Hi,
I'm Jennifer Rabo with the Serendipitous Soul,
And welcome to this meditation designed to foster more of a sense of community towards ourselves as well as the rest of the world.
So let's get started,
Shall we?
I invite you to close your eyes,
Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor or your legs folded and your spine straight but not stiff.
I like to call this a posture of dignity,
So whatever that means to you,
Embody that.
So begin to relax your body and bring your awareness inward to the breath.
In fact,
Let's take a cleansing breath right now.
Let's breathe in through the nose,
Out through the mouth,
And drop the shoulders.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Take a moment to think of a person who loves you very much,
Someone you admire or even see as an inspiration.
It could be someone from the past or the present,
Someone still with us,
Or one who has passed.
And imagine that person seated next to you on your right side,
Sending you love,
Wishes for your health,
Safety,
Well-being,
And happiness.
Take a moment to simply feel the wishes of love and comfort coming from that person directed towards you.
Now bring to mind another person who cherishes you deeply,
Maybe a family member,
A friend.
Imagine that person seated on your left,
Sending you love,
Wishes for your health,
Safety,
Well-being,
And happiness.
Take another moment to simply feel the wishes of love and comfort coming from that person directed towards you.
Now imagine that you are surrounded by people who love you and have loved you throughout your lifetime.
Picture all of your friends and loved ones surrounding you.
They are sending you love,
Wishes for your health,
Safety,
Well-being,
And happiness.
And cherish those wishes of love and comfort coming from those you love and admire.
Experience what it's like to be filled with a sense of overflowing warmth and love.
Now bring your awareness back to the person seated on your right,
And we'll begin to send the love that you just received back to that person.
You and this person are similar because just like you,
This person too simply desires to be happy and at peace.
So now let's send some loving kindness their way by silently repeating the following phrases.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
Again,
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
And finally,
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
Now focus your awareness on the person seated on your left,
And let's begin to direct love to that person.
Remember,
That person and you are similar in your desires to be happy and at peace,
To simply enjoy a good life.
So again,
Silently repeating the following phrases to yourself,
Let's go.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
Now take a moment to think of an acquaintance,
Someone you don't know very well,
Like a neighbor,
A person that works in your same building,
Or someone you see at a class you participate in,
One to whom you have no particular feeling about.
And once again,
You and this person are similar in your desires to be happy and at peace.
And wishes of well-being to that person,
Repeating the following phrases silently.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
Now we're going to send our wishes out to someone we've had a difficult time or endured some conflict with.
If this is your first loving-kindness meditation,
Keep your thoughts on someone with whom you have had a mild to moderate level of discomfort with.
In this practice,
We're learning to expand our compassion beyond the ease of offering it to those we love or find neutral,
But also extending it to those we may have experienced as harder to understand.
Because in the end,
We all desire the same two things,
Peace and happiness.
How we go about getting there might differ greatly,
But what we desire typically does not.
So as we visualize this person,
Let's send wishes of well-being by repeating the following phrases.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
Expanding our awareness,
Picture the world in front of you,
The entire globe.
Let's send our good wishes to all living beings,
As all creatures,
Be it animal or human,
Wish for the same things,
Peace and happiness.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May you be free from danger.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
Finally,
This meditation wouldn't be complete if we didn't offer wishes of health and happiness to ourselves.
So taking a deep breath in,
Exhale,
And repeat the following phrases to yourself.
May I be free from danger.
May I be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May I be free from danger.
May I be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
May I be free from danger.
May I be happy,
Healthy,
And live with ease.
Take one final deep breath in,
And with a sigh,
Let it go.
Now give yourself one more moment to simply notice how you feel and the state of your mind after doing this meditation.
In a moment,
I'll ring a bell and invite you to open your eyes when you hear the tone fade.
In the day ahead,
I wish you the wisdom to mind your thoughts,
The ability to speak your truth,
And the choice to live it open-hearted.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
