Contemplative practices - Affirmations, white light visualizations, healing meditations

rlschaller · March 28

Do you have a contemplative practice? A spiritual lifestyle ? imagery or healing meditations you like? Let’s share the love of positive affirmations and meditations. I just finished Ian Gawler's book You Can Conquer Cancer , and I was reminded how much I love self healing practices. I do white light meditations every evening ( great for falling asleep), and mindfulness sitting in stillness in the morning. Have just added affirmations “Every day in every way I am getting better and better , wiser and wiser”. Feels wonderful and sets a loving tone throughout the day.

moderators · March 28

@rlschaller, thank you for starting this enriching discussion! It's inspiring to hear about your contemplative practices and the positive impact they have on your well-being. Let's continue to share our experiences and practices! 🤗

The Mods

rlschaller · March 31

Thank you Mods! I love this topic and hope it might be encouraging for others .
iOn this lovely Sunday morning I thought I’d share one of my favorites The orb of light, which can read to yourself slowly while you practice:
Practice: Orb of Light

This is the orb of light meditation. So when you are ready is close your eyes, and begin to follow the breath. Breathing in and out from the nose. And simply letting your entire attention be focused on the breath. Allowing yourself to relax. Letting go of thoughts, worries, just breath and allow the mind to quiet as we follow the breath for a few more moments.

And then when you are ready, I’d like you bring to bring your attention to the very center of your forehead. And imagine that there is an orb of light in the very center of your forehead. And breath in and out through this orb of light at the very center of your forehead, it can be an oval shape or circle. Let it be any shape that comes naturally to mind. You can create the image of the orb of light as you breathe or allow one to rise to mind, either way is fine.

But imagine, sense, feel or see this orb of light this beautiful light shimmering strong and steady as your breath. Breathing in and out through this orb of light.

Bringing all of your focus to the very enter of the forehead, imagining this orb of light, and it grows and glows brighter with each breath. And if your mind should wander its perfectly fine. Just notice wandering, just notice and then gently bring the focus back to the very center of the forehead, to this beautiful orb of light.

And then when you are ready, allow this light to expand. As you breathe, imagine this orb of light expands and begins to fill your entire body. It spreads and expands and fills your entire head, behind your eyes, the very top of your head, back of your head cheeks, jaw, teeth, lips and your chin. Just imagine as you breathe the orb of light expands and fills your entire body. Imagine the light flows down your neck, throat, flows down into your chest, your heart, back.

Flows down into your stomach, lower back and waist. To your hips your legs, so while you are breathing in and out from this orb of light, it is filling your entire body. Your legs, knees, calves, ankles, light flows down into your feet, the balls of your feet, the soles, your toes. Continuous stream of light expands and flows throughout your entire bod, in the form of this orb of light at the center for your forehead, simply flowing as you breathe.

Flows down your shoulders your arms into your elbows. Down through your forearms into your hands, fingers. This beautiful radiant light shines through the palms of your hands, and soles of your feet. Continue breathing, in and out through this orb of light at the center of your forehead. As the light becomes ever more bright and brilliant within you. Your entire being is breath and light.

Allow the light from your third eye, that centered space in the middle of your forehead is also called your third eye, allow the orb of light to flow within you and now allow it flow all around you. As you breathe, like a fountain of energy this beautiful light completely surrounds you, completely fills you as you breathe.

Focusing on the orb of light. All energy is light, imagine your beautiful essence, your consciousness is all light as you breathe. Just radiate pure loving light.

Your entire being dissolves into this light, you are this light. And your energy shines, you are full breath full light. Allow yourself to be this light for a few more moments, to be the beauty of the light. Peaceful loving light is your essence, let this be your meditation on focused breath and light for a few more moments.

