Come sit comfortably on a chair,
Cushion or couch,
Both feet on the floor.
Let the chair carry you and be relaxed and comfortable.
We're now going to practice a meditation of loving kindness,
Compassion or metta as it's called in the Pali language,
Which means unconditional,
All-inclusive love,
A love with wisdom.
This love has no conditions and it doesn't depend on whether one deserves it or not.
It's not restricted to friends and family.
It extends out from personal categories to include all living beings.
And this meditation is meant for you to open up to loving kindness for yourself and people around you.
Take time to practice this on a regular basis.
And the first couple of times it might feel a bit strange,
Uncomfortable even,
To send yourself warmth,
Love,
Kindness unconditionally,
But also you deserve it.
This love and kindness has no expectation of anything in return.
This is the ideal pure love which everyone has in them in potential.
We begin with loving ourselves,
For unless we have a measure of this unconditional love and acceptance for ourselves,
It's difficult to extend it to others.
Then we include others who are special to us and ultimately all living things.
This is a meditation of care,
Concern,
Tenderness,
Loving kindness,
Friendship and a feeling of warmth for yourself.
The practice is softening the mind and heart and opening to a deeper level of the feeling of kindness,
Pure love.
Loving kindness is without any desire to possess another.
It's not a sentimental feeling or goodwill nor an obligation,
But comes from a selfless place.
It doesn't depend on relationships,
On how the other person feels about us.
The process is one of softening,
Breaking down barriers that we feel inward towards ourselves and down we feel towards others.
Take a very comfortable posture.
One of the aims of this meditation is to feel good,
So make sure your posture is relaxed and comfortable.
Then bring your awareness to your breath.
Where in your body do you notice your breath best?
And then as a next step,
Bring your awareness towards your heart area,
Your heart center.
This is the center from where all loving kindness and warm feelings arrive from.
Breathing in and out from the heart center,
Begin by generating kind feelings towards yourself.
Continue to breathe in and out,
Feeling the warmth,
Friendship and love.
I will now start mentioning a couple of phrases.
All you have to do is listen to these phrases and repeat them silently towards yourself.
May I be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be free of mental suffering and distress.
May I be happy.
May I be free of physical pain and suffering.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I be able to live in this world happily,
Peacefully,
Joyfully,
With ease.
May I be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be free of mental suffering and distress.
May I be happy.
May I be free of physical pain and suffering.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I be able to live in this world happily,
Peacefully,
Joyfully,
With ease.
Now bring to mind the person who is very close to you,
A person you deeply care about and have feelings of pure unconditional love for.
Keep on breathing in and out of your heart center with this person in mind and repeat the sentences silently.
May you be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be free of mental suffering and distress.
May you be happy.
May you be free of physical pain and suffering.
May you be healthy and strong.
May you be able to live in this world happily,
Peacefully,
Joyfully,
With ease.
May you be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be free of mental suffering and distress.
May you be happy.
May you be free of physical pain and suffering.
May you be healthy and strong.
May you be able to live in this world happily,
Peacefully,
Joyfully,
With ease.
Next we're going to move on to a neutral person.
Someone for whom you need to feel strong like or dislike.
This can be someone you meet on a regular base.
Someone on the street,
In the supermarket,
A neighbor.
May you be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be free of mental suffering and distress.
May you be happy.
May you be free of physical pain and suffering.
May you be healthy and strong.
May you be able to live in this world happily,
Peacefully,
Joyfully,
With ease.
May you be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be free of mental suffering and distress.
May you be happy.
May you be free of physical pain and suffering.
May you be healthy and strong.
May you be able to live in this world happily,
Peacefully,
Joyfully,
With ease.
And now we're going to move on to a person you have difficulty with.
Maybe a tough discussion you've had recently.
Or someone you might even have hostile feelings with.
Resentments.
You can also be a person from the past.
Sometimes it's difficult to repeat these sentences of warmth.
You can always start by saying,
To the best of my ability,
I wish you be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
I wish you be safe and protected.
I wish you be free of mental suffering and distress.
I wish you be happy.
I wish you be free of physical pain and suffering.
I wish you be healthy and strong.
I wish you be able to live in this world happily,
Peacefully,
Joyfully,
With ease.
I wish you be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
I wish you be safe and protected.
I wish you be free of mental suffering and distress.
I wish you be happy.
I wish you be free of physical pain and suffering.
I wish you be healthy and strong.
I wish you be able to live in this world happily,
Peacefully,
Joyfully,
With ease.
And now as the final step we're going to radiate loving kindness out to all beings.
Stay in touch with the warmth,
Tender,
Friendship,
Loving kindness in your heart center.
Keep breathing through this.
May all beings be safe,
Happy,
Healthy,
Live joyously.
May all living beings be safe,
Happy,
Healthy,
Live joyously.
May all breathing beings be safe,
Happy,
Healthy,
Live joyously.
May all individuals be safe,
Healthy,
Happy,
Live joyously.
May all beings in existence be safe,
Happy,
Healthy and live joyously.
May all beings be safe,
Happy,
Healthy and live joyously.
May all living beings be safe,
Happy,
Healthy and live joyously.
May all breathing beings be safe,
Happy,
Healthy and live joyously.
Individuals be safe,
Happy,
Healthy,
Live joyously.
May all beings in existence be safe,
Happy,
Healthy,
Live joyously.
And now for the final part of the meditation,
We're going to sit in silence.
In silence with the feeling of loving kindness and warmth for yourself and others around you.
You you you you you you you you And as we slowly end this exercise,
Thank yourself.
Thank yourself for taking the time to practice compassion,
Loving kindness,
Metta,
Planting these seeds within your own heart center for yourself and others.
And maybe there's an intention,
Something you want to wish yourself for the rest of your day,
Something positive,
Something just for you.
An intention what you wish for yourself for the rest of your day.
And slowly move your hands,
Your legs,
Arms and the rest of your body and slowly open your eyes and continue with the rest of your day.
