E37: Awakening Compassion: Experience the Power of a Loving-Kindness Meditation

LOVING Kindness Meditation for Self-Compassion

This episode invites you to extend your sphere of loving-kindness beyond yourself. Picture the individuals who've made positive impacts on your life, loved ones, and even those who you might have neutral or challenging feelings towards. By wishing them safety, peace, health, and ease, the transformational power of loving-kindness meditation will help you notice a shift within yourself. By the end of this episode, you won't merely be a practitioner of personal peace and wellbeing, but a beacon radiating love and kindness to all around you. Let this episode inspire you to carry this loving-kindness within you, spreading it to all beings you encounter.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:48

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to this loving, kindness meditation. I would like for you to begin by finding a comfortable position, sitting or lying down, where you can relax and feel yourself supported by the cheer or flora. Watch your eyes close fully or partially and take a few deep breaths down into your belly, allow yourself to relax and breathe and just be present in this moment. You might bring your hand to your heart or wherever it's comforting to you, reminding yourself to bring not just awareness but loving awareness to your experience and to yourself. Follow your breath as it enters, moves through you and releases. Let your breath be easy, gentle, a reminder of how your body takes care of your needs. Notice any physical sensations that might be asking for attention, perhaps tightness in your shoulders, neck, jaw, face or anywhere else that your body might be holding tension. Notice if there are any uncomfortable emotions that might be arising or just under the surface, perhaps worry about the future or an easiness about the past. Notice all that you feel and notice as part of the human experience, part of living in a body in our world. Bring gentle curiosity and tenderness to the discomforts and stresses, bringing your presence to those places in you, offer images or words or just a sense of kindness and compassion to those places in you, and then to yourself as a whole, with all the challenges and difficulties of being human. You might remind yourself that whatever your discomfort or pain, it is worthy of caring attention, worthy of compassion. You might say to yourself may I be safe, may I be peaceful, may I be healthy, may I live with ease, may I be kind to myself, may I accept myself as I am. You might want to add other phrases that feel right for you. May I be free of pain, may I be happy, may I live in a world happily, peacefully, joyfully, with ease. So imagine someone in your life who has loved or cared for you, someone who has been a mentor or teacher, someone you respect, for whom you can easily feel unconditional love and kindness, someone who naturally brings happiness to your heart. Imagine yourself in the presence of this person. Imagine this being's desire to be happy and free from suffering, just as you do, just as every living being does. Send the same messages and caring attention to them. May you be safe, may you be peaceful, may you be healthy, may you live with ease. Now imagine someone you love, a close family, friend or beloved friend. Repeat the phrases again, breathing from your heart, focusing your caring attention on this person who was dear to you. May you be safe, may you be peaceful, may you be healthy, may you live with ease. Now imagine someone neutral for whom you feel either strong like or dislike. Repeat the phrases to them, allowing yourself to feel tenderness and caring towards them. May you be safe, may you be peaceful, may you be healthy, may you live with ease, may you be kind to yourself, may you accept yourself as you are, may you be free of pain, may you be happy. May you live in this world happily, peacefully, joyfully and with ease.

Speaker 1 6:05

Now, finally, imagine someone you struggle with and repeat the phrases to this person who is a challenge for you. I want you to take a deep breath, breathe from your heart and, if you find it difficult to send caring energy to this person, you might begin the phrases with to the best of my ability. I wish for you to be safe. If anger, hostility or resentment arise, return to the image of the mentor or the teacher and begin with allowing your loving feelings towards them. Help you to reconnect with the loving kindness once more.

Speaker 1 7:00

In this process, it is important for you to refocus on the challenging person and to allow that loving kindness to spread from you to them. To the best of my ability, I wish for you that you would be safe. I wish that you would be peaceful. I wish that you may be healthy. I wish that you may live with ease. I wish that you would be kind to yourself. I wish that you would accept yourself as you are. I wish that you would be happy. I wish that you would live in this world happily, peacefully, joyfully and with ease. Take a deep and cleansing breath and now imagine your heart expanding and the loving kindness that is radiating from your heart extends through your whole being and shines out into the world. Send loving kindness to all beings from your own heart center. May all beings be safe, may all beings be peaceful, may all beings be healthy, may all beings be at ease, may all beings be happy. Let your heart touch the heart of all beings, feeling the interconnectedness of all forms of life throughout the universe.