Extend Loving Kindness During Challenging Times

In this loving meditation, we extend feelings of loving kindness out to the whole world beginning with ourselves. The meditation opens with a short remembrance on the needs of our times and it ends with a quote from Lynn Ungar in which she asks us to promise our love to the world

Transcript

Music Dear friends,

Welcome to this meditation which is a loving-kindness meditation designed for challenging times.

Can we begin by taking one or two deep breaths,

As we usually do at the start of these meditations,

To come into the present moment?

Really notice ourselves here,

In whatever place we are.

Bearing in mind the current difficulties,

We begin with a moment of reflection.

We begin by bringing our minds,

First of all,

To all who belong to the groups that we belong to,

Whether it's a work group,

A family,

A group of friends,

A group of people who are unable at the moment to get together,

Our own relatives and friends.

We think of anyone who has lost people through Covid-19.

We think of people who are physically sick,

Sick from the virus,

Sick in other circumstances,

And finding it difficult to cope with the treatment.

We think of medical workers in the front line,

Those who are suffering mentally at this time.

We think of people away from home and people with no home,

People with no support.

We think of them all.

Today we are going to have a loving-kindness meditation.

We are going to extend feelings of loving-kindness out into the world,

Beginning with ourselves.

So for this we close our eyes.

We think first of all of ourselves,

Not in a selfish or a proud way,

But just call to mind who we are,

How we are feeling right here and right now,

What has brought us to this place,

This stage in our lives.

We look back over our childhood,

Our education,

Our relationships,

The good,

The bad,

All without judgement.

And after all that,

Here we are,

Here we are right now.

Let's pause to think about this for say,

20 seconds,

Before we offer a prayer.

Welcome back.

Now we say to ourselves,

May I be well,

May I be at peace,

May I be content,

May life be good to me,

May I be a blessing on the world.

Really feel these wishes for ourselves.

May I be well,

May I be well,

May I be at peace.

May I be content,

May life be good to me,

May I be a blessing on the world.

Next we move on and we think of someone we love.

Imagine a photograph of them.

Picture them as if they're next to us,

Right next to us.

How do we think this person is feeling just now?

Imagine giving them a warm hug.

Try to imagine what has brought them to this place,

This stage in their lives.

Try to put ourselves in their shoes,

Insofar as is possible.

It's difficult to do that,

Even for those we love.

Try to imagine their childhood,

Their education,

Relationships,

The good and the bad,

What they might have been through,

And the other paths that they might have chosen.

All the possible alternatives,

But they chose the path that led them to being with us.

And after all that,

Here is the person that we love.

Again we allow ourselves 30 seconds to think about this person that we love,

Really call them to mind,

Wish them well.

Welcome back.

And in respect with that person we say,

May he or she be well.

May this person be at peace,

Content.

May life be good to this person that we love.

May he or she be a blessing on the world.

We really mean these words as we call to mind the person we love.

We imagine a photograph and we say,

May he or she be well.

May this person we love be at peace.

May they be content.

May life be good to this person.

May he or she be a blessing on the world.

Next we think of someone less close to us.

Someone we find maybe serving us in a shop.

Someone in the catering service in the office.

The cleaning staff working quietly away.

So reliable we hardly even notice that these people are there.

We know them to see,

But maybe we take this person for granted.

Imagine someone like this just now.

How are they doing?

Are they at work or are they in lockdown somewhere?

Try to imagine what has brought this person to today.

This stage in their life.

See if we can put ourselves in their shoes.

Not easy when you don't know someone well,

But try anyway.

Try to imagine their childhood,

Their education,

Their relationships,

The ups,

The downs,

The good,

The bad,

And what they might have been through.

And after all this,

Here they are,

Sharing this life with us.

We pause for 30 seconds to bring this person really into our minds.

Welcome back.

And we say to ourselves,

May he or she be well.

May this person be at peace,

Content.

May life be good to this person that we know.

May he or she be a blessing on the world.

This person that we know now,

May he or she be a blessing on the world.

This person that we know,

Not very well.

This person we take for granted,

We meet them daily maybe.

May he or she be well.

May that person be at peace.

May that person be content.

May life be good to that person.

May he or she be a blessing on the world.

The next part of our meditation is a little more difficult,

Because now we think of someone we dislike.

One of the few people we have to admit we cannot stand.

Someone who really gets under our skin.

And maybe the person dislikes us too.

Imagine them right now.

Picture them.

Hard as it is,

And unwilling as we are to picture them.

How are they doing?

Are they at work or in lockdown somewhere?

See if we can make allowances for them and their awkwardness.

Try to imagine what has brought them to this day,

This stage in their life.

Try to put ourselves in their shoes.

