Hello,
And welcome to this short loving kindness meditation.
It is an ancient technique that's used in thriving today.
It helps decrease negative thoughts,
Increase empathy and compassion,
And it's been shown to increase emotional intelligence,
Decrease chronic pain when practiced regularly.
In this meditation we turn our attention to sending love to ourselves and others in five stages,
And I'll talk you through as we go.
So settle in,
Make sure you are seated comfortably,
The arms supported and either your feet or legs grounded to the floor depending if you're seated or kneeling.
You're welcome to try this in bed at night or in the morning,
But try to remain still and focused,
And if your mind wonders,
That's fine.
Just gently bring the attention back to my voice in this meditation,
Posing down the eyes if it feels good to do so.
Take a few deep breaths in through the nose,
Out through the mouth,
And try and have a sense of your heart opening.
Here we go.
First,
Bring yourself to mind.
Maybe as you are now,
Maybe as a child,
Or a time you have suffered lately,
And simply saying to yourself,
May you be well,
May you be happy.
May you be well,
May you be happy.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be at peace.
May you feel safe.
Sending unconditional love to yourself,
Whatever the words might be.
May you be well,
May you be happy.
Letting go of any images of yourself,
And this time,
Bringing to mind a good friend,
Someone you feel very positively towards.
Picture their face,
Picture the last time you saw them,
And wish them well.
May you be well,
May you be happy.
Spend some time sending them some unconditional love and kindness.
May you progress.
May you find comfort.
Imagine them smiling and receiving.
Letting go of your good friend for now,
And bringing the mind to someone completely neutral,
Someone you have no positive or negative emotions for.
This could be the postman,
The barista at your local cafe,
Whoever it may be,
Sending them compassion.
May you be well,
May you be happy.
Like you,
They suffer,
Get angry and feel sad.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be calm.
May you find love.
And here we bring to mind someone we've had some difficulty with.
Not your arch nemesis,
But someone you've perhaps had trouble communicating with.
Maybe a family member,
Work colleague,
Perhaps a partner,
And simply wishing them well.
May you be well,
May you be happy.
Sending them love free of conditions.
May you progress.
May you find peace.
Bringing to mind now all the people you have sent love to today.
And see if you can extend that love to the people in your building.
May you be well,
May you be happy.
Extending it further to the people on your street,
Maybe the animals in your burrow,
The foxes,
The magpies.
May you all feel safe.
May you all find comfort.
And extending it further still to the rest of the country,
The planet,
Organisms on other planets.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings find peace.
And bringing yourself to back to your body.
Seeing if you can cultivate some calm,
Warmth,
Comfort,
And appreciation for yourself,
For the unconditionally kind and loving thing you just did.
And as you come out of this meditation,
Maybe with all your hands,
With all your toes,
Roll the head,
Take a big stretch.
Notice if you feel lighter,
Happier,
More grounded,
Or kinder.
Just notice.
Thank you for listening to this meditation.
My name is Sophia.
May all beings be at peace.
