Hello and welcome.
My name is Staré.
This meditation is a practice of love and kindness,
A form of meditation that has been widely used because of its powerful impact on emotional well-being.
Research has shown that practices like this can increase feelings of compassion,
Connection,
And gratitude while also helping to reduce stress,
Emotional reactivity,
And feelings of isolation.
But beyond the research,
This practice simply reminds us of something very human,
Our capacity to offer care,
Both to ourselves and to others.
You don't have to force any feelings here.
If warmth,
Softness,
And kindness feels natural,
Allow it.
If it doesn't,
That's okay too.
The intention alone is enough.
This practice is here to meet you exactly where you are.
This meditation can be done in any position.
It begins by taking a moment to be aware of any thoughts or feelings you may be experiencing right now.
Acknowledging how things are for you right now.
And when you are ready,
I invite you to bring to mind the image of a person who you know or have known in your life to be loving and kind to you.
Someone who easily evokes feelings of warmth and love.
It could be a spouse or partner,
Parent or family member,
A mentor,
Or even a close friend.
Someone who has been good to you,
Helps you feel safe and whole,
Whose caring easily emanates from them to you.
And if a person past or present doesn't come to mind,
Maybe someone who you know to be inspirational may come.
Someone it is easy to imagine sending wishes of well-being to.
Wishing them well.
And if it feels right,
Imagine saying to them,
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And whole.
Picturing them receiving your wishes for them.
May you have love,
Warmth,
And affection.
May you be protected from harm and free from fear.
May you be alive,
Engaged,
And joyful.
May you experience inner peace and ease.
This practice may be new to many,
So I want to repeat these wishes again and continue to imagine this person or persons before you.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And whole.
May you have love,
Warmth,
And affection.
May you be protected from harm and free from fear.
May you be alive,
Engaged,
And joyful.
May you experience inner peace and ease.
You may have your own words and wishes for them,
So feel free to use words that resonate with you.
Taking a few moments now to feel how it is to wish these things for them.
Letting yourself have a sense of the wishes for well-being.
Coming from you to them.
Connecting you to them.
Noticing how it feels inside you as you send these wishes of well-being to this person you love or care about.
When you are ready,
See if you can imagine this person wishing you these very same things.
Knowing that they have your well-being in their heart.
Imagine them saying to you,
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And whole.
May you have love,
Warmth,
And affection in your life.
May you be protected from harm and free from fear.
May you be alive,
Engaged,
And joyful.
May you experience inner peace and ease.
Letting those feelings wash over you.
Feeling their unconditional love and caring for you.
Letting the feelings of love and safety grow in you.
Knowing there is nothing you have to do to deserve these feelings and wishes.
That they are given freely,
Without condition.
See if you can connect to the meaning of these phrases,
Even if you might not feel all the safety and warmth right now.
Knowing that it is their wish for you.
And now see if you can have those wishes for yourself.
Hearing yourself say to yourself,
May I be happy and healthy and loved.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be alive and free.
You may have loved ones for whom it's also easy to have these wishes for.
A child or family member,
Dear friend,
Or even a love pet.
And if it feels right saying to them,
In your own way or with your own words,
May you be happy and healthy and loved in your life.
May you be safe and protected and not suffer.
May you be alive and joyful.
May you have inner peace and ease.
If it feels right,
Seeing if there are others in your life you can extend these good wishes to.
A friend,
A co-worker,
Or a neighbor.
Saying to yourself and to them,
May you be happy and healthy and loved in your life.
May you be safe and protected,
Free from harm.
May you be alive and joyful.
And may you have inner peace and ease.
It might even be possible to expand even further out.
To acquaintances,
People you know of but don't have a personal relationship with.
The people you see around,
Your neighbors,
Even people you don't have strong feelings about.
Like the cashier at the grocery store.
But imagine yourself saying to these people,
May you be happy and healthy and loved.
May you be safe and protected,
Free from suffering.
May you be alive,
Engaged,
And joyful.
And may you have inner peace and ease.
And even if the wishes aren't infused with the same warmth and love as they were with a loved one,
Seeing if you can extend the wish without expectation.
That it should make you or them feel in any particular way.
Connecting with what these wishes represent.
Keeping these people in your awareness as you send these good wishes.
Wishing for them to be healthy and whole.
Wishing for them to have aliveness and love in their lives.
And if you feel strong and secure and you're comfortable with this,
You might try extending those wishes to someone who's difficult for you right now.
Not necessarily the most difficult person in your life,
Just someone for whom there's some sort of frustration or misunderstanding.
And doing this,
It might help to remember that just like you,
They want to be loved.
And just like you,
They want peace in their life.
So you could say to yourself,
Just like me,
They want to feel happiness and joy.
Just like me,
They want peace and ease.
And they want to be loved and to know their loved ones are safe and healthy.
And just like me,
They're doing the best they can with what inner and outer resources they have.
If this feels possible for you,
Silently say to them,
May you feel peace and ease.
May you have love and warmth in your life.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
And whole.
Even if this is difficult,
There's value in noticing what it's like to extend the wish.
Recognizing that you're not condoning their actions,
You're just seeing them as a human being with some of the same needs as you,
To be loved,
To be safe,
To be at peace.
Remember the circle that began with yourself and the persons you love the most,
Family and friends.
Now we're extending the circle to include all the many people you don't know who may live far away in other countries with other cultures.
And I invite you to say,
May you be happy and healthy.
May you have peace and ease.
May you have love and warmth in your life.
You could even imagine extending these wishes to include animals and plants,
All of mother nature,
Including ourselves saying,
May we all be happy and healthy.
May we all be safe and protected.
May we all live together in peace,
Ease,
And happiness.
Now as this loving kindness meditation comes to an end,
Take time to appreciate and feel what's been generated through this practice.
And even if there have been difficult parts of this practice,
Know that this has the potential to increase your sense of aliveness,
Of connection,
Of belonging.
When you're ready,
Let yourself feel again.
Feel your physical presence,
The sensations in your body.
And take a moment to notice how you're feeling emotionally and physically.
Know that this is a practice that can be returned to anytime you wish to connect with compassion,
Soft and self-judgment,
Or feel more connected to yourself and the world around you.
And carry this sense of kindness with you,
Gently and without expectation,
Into the rest of your day.