Not easy even when you like someone,

Even harder when you don't care for them at all.

But still we try to understand what makes them tick or thick.

Was it a difficult childhood?

There is nature and nurture at work in all of us.

We are all products of our upbringing.

What sort of education?

Good,

Bad relationships?

What might they have been through?

And here they are,

Unwelcome as they are,

On this journey of life with us.

We think of them again for 30 seconds before offering a blessing.

Welcome back again.

We offer the same blessing to this difficult person.

May he or she be well.

May this difficult person be at peace.

May they find contentment.

May life be good even to this,

Especially to this,

Troublesome person.

In spite of all,

May they find comfort in their lives.

In spite of all,

May he or she somehow become a blessing on the world.

Remembering that there is a spark of goodness buried in each one of us,

We just need something or someone to ignite it.

Let that light come from us for that troublesome person.

Let's see if we can really mean that.

May he or she be well.

May this difficult person be at peace.

Find contentment.

May life be good even to this difficult,

Troublesome person,

Especially to this difficult person.

In spite of all,

May he or she somehow become a blessing on the world.

Finally we cast our minds out over the whole planet.

We've all seen the magical blue ball photographed from space.

We think of all the people living on this planet.

From space you see no political boundaries,

Just one swirling globe.

We think of all the creatures with whom we share this earth.

One interconnected web of all existence,

Of which we are just one part.

So we offer a blessing on the world.

You don't need to be a priest to give a blessing.

Every one of us has the power to bless and to make good.

As we say,

May all beings be well.

May all beings experience happiness in their existence.

May birds enjoy the wonder of flight.

May fish experience the beauty of the sea.

May all people live in harmony with nature.

May this planet continue to support life in all its forms.

Looking out over the earth,

We repeat,

May all beings be well.

May all beings experience happiness in their existence.

May birds enjoy the wonder of flight.

May fish experience the beauty of the sea.

May all people live in harmony with nature.

This planet continues to support life in all its forms.

We end today with a poem by Lynn Unger.

It's title,

Pandemic.

What if you thought of it as the Jews considered the Sabbath,

The most sacred of times,

Ceased from travel,

Ceased from buying and selling,

Give up just for now on trying to make the world different than it is.

Sing,

Pray,

Touch only those to whom you commit your life.

Center down.

And when your body has become still,

Reach out with your heart.

Know that we are connected in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.

I can hardly deny it now.

Know that our lives are in one another's hands.

Surely that has come clear.

Do not reach out your hands,

Reach out your heart,

Reach out your words.

Reach out all the tendrils of compassion that move invisibly where we cannot touch.

Promise this world your love,

For better or for worse,

In sickness and in health,

As long as we all shall live.

Words from Lynn Unger.

So may you have a good day today and a good week ahead in this difficult time.

Take care of one another and keep well.

Namaste.

Thank you.

Reviews

An extraordinary thing happened just as I was envisioning someone I don't know well ~ our gardener in this case ~ the phone rang and it was him!! Calling to schedule. This was so unexpected.
Lovely reminder that we are indeed connected. Thank you for this 🙏 💓

Tony is a blessing on the world. You really touch my heart. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. Namaste 🙏🏽

Namaste! 🙏🏽🙏🙏🏻 Another great video from you! Grateful! ✨💫🌟

This was so lovely. The perfect start to my weekend. Thank you Tony.

Beautiful meditation as always Tony. Wishing you good health and happiness in 2021 and for many many years ahead. 🙏

A great reminder to focus on kindness to all. Thank you Tony!

Thank you for sharing this meditation. It made me feel positive and uplifted. One I will come back to again. Thank you 🙏

Awaiting results from a contentious presidential election in the USA. Perfect meditation. Thank you.

Touched my heart, Tony, as your meditations always do.

Thank You, Tony. This was a prayer I really needed to hear. ..... and I will keep practicing it. 👍

Tony thank you once again for your beautiful message🙏🏻

Thank you for the gentle guidance, spiritual exercise and beautiful poem.

I enjoy all of your meditations. Thank you.

Lovely as always. Thank you for the reminder how far kindness can go. Be well.

Tony, always lovely to hear your meditations Loving Kindness is a great practice. Blessing to you in Dublin. May you be well, happy and have a life if ease. Namaste 🙏

Thank you Tony . One I shall come back to. Sending you my thanks and wishing you and your loved ones well in these difficult times

May you be safe, happy, healthy and strong, and have ease of well being. 🌺🌸

Thanks for this beautiful meditation and I am glad to see that you are posting again. It was very useful to me this morning. 🙏💐

Wonderful meditation! Thank you! The perfect prayer for this time in our lives.

Sending blessings thank you