And then when you are ready, at the count of 3, you can begin the process of coming back to a waking state, 1, 2 and 3. Very slowly begin to open your eyes allowing this feeling of peace and light to stay with you.

moderators · March 31

Beautiful. Lovely to read this today.

tougholdcrow · June 2

I was taught Vipassana, which is a very simple, but deep meditation technique. I did a 10-day silent retreat 20 years ago, when three people very close to me died, and the calm place is still within me. I can always go there. These retreats are free, with voluntary donations. As a person who has learned the technique, I sometimes go to one-day refreshers. That's my main practice, but I spend time studying in different traditions, and I remember what I once heard about the three main currents of Buddhist practice: Zen is for poets, Tibetan buddhism is for artists, and southeast asian vipassana is for philosophers. I think it's good to have some of all of them and to not get too wedded to a single practice. There's a lot of wisdom to be had. I have been spending a lot more time with these ideas and practices since my BC diagnosis, and they have been of inestimable value.

rlschaller · June 10

@ tougholdcrow I love "Zen is for poets, Tibetan buddhism is for artists, and southeast asian vipassana is for philosophers" . I think that is so true lol. I have been meditating for a long time as well, and it has been so vital to my growth as a human being, and my peace of mind through BC and now MBC. I travelled to Burma in my 20's, and studied Tibetan healing practices which I find helpful now as I do a mix of vipassana and Zen practice. Not sure if you know of Allevi8 - its a cancer meditation app which I love, mostly visualization and mindfuless based on Ian Gawler's work who wrote You Can Conquer Cancer. A great book too. Love to have found a fellow meditator here on the discussion board, so glad you responded!

rlschaller · June 20

and here is a practice I love by Ram Dass on being Loving Awareness, from his amazing book with Mirabei Bush “Walking Each other Home. “

Meditation instruction_ Loving Awareness (Ram Dass)

Sit quietly. Just be with what is. If you are hot, be hot. If some part of you hurts, let it hurt. If you're emotionally open, let yourself be emotionally open, and if you're closed, be closed. If you're bored, be bored, and if you are stimulated, be stimulated. Just let it all be. Notice.

Bring your awareness to your breath. Breath in and out naturally, just noticing the breath itself as it comes in and out of your nostrils, not trying to change it. Notice its texture, temperature, duration. When your attention wanders, as it will, simpy return to the breath. Do this until your mind and body begin to settle into a calm, quiet, stable state.

Now imagine a vask sky before you, and crossing it are clouds , coming into your vision and going out of your vision. The sky is vast and present, the clouds coming and going. Imagine now that the sky is mirrored within you, so that inside of you is a vast sky, right in the middle of your chest, at your heart. And every thought you have, every sensatoin you have, every model you have of who you are or what it's all about, see all of that now as clouds, coming and going, rising in your mind and then disappearing, rising in your body and then disappearing. And keep focusing on the sky, on the vast sky that is not changed in any way by the clouds, your heart open to it all.

Now imagine an immense ocean. Rising up out of the ocean are waves. The waves rise, and they dissolve back into the ocean. Be the vast ocean of awareness, letting thoughts, sensations, plans, memories , hopes , fears, life, and death all be waves that rise up out of your awreaness and sink back into your awareness. Cultivate resting in awareness. No coming, no going, no birth, no death. Just a vast ocean.

Rest in that part of your being, pure awareness. Pure is ness, pure consciousness, pure love, beyond form, just vast pesence, then notice what arises. Being in the quality of your being - the ocean, the sky, the awareness - loving awareness. You are free, and being free you sing, you dance, song of life, the dance of life. May all beings in this very life be free.

amel_83 · June 21

Thank for all the infos.

I just do breathing exercise when i feel like i may have a panic attac, or just dayly for calm. For those 10 minutes at least i think only at my breathing rather than something else, so it help in diffucult moment. Also i usually breath so little, this help filling up my longs better. It feel like it improved my general breathing too.

I do Whim Hof breathing, as it was the first that pop up when i searched two years ago, and just stayed with it, as I liked it.

tougholdcrow · June 21

Oh I adore Ram Dass. Such a trippy guy. And I'm familiar with his musical recording of Loving Awareness. You can find it on YouTube. Anything that keeps you calm and loving and expansive is very good!

rlschaller · June 23

@amel_83 ive read about Whim Hof breathing. I love breathing lol… focus of attention on breath. After 5 minutes I can feel my whole body begin to let go. There is an app I love called Plum Village, from Thich Nhat Hanhs work and they have silent meditation recordings with bells, I like, I use a 20 minute one with 4 interval bells that ring … I find it so soothing to breath with the bells.

