Welcome to the loving kindness meditation.
To get started,
Find a comfortable seat.
Either sitting comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and your spine straight,
Or sitting cross-legged,
Or lying down if you're not going to fall asleep.
Just relax your whole body.
Now close your eyes.
Keep your eyes closed throughout the whole visualization and bring your awareness inward.
Just relax and gently follow the instructions without straining or concentrating.
Now take a deep breath in and out.
We begin with developing loving kindness towards ourselves,
Allowing our hearts to open with tenderness.
Allow yourself to remember and open up to your basic goodness.
You might remember times where you've been kind or generous.
You might recall your natural desire to be happy and to not suffer.
If acknowledging your own goodness is difficult,
Look at yourself through the eyes of someone who loves you.
What does that person love about you?
Or you may recall the unconditional love you felt from a beloved pet.
It may help to use your imagination and to picture yourself as a child standing before you,
Perhaps four or five years old,
If that allows tender feelings of kindness to flow more easily.
And as you experience this love,
Notice how you feel in your body.
Maybe you feel some warmth in your chest or heat in your face,
A smile,
A sense of expansiveness.
This is loving kindness,
A natural feeling that is accessible to all of us always.
Fasting with this feeling of open,
Unconditional love for a few minutes,
Letting yourself bask in the energy of loving kindness,
Breathing it in and breathing it out,
Inviting feelings of peace and acceptance.
Repeat these words to yourself.
May I be happy,
May I be peaceful,
And may I be free from pain.
Happy.
May I be peaceful and may I be free from pain.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Think of a person close to you whom you love or care about very much.
It could be someone from the past or the present.
It could be a spiritual teacher or guide.
It could even be your dog.
Imagine them standing in front of you.
See their face.
See their eyes.
And see what it is that you love about them.
Feel that love fill you up.
You and this person are similar.
Just like you,
This person wishes to be happy.
Send all your love and warm wishes to that person,
Repeating the following phrases silently.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
And may you be free from pain.
Now think of an acquaintance,
Someone you don't know very well and to whom you don't have any particular feeling.
This could be someone you met briefly at a party or a cashier from the grocery store.
You and this person are alike in your wish to have a good life.
Send all your wishes for well-being to that person,
Repeating the following phrases silently.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
Now expand your awareness and picture everyone in the same building as you.
The whole neighborhood.
Expand your view out to everyone in your town or city,
Your state,
The whole country.
Visualize everyone on the entire globe.
Just like you,
Everyone here has hopes,
Dreams,
Pains,
And wishes for a peaceful life.
Send warm wishes to all living beings on the globe who,
Like you,
Want to be happy.
Repeating,
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
And now if it's possible for you,
Bring to mind someone with whom you've had a difficult relationship.
Perhaps it's someone you don't like to feel sympathy or compassion for.
Seeing if it's possible to let go of feelings of resentment and dislike for this person.
This could be someone who's wronged you in the past.
Could even be a political figure.
Someone you saw on the news.
Find yourself to see this person as a whole being deserving of love and kindness.
As someone who feels pain and anxiety.
As someone who suffers and perhaps makes poor decisions because of their suffering.
And well wishes to this person who just like you wants to live a life free from suffering.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
May you be happy.
May you be peaceful.
May you be free from pain.
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Feel your burdens,
Your judgment,
Your suffering.
And as you exhale,
Feel your burdens,
Your suffering.
