Beginning this kindness meditation by bringing your awareness to your heart.
Bringing your awareness to your posture,
To the body as a whole,
Whether sitting or lying.
Noticing the sensations of contact between body and surfaces supporting us.
Bringing our awareness to the mind and body in this moment.
Noticing sensations throughout the body.
Acknowledging the feeling or emotions that are present right now.
Noting the thoughts in the mind.
And holding them all with kindness and curiosity.
Bringing the awareness to the breath and allowing it to anchor us in the present.
As we follow the flow of sensations,
As the air enters and leaves the body.
And as we open to ourselves in this way,
Allowing a kind wish to emerge.
This may be something specific in response to our needs right now.
Or maybe one of the traditional phrases.
Offering and receiving kind wishes towards ourselves.
Allowing the breath to support the practice.
May I feel safe.
May I feel healthy.
May I feel happy.
May I be at ease.
If it supports the practice,
Placing a hand over the heart area.
As we offer and receive these kind wishes towards ourselves.
Now returning the hand to the lap.
And bringing to mind a dear person,
Someone whom you find easy to offer good wishes.
Someone who supports you.
And exploring,
Offering this person kind wishes.
Considering their deeper needs.
Again these may be specific in response to particular circumstances.
Or more general,
Reflecting the deeper needs of us all.
Perhaps seeing this person in front of you,
Looking into their face and eyes.
May you feel safe.
May you feel healthy.
May you feel happy.
May you feel at ease.
Offering the kind wishes,
Allowing the breath to support.
Repeating the phrases or simply holding the intentions of kindness and goodwill.
And now letting go of this dear person.
And expanding our kindness towards neutral persons.
So choosing a person we do not know very well.
And feel impartial towards.
Somebody you just happen to meet.
And with whom you have no special relationship.
A passer by in your life.
Perhaps somebody you saw at the bus stop or in the queue at the supermarket.
So having found a neutral person,
Imagining this person in front of you.
Realizing they are just like you.
A human being wishing for happiness and vulnerable to suffering.
Then beginning to gently repeat wishes of kindness to this person.
May you feel safe.
May you feel happy.
May you feel healthy.
May you feel at ease.
Repeating the wishes of kindness on the rhythm of the breath or perhaps independently from it.
Using the whole phrase or simply one word.
And if it's helpful using the we form.
May we feel safe.
May we feel happy.
May we feel healthy.
May we feel at ease.
Mindfully observing the effects of the practice on us.
Noticing sensations in the body.
Emotions and thoughts.
As we offer kind wishes in this way.
And you can gradually include other persons or animals belonging to this neutral category.
Cultivating a sensitive heart to others whom you have no particular relationship with but who nonetheless cross your path.
And if you notice your attention drifts.
Or you encounter inner difficulties.
You can always return to self compassion.
Regrounding and anchoring in your body.
Offering yourself kind wishes.
Returning to neutral others.
And then letting go of offering kind wishes to neutral beings.
Returning the attention to your posture.
To sensations throughout the body.
And the sensations of contact between the body and the surfaces supporting you.
Coming back to the breath.
Noticing where we experience it throughout the body.
And opening the other senses.
Smell and taste.
Hearing.
And when you're ready,
Opening the eyes or raising the gaze.
