Loving Kindness for Self & Others

This guided meditation focuses on developing Compassion / Loving Kindness for ourselves and others. It helps us build our internal capacity to awaken compassion, practicing offering it to ourselves first, and then in an ever widening circle, out to family, friends, neighbors and the global community. It is a gentle practice, focusing on the felt sensation of love.

Suitable for morning or evening.

Transcript

Mindfulness Meditations guided by Una Keeley,

Professional MBSOR,

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor.

A meditation on loving kindness.

This is a meditation designed to help you bring a sense of compassion and loving kindness to yourself,

To your family,

Your friends,

Your neighbors and to the wider global community.

So allowing yourself to take your C's and to begin to switch from the usual mode of doing to a mode of non-doing,

Of simply being.

Allowing the body to become still and bringing your attention to breathing.

Becoming aware that breathing is happening.

Becoming aware of the movement of the breath as it comes into the body and as it leaves the body.

Letting go of any internal urges you may be noticing of beginning to try and manipulate the breath or begin to try and change it in any way.

We're simply becoming aware of the breath and all the sensations and feelings associated with breathing.

Perhaps becoming aware of the breath deep down in the belly area or perhaps feeling the abdomen as it expands gently on the in-breath and then as it contracts on the out-breath.

Practicing allowing the attention to be with each breath.

We're not trying to do anything or trying to get any place.

We're simply practicing being with breathing.

Being with each breath.

Giving our full care and attention to each in-breath and each out-breath.

Witnessing them as they follow one after another in a never-ending cycle and flow.

And as we do this noticing if thoughts begin to arise that are pulling for your attention and if so allowing yourself to acknowledge them and then gently returning to the practice of witnessing the sensation of breathing happening in this moment.

And so now beginning now to bring to mind someone for whom you have deep feelings of love.

Allowing this person to come into the mind's eye.

Seeing this person and perhaps sensing this person and seeing them perhaps standing in front of you or sitting in front of you.

And as you do this noticing any feelings that arise for them in your body.

Noticing the deep feelings of love and how this shows up in the body.

It may be simply a smile that you're noticing spreading across your face or perhaps the chest area becomes warm.

Whatever the effects allowing them to be felt.

And now beginning to let go of this person in your imagination and keeping an awareness on the feelings that have arisen while you are holding them close in your imagination.

And allowing these feelings to be here.

And as we do this beginning now to bring yourself to mind and seeing if you can offer this sense of love,

This sense of loving-kindness to yourself.

And perhaps by letting these words become your words.

So saying these,

Repeating these internally to yourself.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I ride the waves of my life.

May I live in peace.

No matter what I'm given.

And as you do this noticing the feelings that have arisen as you've heard yourself repeat these words and letting them be as you look within yourself with a sense of mindfulness,

Compassion and equanimity.

And now beginning to offer this sense of loving-kindness to someone who supports you.

So bringing to mind somebody who supports you.

Somebody perhaps who's always been at your side or perhaps just on your side.

And bringing this person to mind.

So imagining them perhaps across from you again sitting or perhaps standing in front of you.

And letting these words become your words.

So repeating them internally.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you ride the waves of your life.

May you be at peace.

No matter what you're given.

Allowing the feelings of loving-kindness to flow easily towards this loved one.

And now beginning to allow this person to drift towards the back of your imagination and bring to the forward someone this time who you have a little bit of difficulty with.

It's best not to start with the most difficult person but perhaps someone who brings up feelings of irritation or perhaps annoyance.

And when this person comes to your mind's eye seeing if you can allow them to stand in front of you or see them sitting in front of you and letting these words become your words as you keep this person in your awareness.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you ride the waves of your life.

May you live in peace no matter what you are given.

I'm beginning now to notice the sensations and the feelings that have arisen within you and seeing if you can allow them just to be because they're already here.

So practicing being with them and breathing with them.

And now bringing to mind the wider community of which we're all apart.

So beginning now to imagine your family so allowing your family to arrive in your mind's eye so just seeing who turns up when you invite your family into this circle of loving kindness.

And now beginning to expand this loving kindness circle out a little bit and beginning to invite in your friends and again seeing who turns up seeing what faces begin appearing in your mind's eye and welcoming them into the circle.

And beginning now to expand the circle a little bit further and bringing in your neighbors inviting in your neighbors and again when you put the invitation out seeing seeing who turns up seeing what faces are arriving in the mind's eye and welcoming them all in.

And now beginning to expand the circle of loving kindness out a little bit further and inviting in your workmates.

People you have worked with or perhaps people you're working with now.

Inviting them into the circle and again putting the invitation out there and seeing who turns up.

And now beginning to expand the circle out to your village your town or your city and again just sitting with a sense of awareness to see who's turning up as you send this invitation out.

And now beginning to expand the circle of loving kindness out a little bit more so expanding it out now to the county the shire or the state that you live in and welcoming all those people into this circle of loving kindness and just watching who turns up inviting them in.

Beginning now to expand the loving kindness circle out even further so extending it now to the country that you live in north south east and west and inviting all those who want to step forward and turn up inviting them all into this meditation with you.

And now beginning to extend the circle a little bit further so beginning to extend it now to the surrounding countries and then slowly beginning to expand it out to the whole of the globe inviting all beings all human beings into this meditation into this circle of loving kindness.

Perhaps people you haven't seen in a while on the other side of the globe perhaps they're turning up inviting them in and then beginning to expand it out to all the animals perhaps pets perhaps friends families pets and then all of the animals that are inhabiting the globe with us currently.

The animals of the land sea and sky inviting in all sentient beings and as you do this letting these words become your words offering yourself and this wider circle loving kindness.

May we be happy.

May we be healthy.

May we ride the waves of our lives.

May we live in peace no matter what we are given.

And as you do this noticing the sensations and the feelings that have arisen within you.

And practicing allowing them to be because they're already here.

Practicing being with them and breathing with them.

And sitting with them for a few more moments.

And bringing this meditation now to a to an end.

So if you've had your eyes closed allowing them to stay closed for a few more moments.

And beginning to sense the body sensing it sitting on the chair or perhaps for you lying on the bed.

And beginning now to begin moving the fingers beginning to just wiggle them a little bit.

Beginning now to move the toes again just giving them a little bit of a wiggle just very gently.

And then bigger movements of the hands.

Bigger movements of the feet.

And when it feels right for you beginning to very slowly begin to open the eyes.

And as best you can bringing this sense of loving kindness for yourself and loving kindness for all those around you.

Bringing it forward into the rest of your day or the rest of your evening.

Reviews

Thank you 💚.. this was the most gorgeous metta meditation I have ever heard. That you included the animals made me cry. 🐦🐸❤️