To begin,
Take a few deep breaths.
Focus on breathing into your belly.
Breathing nice and soft so your diaphragm can expand and contract freely.
Breath can flow smoothly and naturally.
And then concentrate on extending your out breath slightly.
Breathing out nice and slowly.
And begin saying silently to yourself as you breathe out,
May I be happy.
Just letting that thought ride silently on your breath as if it's coming from your heart.
And by this we don't mean may I be happy sometime in the future.
We don't mean may I have the things that I think will make me happy.
This is the happiness that is available here and now and that comes from within.
So right now,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
May I be happy.
May I be free from animosity.
If there's any angry thoughts present in your mind right now,
Just let those go.
Set them aside.
And as we continue the meditation,
If any angry thoughts arise,
Annoyance,
Anything like that,
Just let that go.
Give yourself freedom from anger,
Freedom from ill will.
May I be free from stress and affliction.
So a lot of things come into our mind as we're sitting.
There's no need to push any of those things away.
There's no need to hold on to anything pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Neutral.
Let it be or let it go.
And if we don't nurture stress,
We don't create affliction.
What we pay attention to grows.
So if we don't put our attention on these things,
They won't grow.
Worry won't grow into anxiety.
Sense won't grow into anger.
May I look after myself with ease.
As the mind moves this way and that,
Just being careful to observe it,
Come back to the object of meditation,
Back to the intention,
Calmly,
With compassion for yourself.
May I look after myself with ease.
Now call to mind your dearest loved one.
Imagine that they're here with you or you can think of their name.
Visualize them or just hold them in your heart in some way.
And then extend this wish for happiness,
For good will to them.
May they be happy.
May they be free from animosity.
May they be free from stress and affliction.
May they look after themselves with ease.
And you can continue just with the thought,
May they be happy,
Saying their name or holding their image.
And you can imagine your goodwill,
Your care and kindness for them extending out from your heart as a light,
As a warmth,
Touching them with your desire that they be happy and well.
And now bring to mind a good friend.
This could be someone who's done you some favors recently,
Maybe they stood beside you at a tough time,
Or you just really like spending time with them.
They're just generally good people.
And do the same,
Envision them here with you.
Think of their name and extend your wish for their happiness and well-being.
May they be happy.
Imagine that thought as a light or a warmth radiating from your heart,
So extending out a little farther from you now to unfold your friend in your good will.
May they be happy,
Free from animosity,
Free from stress and affliction.
May they look after themselves with ease.
And continue to radiate that wish to them with the thought,
May they be happy.
Now think of a neutral person,
An acquaintance,
Someone that you don't really like or dislike.
Could be someone that you see at work or at school,
In the grocery store,
Someone you've met but you haven't really gotten to know yet.
You might not know very much about them,
But you know that like yourself,
Like your loved one,
Like your friend,
They want happiness.
And you know that since they're human beings,
They experience anger and stress.
And so extend this wish,
May they be happy,
Free from animosity,
Stress and affliction.
May they look after themselves with ease.
And bear in mind,
As you do this,
This is not a problem-solving activity.
You don't need to worry about whether they can be happy or what they need to be happy or anything like that.
Your job simply is to develop the capacity for good will.
May they be happy.
And so maybe there's someone you're not getting along with.
So if you're new to this practice,
You don't want to start with someone who's harmed you in some terrible way.
Start with someone who's kind of annoying or just that you're having some conflict with at work or something like that.
And do the same thing.
Imagine that with you,
You think of their name and begin to extend your wish for their happiness.
May they be happy.
Eventually,
You'll be able to really keep that feeling going without any change from one person to another.
But for now,
Just notice what happens.
You don't have to feel anything special.
Just work with this intention to meet them with goodwill.
Bear in mind that all beings want happiness,
Want freedom from stress.
So when people are difficult,
Usually it's just that they're seeking that happiness,
Maybe in unskillful ways.
Your wish for their happiness also doesn't take anything away from you,
Doesn't cost you anything.
You're just developing a strength,
A capacity that is spiritually healthy for you.
The ability to greet what comes your way with goodwill and kindness.
May they be happy.
Free from animosity.
May they be free from stress and affliction.
May they look after themselves with ease.
May they be happy.
May they be free from animosity.
Free from stress and affliction.
May they look after themselves with ease.
And radiate that wish for their happiness from your heart to theirs.
And finally,
We'll extend that wish to all beings.
Whatever living beings there are,
In all directions,
May they be happy.
Free from animosity.
Free from stress and affliction.
May all beings look after themselves with ease.
So just imagine that you can send your wish for the happiness of all beings in all directions.
You can send it to the cardinal directions above and below,
If you'd like,
Or to the beings that walk on the earth.
Things that fly.
Those that swim.
Those that burrow.
If there are formless beings in other realms,
May they be happy too.
Whatever beings there are,
May they be happy.
Before the bell rings to end this meditation,
Take a few deep breaths again.
Stop the process of sending out and just bring your attention to your breath,
To your heart,
To the center of your chest,
Feeling that warmth there.
That goodwill is always available to you whenever you need it.
The more you give away,
The more you have.
So just rest for a moment in your breath until the bell rings to end the meditation.