@tougholdcrow trippy indeed! Lol. I’ll look for the YouTube of Ram Dass , thanks! So many paths lead to love and yes to anything that keeps the love flowing inviting calm and tranquility . Amazing really the mind and taming it enough to let the light shine . Takes effort and patience too, and a community to support the efforts. Glad you gals are here.

tougholdcrow · June 23

@rschaller I often listen to Jack Kornfield's healing meditations before I go to sleep at night. I listen to Guided Meditations for Self-Healing but there are many others available. He fuses Buddhism with Western psychology, but his talks are pretty well-grounded in the classic Loving Kindness (metta) meditation. So, as it goes, may you be happy, may you be free from mental and physical suffering.

rlschaller · June 30

@tougholdcrow

Thank you for the Jack Kornfield mention. I really like his teachings. A friend gave me his book A Path With Heart when I was first diagnosed, and it’s lovely. I also like his healing meditations!

https://jackkornfield.com/the-temple-of-healing/

MEDITATION PRACTICE

Sit comfortably and allow your eyes to close. Make sure your seat allows you to be present, awake, grounded, and relaxed. As you sit at ease, feel your connection to the Earth. Center yourself and feel how your breath breathes itself in your body.

Then, without trying to change anything, bring a kind attention to what’s comfortable and uncomfortable in your body. Notice if there’s tension, contraction, or pain in certain areas, and ease and relaxation in others. Notice if there’s clutter in your mind or repetitive thoughts. Notice the state of your heart.

Does it feel contracted, or soft and open? Is it full of some emotion or feeling, such as fatigue or joy, sadness or irritation? Simply witness whatever is present without judgment. Breathe and let yourself be easy with it all.

After a few minutes, begin to envision or sense in any way you can that you are floating up into the air as if on a magic carpet, up into the clear, blue sky. Take your time. Feel or imagine or sense that you’re floating above the Earth in the stillness of the clear air and luminous sunlight. After a minute or two, allow yourself to gradually descend. Set your intention to descend into a sacred and beautiful Temple of Healing, into a place of great wisdom and healing and love. Let this temple be a surprise. It may be some place you’ve been before or it may be some place you’ve never seen. It may be indoors or out. Come to rest in it. Take as much time as you need to imagine and feel and picture this temple.

Now sense how you feel being in this Temple of Healing. What does the energy of this healing place feel like to you? How does it affect your body and spirit to be present there?

As you sense yourself in this temple and feel how its energy is affecting you, let yourself become aware of the wounds you carry that require healing. Once you have at least one injury clearly in mind, become aware that there is a beautiful altar of healing nearby.

Now imagine yourself sitting in front of this altar. After a time, a wise and loving healer who lives at this temple will walk toward you. Let yourself open to, sense, or envision this luminous being as they appear. As this healer approaches you, they will bow lightly to you. Next they will put their gentle, healing hand on the part of your body where you are most deeply wounded.

Feel the presence of this healing hand on your injured limb, your pained heart, or your wounded brow. If you wish, you can take your own hand and put it on the location of your deepest wound. Hold the place of your sorrow, your difficulty, or your illness. Touch it as if you were guided by this great healing being. Know that no matter how many times you have buried or resisted this injury or sorrow, how many times you’ve greeted it with fear or aversion, now is the time that you can finally open to it.

As you feel your body opening to this healing touch, explore your sensations. Is the touch warm or cool, hard or soft? Let your awareness be gentle, as if learning the loving touch of Kwan Yin, the goddess of compassion, or Mother Mary, or Jesus. Feel your wounds, fears, and difficulties touched by pure sweetness and openness.

As the very core of your wounds opens to the touch of healing, sense how you’ve closed off from this pain, how you’ve wished it would go away, how you’ve rejected your feelings. Now you are ready to open your heart to experience this pain at last, held by loving attention, with the touch of this luminous being, and by your own hand. Feel the medicine of healing enter you through this touch. Stay with this healing for as long as is helpful. Then shift to any other areas that ask for healing. Take your time.

