The science behind mindfulness is becoming pretty impressive,
And compassion-based practices like loving kindness are showing promise to slowly rewire the brain to be generally kinder to ourselves and others,
And also to help us respond to stress differently.
Find a fairly comfortable and quiet spot.
You don't have to sit cross-legged or anything.
Just get comfortable.
You're not so comfortable that you fall asleep.
Close your eyes and think of your home and the people in it,
Including yourself.
Pick some caring phrases like,
May we be happy,
May we be healthy,
May we be safe,
May we live with ease.
These don't have to be the exact phrases,
Just something close.
Simply direct these phrases to the people in your household for a few minutes.
May we be happy,
May we be healthy,
May we be safe,
May we live with ease.
This is theory-based poses.
.
.
Next,
Widen your scope a bit to your neighborhood.
Direct those same phrases to neighbors that you know and those that you don't.
The neighbors that you don't know are important to the practice,
So don't leave them out.
Do this for a minute or two.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be safe.
May we live with ease.
May we be healthy.
Now widen out to your town.
Think of store clerks,
Bus drivers,
And other people that you may see only occasionally.
Direct these same phrases to them.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be safe.
May we live with ease.
May we be healthy.
May we be healthy.
It gets a little abstract from here out,
So think about the collective people in your state for a few minutes.
Direct the phrases to them.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be safe.
May we live with ease.
May we be healthy.
Now the entire country.
Keep widening out to the whole world.
Direct these kind phrases to the idea of everyone.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be safe.
May we live with ease.
If this gives you a good feeling,
Then notice that feeling.
But don't get too distracted by it.
If this makes you a little uncomfortable,
That's okay.
Just notice it.
You will get distracted in this practice.
No problem.
Just notice that you are distracted and bring your attention back to the phrases.
You didn't mess anything up,
So don't beat yourself up about it.
That's kind of the point.
Try to make it a point to do this practice or similar practice as often as you can.
You might not notice a big difference right away,
But many people report that their friends and family members notice that something is kinder and gentler about them before they notice for themselves.
Loving kindness isn't some esoteric,
Out-there practice.
It's an exercise for our brain,
And science is showing us that this exercise might just make a big difference to lessen our stress and anxiety levels,
And also make us a bit kinder to those around us.
That sounds like a great outcome to me.
Thanks for practicing with me.
