A loving kindness meditation.
This meditation can be done in any position.
It begins with us taking a moment to be aware of any thoughts or feelings we may be experiencing right now.
So just acknowledging how things are for you right now.
And then when you're ready,
Beginning to bring your awareness to your body.
Bringing your feet,
Your legs,
Your hips,
Your lower and upper body,
Arms,
Shoulders,
Neck,
Head.
Then beginning to feel the movement of your breath,
The actual sensations of breathing.
Knowing yourself that you are here,
Alive,
Whole.
When you're ready,
You might bring to mind the image of a person who you know or you've known in your life to be loving and kind to you.
Someone who easily evokes feelings of warmth and love.
Perhaps a spouse or partner,
Parent or family member,
Mentor or close friend.
Someone who's been good to you.
Perhaps you feel safe and whole,
Whose caring easily emanates from them to you.
And if a person past or present doesn't come to mind,
Maybe someone you know to be inspirational may come.
And it is easy to imagine sending wishes of wellbeing to,
Wishing them well.
And if it feels right,
Imagining yourself saying to them,
May you be happy,
Healthy and whole.
May you have love,
Warmth and affection.
May you be protected from harm and free from fear.
May you be alive,
Engaged and joyful.
May you experience inner peace and ease.
Taking a few moments now to feel how it is to wish these things for them.
Letting yourself have the sense of the wishes for wellbeing emanating from you to them.
Maybe even connecting you to them.
And noticing how it feels inside you as you send these wishes of wellbeing to this person you love or care about.
Then when you're ready,
Seeing if you can imagine that this same person or figure were to wish these very same things for you,
Knowing that they have your wellbeing in their heart.
So imagine them saying to you,
May you be happy,
Healthy and whole.
May you have love,
Warmth and affection in your life.
May you be protected from harm and free from fear.
May you be alive,
Engaged and joyful.
May you experience inner peace and ease.
Letting those feelings wash over you,
Feeling their unconditional love and caring for you.
Letting the feelings of love and safety grow,
Knowing there is nothing you have to do to deserve these feelings and wishes,
That they are given freely,
Without condition.
Seeing if you can connect the meaning of these phrases,
Even if you might not feel all of the safety and warmth right now,
Knowing that that is their wish for you.
And now,
Seeing if you can have those same wishes for yourself.
So hearing yourself say to yourself,
May I be happy,
Healthy and loved.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be alive and free.
May I experience inner peace and ease.
You may have loved ones for whom it's easy to have these wishes for.
Maybe a child or a family member,
A dear friend or a pet.
And if it feels right,
Saying to them also,
May you be happy and healthy and loved in your life.
May you be safe and protected and not suffer.
May you be alive and joyful.
May you have inner peace and ease.
Then if it's feeling right,
Imagining some other person in your life that you could extend these good wishes to,
Maybe a friend or a co-worker,
A neighbour,
Saying,
May you be happy and healthy and loved in your life.
May you be safe and protected,
Free from harm.
May you be alive and joyful.
May you have inner peace and ease.
It may be possible to expand even further to just acquaintances,
People you know of but don't have a personal relationship with,
The people you see about town,
Your neighbours,
Even people you don't have strong feelings about,
Like a salesperson.
Saying to these people,
May you be happy and healthy and loved.
May you be safe and protected,
Free from suffering.
May you be alive,
Engaged and joyful.
May you have inner peace and ease.
And even if these wishes aren't infused with the same warmth and love as they were with a loved one,
Seeing if you can still extend that wish,
That sense of doing it without the expectation that it should make you or them feel a particular way.
Connecting with what these wishes represent,
Keeping these people in your awareness as you send them wishes for them to be healthy and whole,
Wishes for them to have aliveness and love in your life.
And if you're feeling strong and secure and comfortable with this,
Maybe extending these wishes to someone who's a little difficult for you right now.
Not necessarily the most difficult person in your life,
Just someone who there's been some sort of frustration or misunderstanding.
And in doing this,
Just remembering that just like you,
They want to be loved.
Just like you,
They want peace in your life.
So perhaps saying to yourself,
Just like me,
They want to feel happiness and joy.
Just like me,
They want peace and ease.
And they want to be loved and to know their loved ones are safe and healthy.
And just like me,
They are doing the best they can with what inner and outer resources they have.
And if it feels possible,
Silently saying to them,
May you feel peace and ease.
May you have love and warmth in your life.
May you be happy,
Healthy and whole.
And even though this may be quite difficult,
Still noticing the value in what it's like to extend the wish.
Recognising that you're not condoning any difficult actions that they may have taken towards you.
But just seeing them as a human being with some of the same needs as you.
And if this is possible,
Remember the circle that began with yourself and the persons you loved the most,
The family and friends.
Extending the circle to include all the many people you don't know that may live far away in other countries or cultures.
Saying may you be happy and healthy.
May you have peace and ease.
May you have love and warmth in your life.
You could even extend these wishes further to include animals,
Plants,
All the life on our planet and beyond,
Including ourselves.
Saying may we all be happy and healthy.
May we all be safe and protected.
May we all live together in peace,
Ease and happiness.
And now,
As this loving kindness meditation comes to an end,
Taking time to appreciate and feel what it's been like to do this,
What feelings have been generated through the practice.
And even if there have been difficult parts,
Knowing that this practice has the potential to increase your sense of aliveness,
Of connection and of belonging in these disconnected times.
When you're ready,
Letting yourself feel again your physical presence,
The sensations of your body and your feet and your seat,
Upper torso,
Neck,
Head.
Beginning to notice the movement of your own breath.
Something that brings aliveness and nourishment to your body as a whole,
Just as your wishes of goodwill bring aliveness and nourishment to those around you.
