Gently close your eyes and settle into a position where your body is going to feel alert and relaxed.
Take a moment here to adjust yourself and allow and invite in comfort,
Scanning your body from head to toe,
And seeing where you can offer a little more ease.
This is a short meta meditation.
Meta is a practice of loving kindness and loving awareness.
It is a principal aspect to center our heart and mind to cultivate states of love and kindness for ourselves and others,
No matter what is arising internally and externally in our environments.
So I'm going to simply state phrases and I'd like you to repeat them back in your mind and offer these simple phrases for yourself and others.
And a pretty amazing element to imagine is as you're practicing this meta meditation,
There are thousands of people right now practicing this meditation and offering well wishes for all beings just like you.
So at any moment throughout the day,
If you're experiencing isolation or frustration or loneliness,
Come back to this practice and remember that in the world there is somebody out there sending you well wishes.
So we're going to take in three cleansing breaths.
Breathing in,
In,
And out.
One final cleansing breath,
In and out.
And I want you to settle your attention on the phrase,
I am loving awareness.
I am loving awareness.
We are loving awareness.
This is loving awareness.
This is a practice that Ram Dass introduced millions to from the simple phrases derived from meta.
So let your intention in this moment,
Whatever this practice may be,
Rise in your mind.
Maybe your intention is to just cultivate more ease or peace for yourself.
Maybe there's a particular conflict that's happening in your life and you want to offer a little more space around that,
A little more balance.
Maybe your heart is really light right now and you just want to rejoice in a moment of lightness.
And wherever you are,
Just bring in a very short intention for yourself like,
May I have more compassion.
May I see the world with compassion.
And whatever it is,
Just allow it to come in.
And now allow that intention to just be set and we settle in.
And begin to silently say these phrases in your mind.
I'd like you to invite a being that just brings a smile to your face.
Somebody that if you were to have good news,
You would share it with them and they would be rejoicing for you.
This being may be in this plane of existence.
They may be in another form.
This being can even be a beloved pet.
But as you bring this being into your mind and you're shining them with so much light,
They're just radiating and glowing.
And if too many people come in,
You're a lucky one.
But in this moment,
Just settle your mind on a single person.
You're not hurting anybody by discluding them.
We'll include others in a moment.
So just focus on a single being right now.
Bring them into your awareness.
And they're just shining,
Shining this radiant light.
And as you see them,
Begin to say to them,
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May your heart be free.
And as you send them these well wishes,
I'd like you to shift your awareness to somebody who comes around each day,
Or every so often throughout the week,
This can be a neighbor,
Or it can be your grocery clerk,
Or your mail carrier,
Or maybe somebody who works in the same building as you.
And this neutral person,
I want you to just bring them into your mind and now they're shining with light.
And they're just radiating and glowing.
And now begin to offer them the phrases,
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May your heart be free.
And may you have peace.
And now I would like you to envision the street where you live,
Maybe the building you live.
And I want you to think about all the people that live in your neighborhood.
And imagine their homes glowing and begin to offer them well wishes.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May your heart be free.
And may you have peace.
And as you do that,
I now want you to widen your circle and bring in the entire city or town you live in.
And imagine all the beings living in that area,
All of your fellow humans.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May your heart be free.
And may you have peace.
And as you widen your circle,
I now want you to imagine your entire region of where you live.
All of the beings,
All of the homes,
All of the animals,
All of the people who may be moving throughout,
Driving on streets or freeways or roads or highways.
All the people who are transporting goods in trucks.
All the people that are stocking groceries at the grocery store.
All the people that are going throughout their day,
Living their lives.
Whatever they're doing,
Wherever they are,
Begin to send them well wishes.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May your heart be free and may you have peace.
Now I want you to expand the entire awareness,
Your consciousness to the country of origin you live in.
And all the people that are living in your country,
All the different people that are experiencing joy,
Somebody in the world,
It's their birthday today.
They're opening presents.
Somebody else is at a funeral,
Burying a loved one.
Somebody else is having their dinner or their breakfast and they're all these array of experiences.
Somebody is out there,
They're hiking in the mountains and they're seeing the gorgeous landscape before them.
Begin to gather all of these beings in your country of origin and like a tender raindrops falling on them of precious love,
Touching the top of their head and moving through their entire body.
Send them well wishes.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May your heart be free and may you be at peace.
And now imagine the entire world,
This beautiful blue planet,
This globe radiating with light.
All the seven continents,
The oceans and all the vast beauty that mother nature provides to the whole world and all of earth,
To all living sentient beings,
To all seen and unknown and unseen and known,
To everything that this entire planet,
It's radiating with just light sparkling,
Twinkling and glowing planet.
And all the beings that are breathing in and out in this very moment,
Sending them loving kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May your heart be free and may you have peace.
And as this beautiful globe radiates,
Now I want you to center that light on yourself.
Imagine all your loved ones smiling and sharing light at you,
Feeling the love radiate in your heart.
The simple pleasure of being in presence with one another.
And imagine that dear being that you first brought in.
Imagine now they're saying to you,
Dear one,
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May your heart be free.
And may you have peace.
And just collect in this moment,
The joyous vibes that Metta meditation brings in,
That compassion,
That softening,
That connection.
And allow this Metta meditation to carry you through the day,
To look at all beings with more compassion,
Including when you look in the mirror.
And allow yourself to be held and to be nurtured in this practice.
I'd like you now to take in that original intention you had.
Engulf it in with the last breath here,
Taking in that intention and letting it go.
Whoa,
It's gone.
And now coming back to the room,
Blinking your eyes open to the awareness and the peace that exists in each and every moment.
