Dear friends,
Welcome to our loving kindness practice today,
Caring for ourselves.
We'll begin by sitting in a comfortable position,
Either on a chair or a cushion,
Supporting our back to sit reasonably upright,
But relaxed,
Offering ourselves this space to care for ourselves in this moment as we practice loving kindness meditation.
You might choose to close your eyes and bring attention to your heart region of your body.
If closing your eyes is not comfortable,
You may simply choose to soften your gaze.
So though guidance is offered today,
Please make any adjustments for your own body,
Your own needs,
Creating safety and support for yourself in the present moment.
So bringing our attention to our heart area,
I invite you to take three slow breaths,
Easy breaths from the heart.
Noticing your posture right now on the chair or on the cushion,
I invite you to form an image of yourself seeing yourself from the outside as you sit on your chair or cushion right now,
Feeling perhaps the sensations in your body as you sit there,
Just taking notice of how you are in this moment.
How are you?
And we can recall that every living being wants to live peacefully and happy.
So let us connect with that intention,
That deep wish,
Just as all beings wish to be happy and free from suffering.
May I too be happy and free from suffering with whatever warmth and kindness you can muster right now.
Let yourself feel the warmth of that loving intention just as all beings wish to be happy and free from suffering.
May I too be happy and free from suffering,
Keeping the image of yourself sitting in the chair or on your cushion,
Feeling this goodwill in your own heart,
Offering yourself the following phrases silently and gently.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I live with ease.
Safe,
Happy,
Healthy,
Ease.
Allowing yourself to experience the meaning of these kind words,
Keeping the image of yourself in your mind,
Offering these words from your heart,
Savouring the essence of these words.
When you notice that your mind has wandered,
You can return to these phrases,
Coordinating these phrases with your own breathing.
Breathing in safe,
Breathing out happy,
Breathing in healthy,
Breathing out living with ease.
If it feels supportive for you,
You might like to put your hand on your heart and recall this intention to fill yourself with loving kindness right now,
Just as all beings wish to be happy and free from suffering.
May I be happy and free from suffering.
Letting these phrases be easy,
Letting them come and go,
Should we find ourselves wandering,
We can return to giving ourselves some love.
The love of our loving kindness phrases,
The love of this moment,
And setting a silent intention for ourselves to offer ourselves this loving kindness practice more often.
Making a silent commitment to caring for ourselves deeply.
And now,
Whenever you feel ready,
I invite you to gently open your eyes,
Allowing your posture to relax,
Gently noticing the environment around you that has supported you in your practice today.
If helpful,
To wiggle your toes and adjust your body as we've been sitting here.
And then gently moving through the rest of our day with as much tenderness and kindness as we can muster.
Thank you for your steadfast loving kindness practice today.
Go gently.
