend a few moments early on just settling and relaxing our body.
So first of all bringing awareness into the body,
Grounding our awareness by becoming aware of our contact with the seat,
The cushion,
The floor.
Those firm and solid tactile sensations and becoming aware of all the sensations throughout the body and the very subtle tingling vibration up to the coarser movements of the breath of energy.
And setting the body at ease,
Relaxing the muscles of the shoulders,
Around the arms and the hands,
Releasing any tightening around the belly or the lower back,
And any tightening around the face,
Particularly around the forehead,
The eyebrows,
The jaws,
Let the body be utterly soft and relaxed.
And let us take a few slow deep breaths,
With the out-breath feeling yourself relax just that little bit more,
And also with that out-breath just giving yourself permission to set aside all hopes,
Fears,
Worries and concerns.
Before we venture into the practice,
I ask you to focus on your breathing and count ten breaths,
Ten rounds of inhalation and exhalation.
And so as we begin this contemplation,
I encourage you to be open to the questions and the contemplations that we're going to engage in,
Knowing that sometimes it can be a little bit uncomfortable to look at,
We don't like to think about our qualities.
Just try to follow the process as best you can,
As openly as you can.
So first of all,
I invite you to call to mind something you have done or said that you feel was a kind or a good action,
Your time you were generous or caring,
You contributed to someone's well-being.
And if something comes to mind,
Allow the happiness that may also come with the remembrance.
So just allow yourself a few moments to just think about this,
It could be something recent,
It could be something in the past,
It could be a few things.
Just allow yourself to recognize and remember sometimes that you did or said something that you felt was kind or good.
Now whether something came to mind or not,
I'd now invite you to turn your attention to a quality that you like about yourself.
Is there an ability or a strength that you recognize within you?
So perhaps you notice that you're a kind person,
You're compassionate,
That you're honest,
That you're patient,
Or that you have some skill,
Some ability,
Some strength.
And again,
If there's any sense of delight that arises as you think about this quality,
We can allow that to arise,
You don't need to push that down.
And if this one feels difficult,
We might ask ourselves,
What would your loved ones,
What would your friends say in answer to this question?
What qualities would they speak of that they admire in you?
And so can you recognize that,
Their admiration,
Their love,
And in that feel a similar admiration for these qualities that you possess?
See those qualities as lovable,
See yourself as lovable.
And again,
Whether there was something there or not,
I now invite you to reflect on the primal urge within you towards happiness and the rightness and the beauty of that,
That expression of your Buddha nature wanting to realize itself.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to be happy,
It's a beautiful expression of the purest part of you.
So can you recognize that within you,
That in everything we do,
It is a movement towards happiness?
And so can you see and recognize that you are lovable,
Worthy of love,
Not just because maybe there are qualities to love things you've done,
But also simply because you're a sentient being who desires happiness,
And you're just as deserving as any other sentient being.
And so recognizing that and arousing this sense of befriending oneself.
And so with this preliminary contemplation,
We can move our practice into the realm of imagination,
And we can use different phrases of loving-kindness which help open the heart to let loving-kindness flow forth.
And loving-kindness is the yearning,
The wish that the person you're attending to be well and be happy.
So here of course oneself.
And so we might start with this first classic phrase.
May I be at ease.
Not of course just saying the words,
But imagining oneself being free of the afflictions of hostility,
Hatred and fear,
Imagining ourselves being at ease in our body and mind.
How would that look?
How would that feel?
To be utterly at ease,
Comfortable,
Not afraid,
Not contorted with enmity.
May I be at ease.
Though we may offer the phrase,
Let that open up to something much deeper.
Imagining ourselves being at ease and wishing it to be true,
Wishing it to be so.
Another phrase.
May I be well and happy.
And so we might imagine ourselves being free of craving,
Anxiety,
Attachment.
Imagine ourselves having contentment,
Happiness,
A sense of fulfillment.
How would that look?
How would that feel?
How do you imagine that to be?
Being well and happy.
May it be so.
May I be well and happy.
And a third phrase.
May I have joy.
With that,
You might imagine yourself experiencing joy like you've never known.
Imagine the joy expressing itself on your face,
This lightness,
This buoyancy in your body.
Imagine experiencing freedom's true joy,
Awakening.
Then arousing that yearning,
Yes,
May it be so.
May I have joy.
And so just arousing this yearning,
Expressing it in whatever ways feels right for you.
May I be at ease.
May I be well and happy.
May I have joy.
Are there any other words that mean more to you?