After this luminous being removes their hand, they have gifts to give you. There is a package of the perfect medicine for you on the altar that this luminous being now places in your hands. This medicine will be in the simple form of a symbol of exactly what you need for healing. Open this gift of medicine and see what is inside the box. If you cannot see it clearly, hold it up to the light. Hold this symbol of the medicine that you need in your hands and become aware of just what it means for you.

Now relax and drink in the blessings of being at this healing temple and in the presence of this luminous and wise being. Finally, imagine that they lean over to you with great compassion and whisper into your ear the healing words you most need to hear. Let yourself hear, imagine, think of, or sense the healing words of this being. Receive their blessings in any way you can.

Remember their gift and these words and take them into your heart. Before you leave, if you have any questions for this wise healer, you can ask them and they will answer you. When you feel satisfied, rest in this temple and allow its healing and compassionate spirit to fill your heart and body and mind. Let it touch every part of your being. Stay as long as you wish. When you are ready to leave, imagine you can bow to this healing being with gratitude for everything they’ve given to you. As you depart, know that this temple is inside of you. It is available to return to any time you need it.

Remember that you carry all the medicine and healing you will ever need inside your own heart.

This excerpt is taken from the book, “A Lamp in the Darkness”

tougholdcrow · July 10

How are you holding up, @rlschaller ? I have spent some time looking through the stories of the people on this site, and one that very much touched me was GraceDD, who died with her meditation teachers at her side and posted about this, joyful to the end.

rlschaller · July 11

@tougholdcrow that is beautiful. May we all aspire to live a good life and a good death . Thank you for sharing that. A friend of mine whose husband was in Hospice with stomach cancer and spine Mets was Buddhist. The hospice arranged for Buddhist monks to chant at his bedside when he was passing. Ahh.. Joyful till the end. My heart is so happy reading that. I hope to live well and have a good death too, joyful and peaceful to the end.. great image. How are you ? Do you attend any of the zoom meet ups for MBC? I go Mondays at 2pm EST.

I’m holding up, on a new treatment Trodelvy , seems to be working so far, cancer is lessening again. Enhertu failed after 5 months. Xeloda and Ketruda failed before that. So we’ll see. Hoping they found the a good drug for my body to work with. In my belief system this is my karma to live and learn with this moment, and I’m learning to live and love my fate, as well as dissolve my connection to the old script I live out lifetime after lifetime .. gosh letting go and watching my mind. Moving more with awareness and just this breath this moment. I’m doing a Japanese zen Zazen daily sit program for 90 days called Commit to Sit with the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. It’s either inperson or online, I go online - and I highly recommend them if you are interested. The dharma talks and group meditations are lovely. Koshin Sensei talked recently shared how do you open yourself to awe and wonder ? These words so resonated for me:

Are you willing to be changed by what you hear?

Feeling completely, allowing it to pass through you

Great fear bodhisatva, I am at one with whatever I fear

I am at one with the great bodhisatva death, or sickness, fear….

How are you working with your mind?

Be with what is, without making a story out of it

How do you open yourself up to awe and wonder?

-Koshin Ellison Sensai

tougholdcrow · July 12

@rlschaller Thanks so much for the zen recommendation and the inspiration. I have just been listening to some works by Dogen, the founder of zazen, and find them very intriguing. I guess there's no real rush to enlightenment, since we will all get there eventually in the vast expanse of time. Much joy to you.

rlschaller · July 17

@tougholdcrow and much joy to you . Ah enlightenment is such an intriguing concept. And yes we will get there when we get there, awaken when we do…lol but all the suffering in between. ❤️ There is another fascinating teacher Rama / Dr Frederick Lenz who wrote a book call The Enlightenment Cycle. It’s fascinating. He was an American Buddhist rebel who taught a unique approach of combining traditional methods of meditation with music he wrote and produced that connects to higher states of awareness. His talks and links to his music for meditation are free at his foundations website. Check it out when you have the time, the book is also fascinating, his recorded talks from the book are free on the website as well. I received a grant from the foundation to create an Enlightened Women’s Leadership module as part of a project I run Mindfulness Collaboratory, and so I’ve been studying his ideas to see what I will include in my work. So much here to unpack and share.. and yes, we all get there eventually don’t we? All paths lead to surrender ❤️

I’ll keep you posted.🙏

rlschaller · July 22

Here is another Jack Kornfield meditation I love. Very expansive and centering. I experienced this at a conference form the Mind and Life Institute, and he led this with Tibetan singing bowls. I found this meditation in an issue of Lions Roar and typed it up lol. Enjoy.

