9/11 Lovingkindness meditation (text)
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1. Cultivating love for yourself
And so, having relaxed and having energized yourself, you can begin to take your awareness into your heart – into the area around your heart – becoming aware of whatever feelings and emotions are present. And the emotions that are present may be positive emotions, they may be negative emotions, or perhaps you’re feeling a little numb and you’re not too sure how you’re feeling right now. But whatever you find there, just regard that as being where you’re starting from. Wherever you are is the only place you can start from. We’re going to be working with whatever’s there. So just open up to whatever is there; whatever is present in your heart.
And we’ve probably all experienced a wide variety of emotions over the last week; perhaps fear, perhaps ill will, and I’d like you to forgive yourself for any negative emotions that have arisen. And we need to forgive ourselves in the context of resolving to live up to whatever is best within ourselves. We need to forgive ourselves in the context of resolving to develop as much love and as much wisdom as we can. For one thing we have learned is that there’s not enough love and not enough wisdom in the world. And so we can do something about that right now.
So staying in touch with your emotions, I’d like you to wish yourself well. And you can do that by repeating the phrase, “May I be well, may I be happy, may I be free from suffering.” And you can imagine yourself well and happy. So just keep on repeating those phrases, “May I be well, may I be happy, may I be free from suffering.” Noticing what effects those words, those phrases, have upon your heart.
Continuing to relax. Working patiently with your emotions.
Taking your time. There’s no hurry. Repeating these phrases and letting your emotions unfold in their own time.
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