Settling yourself into a comfortable meditation posture.
Maybe you want to sit on a chair,
Sitting upright with your feet flat on the floor,
Or maybe you want to sit on the floor,
Maybe using a bench for kneeling,
Or using a cushion for sitting cross-legged.
However you want to sit,
Making sure your body is comfortable,
You're sitting nice and upright and you feel grounded and supported,
Extending up through the crown of the head and then relaxing through the rest of your body,
Softening your face,
Your eyes,
Your jaw,
Your lips,
Your chin,
Softening your shoulders,
Your hands,
Making sure your hands are resting somewhere that allows your shoulders to feel relaxed and supported,
And then softening also your belly and your breath,
Bringing to mind this intention of loving kindness,
This wish,
This energy of loving kindness,
Finding something within yourself that you can send this intention to,
May I be well and happy.
Sometimes it's helpful to imagine it coming from someone else,
Someone that you love,
Someone that you're close to,
Them wishing you love,
Kindness,
Happiness,
Or sometimes we can just wish it from within,
Wishing ourselves this sense of being utterly loved,
Positively regarded,
May I be well and happy.
This intention or wish,
This warm feeling towards yourself,
How would your body feel if it felt utterly loved and regarded wholly positively?
How would your mind feel allowing this feeling,
This intention or energy to pervade your whole body?
Perhaps it's just a spark to begin with,
A spark of loving kindness.
What would it take for this spark to become a flame,
To become a fire,
To become a roaring blaze,
Allowing this intention of loving kindness towards yourself to expand and intensify.
How would it be if your body was so full of love and kindness that it almost can't help but begin to overflow?
Sometimes it's helpful to use your imagination to help it intensify.
Perhaps this loving kindness has a colour or a sense of light to it and we can allow that colour to intensify,
To brighten,
The light to brighten within us.
Or perhaps it's more like a feeling,
Like warmth,
Allowing the warmth to grow,
Become hotter.
Or perhaps for you it's more like a smile,
Smiling within.
Whatever you find helpful to allow this intention or energy of loving kindness to intensify,
To grow.
May I be safe,
May I be well,
May I be free from suffering.
So as this feeling begins to overflow your body and spread out into the space around,
We're going to direct it towards different people.
So first bringing to mind a friend or a loved one,
Someone that you're close to.
It doesn't necessarily need to be human,
Perhaps it's a pet.
Bringing to mind this loved one and sending your intention of loving kindness towards them.
May they be well and happy,
May they be free from suffering.
Generating this loving kindness towards them at the same level as you do towards yourself.
Loving kindness within,
Loving kindness sending it without.
Equalizing the level of love towards yourself and towards your friend or your close person.
And now bringing to mind someone you find neutral,
Perhaps someone you don't know so well,
Someone maybe that an acquaintance or that you've met just a few times.
And once you have that person in mind,
Sending them this wish,
This intention for them to be safe,
For them to be well,
For them to be happy.
Sending them your love,
Your kindness,
Your well-wishing.
And how would it be if you were able to send an equal amount of loving kindness to yourself,
To your good friend and to this neutral person.
Developing an equality of loving kindness and evenness in the energy,
The intention,
This wish for yourself,
Your loved one and this neutral person to feel loved,
To feel positively regarded.
And now we're going to bring to mind someone that you have difficulty with,
Someone you perhaps dislike,
Someone that you consider an enemy,
Perhaps someone that you have aversion towards,
One of your difficult people.
And as that person comes into your mind,
How would it be to send them your loving kindness,
To wish them to feel safe,
To feel well,
To feel happy,
To feel free from suffering.
And if you find this hard,
Maybe it would be helpful to consider what are the benefits to you for doing this.
Sending love and positive regards to all beings helps us.
Or perhaps considering the disadvantages of not being able to do this,
Of holding a grudge,
Of hating or holding aversion towards people.
Considering the disadvantages to you,
Or perhaps it would be helpful to break this person down into constituent parts,
Finding something within them that you can send loving kindness to.
Perhaps it's their left little finger,
Or perhaps you really like the way their hair flows in the wind.
Something about them that you can send positive regard to.
Whatever works.
Sending this difficult person your wish,
Your intention for them to be well and happy,
To feel loved.
And if you can,
Developing an evenness,
An equality of intention to all these different people.
A loving kindness to yourself,
To your friend or close person,
To a neutral person,
And to this person you find difficult.
Is it possible,
Or how would it be,
To send an even level of love to all these people?
And if you wish,
You can just stay here for as long as you like.
Developing this intention,
This wish,
Sending out your positive regards,
Your well-wishing,
Your loving kindness.
Or if you wish,
Perhaps this sense of loving kindness is overflowing even further,
And you wish to send it out more broadly,
Considering the building that you're in right now,
And all the people that might be in this building,
Or perhaps in the neighboring buildings.
Sending out a wish or intention of loving kindness.
Maybe it's like a bubble expanding from your body,
A bubble that's growing,
Expanding,
Taking in more and more people,
Expanding from your body outwards,
Your building,
Neighboring buildings,
Perhaps a whole street,
Or perhaps the building complex that you're in.
Many people that you may have never met,
Or may never meet,
Expanding this bubble of loving kindness,
Of love,
Even further,
Further out into the countryside,
Or maybe the town that you're in.
Taking in not just humans,
But all sorts of other creatures,
Animals,
Birds,
Insects,
Plants.
Sending them all your loving kindness,
Your wish for them to be safe,
And well,
And happy,
Allowing this bubble to grow further still,
Expanding to the whole region that you live in,
That you are right now in,
Expanding out to the whole country that you're in right now.
Many millions of people,
Many millions more creatures and plants,
All within this embrace,
Within this bubble of love emanating from your body,
Sending them all this wish to be safe,
Well,
Happy,
And then expanding further still out into the whole continent,
And from the continent expanding to the whole world.
The bubble of love coming from your body is big enough to embrace the whole world.
May all beings across the whole world be safe,
Be well,
Be happy,
Be free from suffering.
Then from here,
Allowing this to expand even further out from our planet,
Out into the universe,
Expanding,
Expanding,
Expanding,
Embracing our solar system,
All the stars,
Out into our Milky Way galaxy,
And then beyond our galaxy,
Expanding,
Expanding,
This bubble of love reaching out into the universe.
Countless galaxies with countless stars,
And countless planets,
Allowing this intention of loving kindness to pervade the entire universe.
Boundless,
Infinite,
Spilling out of love into the whole universe,
Including yourself,
Including people you love,
People that are close to you,
People that you don't know,
That are neutral to you,
Including people you find difficult,
People you find really difficult,
Including all the animals and the plants,
Including this whole planet,
All the planets,
All the stars,
All the galaxies.
Boundless love,
Resting here in this expanded mind,
Expanded love for as long as you wish,
And when you feel ready,
Very gently,
Allowing your body to sway side to side,
Maybe take a deeper breath if you like,
And just when you feel ready,
Allowing your eyes to lift,
Perhaps allowing this loving kindness to continue emanating from your body as you carry on with your day.
