This is Susan Ginsberg with Stop and Breathe with your loving kindness meditation.
Please sit or lie down in a comfortable quiet place and gently close your eyes if it's safe for you to do so.
If you're already doing so from another previous exercise,
Now is a good time to make any necessary movements or adjustments to get as comfortable as possible.
Begin to soften your face.
Gently roll your shoulders down and away from your ears.
Connect with your breath as you begin to follow your inhalations and your exhalations.
Before we begin,
I'd like to explain a bit more about what loving kindness meditation is.
Loving kindness is also referred to as MEDHA,
An ancient 2,
500 year old meditation practice that brings about positive attitude changes as it develops a quality of loving acceptance.
It acts as a form of self-healing as it frees the mind from any pain,
Confusion,
Anger,
Resentment,
Or any other negative emotions.
To practice,
We always start with developing a loving acceptance of our own self.
Beginning with yourself is critical because you must be in a good frame of mind to be able to offer support,
Love,
And kindness towards others.
It's impossible to pour water from a vessel to a glass if that vessel itself is empty.
After it feels natural and comfortable,
You'll be ready to offer this loving kindness towards others.
The four types of people to send this meditation out to are number one,
Yourself.
Number two,
A beloved person in your life.
Number three,
A person that you're having a challenge or a difficulty with.
And number four,
A neutral person,
Someone that you've casually encountered like a salesperson in a store,
For example.
So starting with the self and then systematically sending loving kindness from person to person in the above order will have the effect of breaking down the barriers between yourself and others.
If you don't feel comfortable extending the loving kindness to the other three people aside from yourself,
You can stop this visualization after sending it to yourself until you're ready to do so.
I'm going to read the words to each line of the meditation aloud and give you a moment to repeat it silently in your own mind.
And we'll do this three times for everyone we send this out to.
Picture each person,
Including your own self in your mind's eye right in front of you as you send them loving kindness.
I'd like you first to begin by picturing yourself.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be happy.
Again,
Sending this loving kindness to yourself as you picture yourself in your mind's eye.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
And may I be happy.
And one final time,
Sending this loving kindness to yourself.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be happy.
Now I'd like you to picture someone that comes to your mind that you're having a good connection with.
Your relationship is flowing well.
Someone beloved in your life and visualize them.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
And may you be happy.
Again,
As you visualize this person you're feeling positively towards.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
And may you be happy.
Now one final time to this person.
As you visualize them,
From your heart to theirs,
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
And may you be happy.
And now this one's a little bit more difficult for many people.
Someone that you're having a challenge or difficulty with in your life.
It often can be difficult to do this,
But it's at the same time very freeing to send them exactly what they need.
Visualize this person.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
And may you be happy.
And once again,
To this person.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
And may you be happy.
And then one final time to this person that you're having a bit of a challenge or difficulty with.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
And may you be happy.
And finally,
We're going to send loving kindness to a neutral person.
It's more difficult to maybe picture this person since you might have just encountered them casually.
That's okay.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
And may you be happy.
And again,
To this neutral person.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
And may you be happy.
One last time to this neutral person.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well and at ease.
May you be happy.
And just enjoy the way it feels in your own heart when you've sent yourself this beautiful loving kindness.
And you've extended this towards others as well.
Let it free you.
Let it fill you with peace and a sense of balance and ease.
