So today,
I'd like to lead you through a guided meditation centered around compassion,
Or loving kindness,
Sometimes referred to as meta meditation.
Meta meaning expansion,
Friendliness,
Or benevolence,
Or even to go beyond.
We can all benefit from practicing a little more compassion in our lives,
Both compassion for self and compassion for others.
Rebalance of others begins right in our own hearts,
And by being accepting of ourselves.
Practicing this type of meditation can help you feel more connected and appreciative in your life.
So let's find a comfortable place to sit,
Preferably one with not too many distractions.
You can use a yoga mat,
A bolster,
Cushion,
Or even sit in a chair if that's most comfortable for you.
The idea is to be relaxed,
Yet to remain alert and attentive.
And a nice straight spine in a comfortable seated position works best.
We're going to travel on a journey through our own inner space.
So to encourage this,
I invite you to close your eyes for this meditation.
If this doesn't feel comfortable for you,
Then just lower your gaze.
As you close your eyes,
Begin by just observing your breath.
Just as it is in the moment right now.
There's no need to try and modify it or change it in any way.
Just observing each inhalation and exhalation.
You may start to note the quality of your breath.
Perhaps it's deep and even,
Perhaps shallow or urgent.
Where does each breath begin?
And where does it end in your body?
Allow for whatever it wants to be.
Follow your breath for a few more moments by yourself.
Now let's do a little check in with the body.
And notice if there's any hot spots that are calling out to you.
Perhaps you may need to adjust your sitting position or maybe not.
Maybe your first reaction is to do so.
But then you may find it's not necessary and you just let it be.
Begin to soften the boundary between the perimeter of your physical form and the external world around you.
Settle ever more deeply into the space you're sitting.
All the while feeling the support of the ground and the earth beneath you.
Bring your awareness to the muscles of your face.
Allow yourself to soften your features and let your set facial expression release itself.
Allowing your eyes to rest back deeply into their sockets.
And your cheeks to soften.
Relaxing the muscles of your jaw.
Maybe let your lips part ever so slightly.
Let your tongue rest gently against your palate or lightly against the back of your teeth.
Let your shoulders drop away from your ears and unknit the muscles across your upper back.
Let your arms rest by your sides,
Palms face down on your thighs.
Bringing our awareness back to the breath.
Just breathing.
Breathing in and breathing out.
So I'd like you now to try and anchor the focus of your awareness on your breath as you try and visualize it radiating from your heart center.
As you inhale and exhale,
Visualize the breath coming from your heart.
Our first blessings of compassion are going to be towards ourselves.
Your inner voice,
I'd like you to begin to recite something like,
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you feel ease.
May you feel love.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you feel ease.
May you feel love.
Speak to yourself with intent and imagine you're talking to your very best friend.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you feel ease.
May you feel love.
Repeat this on your own for a few more moments,
All the while letting your breath and your message reside in the heart.
How does this feel?
Perhaps you noticed yourself smiling a little as you did this.
But how your body responded to these messages with curiosity and non-judgment.
I'd like you to bring to mind a loved one,
Someone dear to your heart.
This need not be a human friend.
It may even be a pet.
Choose another who elicits deep love when you think about them.
We're going to extend these same wishes to them.
Try and get a clear image of them in your mind.
What are they wearing?
Where are they?
Hold them in your mind's eye as you repeat to yourself,
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
You feel ease.
May you feel love.
Continue with this for a few more moments on your own,
Keeping the center of your intent emanating from your heart to your loved one.
What was this like for you?
Perhaps you even imagined that your loved one was interacting with you.
Were they listening?
With a curious and non-judging mind,
Just make note of how the experience feels in your body.
I want you now to think of someone you only know by sight or just as an acquaintance,
Someone you haven't even spoken much to,
If at all.
It could be someone you see sometimes perhaps behind a checkout at a store or a neighbor from down the road.
Bring the image of this person vividly to mind.
When you've thought of somebody,
Begin to recite these good wishes to them.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you feel ease.
May you feel love.
Continue for a few moments on your own,
Sending out this message.
What was this experience like for you?
It's interesting,
Isn't it,
How much we can connect with the energy of someone we don't even really know.
And how effortless it can be to send out that love and intention to another.
So last,
I'd like you to bring someone to mind you're having some discomfort with.
It could be someone you don't like very much or even just someone you love who you're having a hard time with at the moment.
When you've thought of that someone,
Really bring them to mind and into your heart and imagine them listening to you as you share these good tidings with them.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you feel ease and may you feel love.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you feel ease.
May you feel love.
Continue on your own for a few more moments.
So what came up for you with this one?
Often apart from sending love to ourselves,
It's hardest to send love to those we feel have wronged us in some way.
Did you find this to be the case or not?
With curiosity and non-judgment,
Just make note of whatever is coming up for you here.
I invite you to reflect now for a few moments on how boundless these intentions and good wishes are and how free the energy is that comes from the heart and how effortlessly it can travel over space and time.
The physical boundaries of our bodies seem to melt away when we connect with others through the heart.
So we're going to begin awakening to the external world again.
But before we do,
I'd like to have you give yourself a big thank you for journeying into this space of loving kindness today.
It's an inner sanctuary of infinite love and peace and wisdom and is there for you to access any time you need it.
To gently open your eyes and wriggle your body more awake.
My wish for you today is that you take this sense of inner peace connectedness out into the world with you as you go about your day.
Spread it far and wide.
Don't forget to direct all that goodness back towards yourself as well.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you feel ease.
And may you feel love.
