Beginning the practice by taking your awareness to your posture and the sensations of contact between your body and the surfaces supporting you.
Inviting the body to release its weight down and allowing yourself to be supported and then bringing the awareness to the breath.
Following the flow of the breath as the air enters and leaves your body.
And if it's helpful,
Gently deepening and lengthening the breath.
Allowing a soothing rhythm to emerge.
And bringing the awareness to your experience right now,
Whatever is here in the mind and body.
Acknowledging it with a friendly curiosity as we turn towards our experience.
And from this place of openness and friendliness,
Allowing a kind wish to emerge towards ourselves.
What would be a kind wish for myself right now?
Allowing a wish to arise that connects with our hearts.
And remembering we can always use one of the traditional phrases.
May I feel safe.
May I feel happy.
May I feel healthy.
May I be at ease.
Allowing the wishes to flow with the breath throughout your being.
And if it supports the practice,
Placing a hand on the heart area or on the thighs or holding the hands together on the lap.
Allowing this sense of touch to support this offering of kind wishes towards ourselves.
And then expanding the practice to another person.
Letting somebody arise in your mind whom you consider to be a benefactor.
An example of wisdom and compassion.
Alive or deceased.
Somebody can be a dear relative,
A teacher,
An inspiring historical,
Religious or political somebody radiating goodness into the world.
It may be helpful to imagine this person in front of you at a comfortable distance looking into his or her eyes and face.
How does this affect you?
And then gently begin repeating wishes of kindness towards this person.
If you like married to the rhythm of the breath,
On the in breath may you and on the out breath feel safe,
Healthy,
Happy,
At ease.
Or any other wish that comes from your heart and connects with this person.
Gently repeating this wish and mindfully observing the effects of this practice on your body,
Your thoughts and feelings.
If difficult emotions arise,
You may feel sad because you missed the actual presence of this benefactor or worry about their welfare.
Do not hesitate to allow a mindful pause.
Allowing the breath to return to a soothing rhythm and letting a kind of compassionate wish flow to yourself.
And when you feel the space to return,
Resume your kind wishes towards this person.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be joyful.
May you live in peace.
If you choose to,
You can expand the practice to include other benefactors.
Imagining these people in front of you in a comfortable distance,
Looking into their eyes and face,
Offering wishes of kindness.
May you feel safe.
May you feel happy.
May you feel healthy.
May you feel at ease.
May you feel safe.
And then letting go of offering the kind wishes.
And bringing the attention back to your body,
Back to the sense of contact between your body and the surfaces supporting you.
Back to the sensations of breathing and sensations throughout the body.
Acknowledging what's here for you at the end of this practice.
Focus in the mind,
Feelings and emotions.
And expanding the awareness to include the sense of the sounds around you in the room,
Sounds outside the room.
Ending the practice in your own time.
