Thexal All right,
Let's take a minute to settle into your posture.
Noticing how good it feels to have an upright spine that can support your entire body.
Maybe noticing the light reward flavor in your hands.
Checking in with your arms and your leg and your face.
For just a little bit more surrender to gravity.
Let's start a metta practice with ourselves.
We'll use some standard phrases,
But also pull in more feel.
So in the case of offering metta to yourself,
You might even try putting a hand over your heart and putting a hand over your belly and then making this contact,
This loving contact to support yourself.
Now when you repeat these phrases to yourself,
You really use a little bit of effort to take the stance of being open-hearted and receiving the loving kindness that these words have offered to millions of people for thousands of years.
But that's also part of the feel component when you're offering metta to yourself.
It's really using some of your energy to receive,
Receive,
Receive.
So work with that feeling of receiving these blessings simultaneously with each phrase that you say to yourself.
And you can just repeat after me silently if you like,
Really letting these phrases drop into your heart and infuse your whole body.
May I be safe?
May I be healthy?
May I be happy?
May I be at ease?
And now call up the essence of your husband,
Everything that you just deeply love about him as a person.
You can imagine that he's in close enough proximity that's like your optimal comfort range.
And in your most compassionate moment,
Imagine how you would make contact in a way that's gentle and authentic,
In a way that offers kindness to him without ever needing to abandon or deplete yourself.
So there might be a signature for each person that you know so well,
A signature in your own body.
And our relationships are complex.
So there may be some things that aren't wonderful.
There's probably all kinds of soup of emotion for each of these people.
So we allow that to be there,
We won't struggle or try to deny anything that's unpleasant that arises.
We just won't feed it,
You know,
Won't really give it attention,
Let it come and go in the background and selectively attend to feelings of fondness and connection with your husband.
So there may be this kind of a signature in your body,
The feeling that you get when all is well between you two and you're in close proximity.
So attending to that sensation,
Offer him these phrases now.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at ease.
And I'll just suggest to keep track of everyone,
Maybe starting with your oldest child.
And similarly,
Call that person up in your mind and notice the feeling in your heart,
Let your heart swell a bit with tenderness,
The signature of this child in your body.
Your mind may be able to present to you a natural and authentic way that you might make physical contact if you were to offer this person loving kindness.
And as you maintain contact with that feeling to the best of your ability,
Offer this child the message phrases.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at ease.
And you might take a moment to acknowledge each other and then turn to your second form.
Opening widely and embracing the best of this connection,
Allowing all the complexity and messiness of relationships to be there.
But in this moment,
Pouring our attention into the love and tenderness you have for your child.
And if you just let your mind go to making contact without really controlling or directing it,
It can be quite interesting to see how you can make contact without really controlling or directing it.
It can be quite interesting to notice how the mind might suggest something with a little variation for each person,
Something that suits that relationship or that personality.
And then keeping some of your attention on this heart connection with this child,
Offer them the message phrases.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at ease.
And if it feels right for a little closure,
You can have a moment with this child too to acknowledge each other.
And then move on to your youngest.
Calling them up in your mind's eye.
And also in your felt sense of how you feel when all is well in this relationship,
When you feel the most connected,
When you feel satisfied and grateful for having a person in your life,
When you feel in awe of who they are,
Their fine qualities.
And notice for this child too,
If you let your mind just show you what kind of physical contact feels easy and natural.
It doesn't mean that you would ever even do it in real life,
But there may be a meeting of the minds and spirits here that's possible that can show you a kind of contact that symbolizes the connection that you share with this child.
And then notice if you have some awareness of positivity and the body can emotional flavor maybe around the heart or maybe it's expansive throughout the body.
Then putting just a little effort into maintaining contact with that positive emotion,
This connection with this child while you offer them the metaphysic.
You may be safe.
Hey,
May you be healthy.
Hey,
May you be happy.
The maybe at ease.
And then maybe you have a hug or some eye contact and squeezing hands or something to complete that connection for now.
And then consider the children born and unborn.
What is the positive emotional impression that however subtly the body is expressing when you call the children up to your mind?
It could be really vague and really subtle,
But there's probably something sweet,
Maybe expansive,
Maybe something joyful,
Hopeful.
And again,
It's okay if there is some ambivalence or something with a concern or fear,
Flavor.
We'll just let those things be in the background.
They're a natural part of life.
Okay.
Such a great service to be able to practice and perhaps even model for these children.
A lack of struggle with what's hard or what's unpleasant.
We'll allow it all.
But just during this practice,
Focus on the pleasant preference,
Positive body sensation that has an emotional flavor to it.
Love,
Fondness,
Excitement,
Tenderness.
You may even be able to imagine the sensation of holding these children,
Supporting them,
Nurturing them,
Offering them unconditional love.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at ease.
And you can gently release this directional offering from you to the children,
Letting it just dissipate into the air.
And then to finish,
You might imagine that all of these people,
For some reason,
All at the same time,
You come to mind.
And they have this moment of remembering how much you mean to them,
Whatever that looks like for these different relationships,
A thankfulness,
A fondness,
A compassion.
And for all of them,
A heartfelt wish for your well-being.
And see now if you can focus your seal on being open-hearted,
Receiving,
Imagining that all of these members of your family,
If they had the words,
They would now be offering these words to you.
It's their intention and their wish that you may be safe,
That you may be healthy,
That you may be happy,
And that you may be at ease.
Thank you.
