Moving Metta Meditation

Hi and welcome, this is a somatic based practice of compassion. Meditation teacher and psychotherapist Tara Brock defines compassion as the willingness to let ourselves be touched by the vulnerability and suffering within ourselves and all beings and that desire to relieve suffering at some level. Compassion practices can move us out of the isolation and shame that often clouds our understanding of our true worthiness and sense of belonging in the world. So make yourself comfortable in whatever way you need to. I'm going to be doing this practice seated but you can also do it standing.

Take a moment to make a connection with your support, wiggle in, sense yourself descending down into the sport that's rising up to meet you either in the chair or the floorboards. I'm going to start off with some simple movement. Let's take the left arm up and arc over and then bring it back up and down and go to the other side. This is a sense of moving through space, a breathing functioning body. Now both arms up and both hands coming down back to the heart.

Now take a moment to come into connection with your own center. Maybe that's somewhere around your solar plexus or your heart. You might close the eyes and just bring to mind someone who you care about, that you love very much, that brings you joy. Just some being. Might be a person, animal, figure, spiritual figure, just something that you love very much and let that visualization of them become as vivid as it can.

See them in the right proximity to you. Let them smile at you or laugh, whatever it is that really allows you to feel the joy of being with them. Sense what happens inside of you, inside of your own body, the shifts as you hold this person that you love very much in your own heart. Notice the breath. You might be aware as you hold this loving figure in your mind's eye, if there's a quality of light or color that's associated with this feeling.

Now continue to hold this being in your mind's eye and your heart or in your center. Just going to move back into that simple movement. Take that left arm and as you reach it up and over, consider offering to them, may you be well. May you be entirely well. Bring that hand back to the heart.

Go to the other side. May you be healthy. See that gesture of kindness and compassion. May you be healthy, extending to this being that you love. May you be safe as you offer both arms open.

May you be safe in your mind and in your body, bringing it back. Let the arms sweep down, reaching them up. May you feel peace. So arms return, extending the compassion of just may you be loved as the hands come back in. And again, reaching that arm out, may you be well.

May you be well as the arm comes back down. Let the hand touch the heart. Go to the other side. May you be healthy. Sweeping the arm out and down, may you be healthy in your mind and in your body.

Both arms open, may you be safe. May you be safe from harm that comes from outside and harm that comes from inside. Sweeping down and up, may you feel peace. Notice what it's like to offer this being, your loving kindness, may you feel loved. Just pause and come back to the heart.

Now maybe bring to mind someone in your life that might be struggling a little bit, that you care about. And remember, it's not your job to fix them or to take their dignity away of being able to move through their own lives, but it's just a practice of extending loving kindness in their direction. Hold this person in your heart. Notice what it's like to have care and concern. And to this person, let's extend this compassion.

Feel free to move as big or as small in the movements as you need. Inhale. The left arm comes up. May you be well. May you be entirely well, just sending that light, that energy in their direction.

May you be healthy. The other arm comes up and over. May you be healthy in your mind and in your body. You open both arms. May you be safe.

May you be safe from harm that comes from outside and harm that comes from inside. Return to the heart, sending them the wish of peace. May you feel peace. Lowering the arms. May you feel love.

Staying with that. May you be well. The arm sweeps back down. Make the connection to the heart, noticing how it feels to offer the compassion for you. May you be healthy.

May you be surrounded with health in your mind and in your body, opening. May you be safe. May you be safe from harm that comes from inside and harm that comes from outside. May you feel peace as you reach the arms up. May you feel love.

May you know you are loved. Just notice what it's like inside of you to offer loving-kindness. Now, consider taking yourself into this experience. Maybe it's a part of yourself that's been hurting a physical body, the heart, some part that doubts from time to time, or just a general wish of well-being. If it's difficult for you, imagine somebody else is offering you this wish, yeah?

I'm just saying the words, right? Taking the arm up. May I, this time, may I be well. May I be entirely well. To the other arm, may I be healthy.

May I be healthy in my mind and in my body. The arm comes back to heart. May I be safe as the arms open. May I be safe from harm that comes from outside and harm that comes from inside. May I feel peace as the arms reach up overhead.

May I feel loved. May I remember I am loved. One more time. May I be well. In this time, may we, may we be well.

May we as a collective entity. May I be safe. May I be safe from harm that comes from outside and inside. May I be healthy in my mind and my body and may we be healthy. May we be healthy in our minds and in our bodies.

May I feel peace, may we feel peace as the arms reach up. May I feel loved. May we feel loved. And then just pause returning to your center for a moment. Notice how your body feels offering loving kindness, compassion, a reminder that all beings experience suffering, you are not alone.

Notice the heart. May you take this well-being throughout your day, may this help to reduce suffering in your lives and in the lives of our community. Thank you.