Loving-Kindness Meditation
TRANSCRIPT:
Hello and welcome to Cultivating Chill.
My name is Vikki Velasquez and today, we will practice a loving-kindness meditation.
Loving-kindness meditation is a beautiful way to cultivate love and compassion for yourself, your loved ones, and the rest of the world.
The practice consists of five stages where we offer well-wishes and love to different groups of people.
The session will begin with directing love and compassion to ourselves.
Then, we move this loving, compassionate energy towards a loved one–like a family member or close friend–followed by someone neutral, like a coworker, neighbor or even our favorite barista—and then to someone who might be considered "difficult," like someone you just don’t get along with or a distant friend.
Next, we send love and compassion to the self, to the loved one, to the acquaintance, to the distant friend, and back to ourselves.
Finally, we send our love and compassion out to the rest of the world.
We will silently repeat four wishes in each stage. May you be free from harm – May your mind be at ease – May you feel safe – May you be happy.
This loving-kindness meditation will be about ten minutes or so.
Let’s begin by finding a comfortable seat, maybe in a chair or on a cushion. If you are sitting on the floor, feel free to rest your back against a wall for extra support.
I invite you to close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath. Feeling the cool air of the inhale. The warm air of the exhale.
Let’s take a big revitalizing inhale through the nose - Inhale.
Let go with a slow, cleansing exhale - Exhale.
Don’t try to change anything, just feel the natural rhythm of your inhales and exhales.
Just let your breath breathe itself.
I invite you to rest your hands on your thighs, palms up or place them over your heart, one hand gently resting on top of the other. Yogi’s choice.
Continue to breathe, bringing your attention inwards. If your hands are over your heart, maybe you focus on the sensation of your heart beating.
Bring to your mind’s eye an image of yourself. Maybe you did a kind act that made you feel good or had a recent accomplishment. Maybe you picture yourself as you are now or as you were at a different age, time or place.
Take this image of yourself and place it into your heart.
Silently to yourself, repeat the following phrases:
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
Continue to repeat these phrases as you hold the image in your heart.
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
(Allow time for about 5 repetitions)
When you are ready, gently release the image and return your focus to your inhales, exhales, and the pauses in-between.
(Breathe for about 3 breaths)
Bring to your mind’s eye an image of a loved one, like a family member or close friend. It can even be your favorite pet.
Take this image of your loved one and place them into your heart.
Silently to yourself, repeat the following phrases:
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
Continue to repeat these phrases as you hold the image in your heart.
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
(Allow time for about 5 repetitions)
When you are ready, gently release the image and return your focus to your inhales, exhales, and the pauses in-between.
(Breathe for about 3 breaths)
Bring to your mind’s eye an image of someone you know but are not close to, like a neighbor or a coworker. Someone who is an acquaintance, maybe even a friend or cousin whom you are not particularly close to but have warm feelings for.
Take this image of your neighbor, coworker, or cousin, and place them into your heart.
Silently to yourself, repeat the following phrases:
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
Continue to repeat these phrases as you hold the image in your heart.
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
(Allow time for about 5 repetitions)
When you are ready, gently release the image and return your focus to your inhales, exhales, and the pauses in-between.
(Breathe for about 3 breaths)
Bring to your mind’s eye an image of someone you might describe as difficult. Maybe someone you don’t get along with or recently had a small disagreement with or even a distant friend.
Take this image of the distant friend and place them into your heart.
Silently to yourself, repeat the following phrases:
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
Continue to repeat these phrases as you hold the image in your heart.
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
(Allow time for about 5 repetitions)
When you are ready, gently release the image and return your focus to your inhales, exhales, and the pauses in-between.
(Breathe for about 3 breaths)
Now, bring to your mind’s eye the images of you, your loved one, the acquaintance, and the distant friend.
Take these images and place them into your heart.
Silently to yourself, repeat the following phrases:
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
Continue to repeat these phrases as you hold the images in your heart.
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
(Allow time for about 5 repetitions)
When you are ready, gently release the image and return your focus to your inhales, exhales, and the pauses in-between.
(Breathe for about 3 breaths)
Finally, let’s bring to your mind’s eye an image of the entire world. All the people, everyone, everywhere. In the cities, the countryside, and everywhere in between. The plants, the animals, the birds in the air, the creatures in the oceans, and all the little creepy crawly things in the dirt.
Take this image of the entire world with all the living things and place everyone into your heart.
Silently to yourself, repeat the following phrases:
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
Continue to repeat these phrases as you hold the image of the world in your heart.
May you be free from harm
May your mind be at ease
May you feel safe
May you be happy
(Allow time for about 5 repetitions)
When you are ready, gently release the image of the world.
Gently focus on your breath–the inhales, the exhales, the pauses in-between.
Gently notice any feelings or sensations in the body.
(Breathe for about 5 breaths)
The loving-kindness meditation has come to an end.
Let’s bring our hands in prayer position, hands to heart center.
Whenever you are ready, you may gently open your eyes.
The light in me honors the light in you.
Namaste.