Spacious awareness – beginning with sound

One of the most accessible ways to open to spacious awareness is through the ear door, listening to the sounds of the universe around us. Because the river of sound comes and goes so naturally, and is so obviously out of our control, listening brings the mind to a naturally balanced state of openness and attention.

Awareness of sound in space can be an excellent way to begin to practice because it initiates the sitting period with the flavor of wakeful ease and spacious letting go. Or it can be used as a period of focused attention.

Whenever you begin, sit comfortable and at ease. Let your body be at rest and your breathing be natural. Close your eyes. Take several full breaths and let each release gently. Allow yourself to be still.

Now shift awareness away from the breath. Begin to listen to the play of sounds around you. Notice those that are loud and soft, far and near. Just listen. Notice how all sounds arise and vanish, leaving no trace. Listen for a time in a relaxed, open way.

As you listen, let yourself sense or imagine that your mind is not limited to your head. Sense that your mind is expanding to be like the sky – open, clear, vast like space. There is no inside or outside. Let the awareness of your mind extend in every direction like the sky.

Now the sounds you hear will arise and pass away in the open space of your own mind. Relax in this openness and just listen. Let the sounds that come and go, whether far or near, be like clouds in the vast sky of your own awareness. The play of sounds moves through the sky, appearing and disappearing without resistance.

As you rest in this open awareness, notice how thoughts and images also arise and vanish like sounds. Let the thoughts and images come and go without struggle or resistance. Pleasant and unpleasant thoughts, pictures, words and feeling move unrestricted in the space of mind. Problems, possibilities, joys and sorrows come and go like clouds in the clear sky of mind.

After a time, let this spacious awareness notice the body. Become aware of how the sensations of breath and body float and change in the same open sky of awareness. The breath breathes itself, it moves like a breeze. The body is not solid. It is felt as areas of harness and softness, pressure and tingling, warm and cool sensation, all floating in the space of the minds awareness.

Let the breath move like a breeze. Rest in this openness. Let sensations float and change. Allow all thoughts and images, feelings and sounds to come and go like clouds in the clear open space of awareness.

Finally, pay attention to the awareness itself. Notice how the open space of awareness naturally clear, transparent, timeless and without conflict – allowing all things, but not limited by them. Remember the pure open sky of your own true nature. Return to it. Trust it. It is home.

May the blessings of these practices awaken your own inner wisdom and inspire your compassion. And through the blessing of your heart may the world find peace.

rlschaller · August 21

I’m attending a 90 day sit program, Commit to Sit organized by the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. https://zencare.org/ The Sangha and the Guiding teachers are lovely, and it’s on zoom so folks that are local can come inperson and zoom from all around the world and country can attend. On Monday night they have Dharma talks and this last week it was a Zen Roshi from Houston. She was so real, and down to earth, vulnerable and wise talking about practicing meditation in Japan and United States. Enjoying the learning and the consistent practice.

tougholdcrow · August 21

@rlschaller This is fantastic. I hope the sitting goes well.

vajra13 · August 22

@rlschaller @tougholdcrowmy heart leapt when i stumbled onto your post/ thread. much gratitude for sharing your meditation practices and the scripts!

Tibetan Buddhism and Bodhisattva bow is my path. Your posts resonated with me strongly and I am very happy to hear that you are keeping steadfast with your spiritual practices. There is a unique power when one gets support from one's spiritual community. Diversity is the DNA of our human existence, but there is also a joyful beauty in connecting with like-minded individuals.

Many of the teachings of Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hanh, Stephen Levine, Dalai Lama, Tarthang Tulku, Sogyal Rinpoche have helped open my heart and mind to the Awareness that we all are. I find myself delving into Bodhicitta, Tongleng, and Phowa practices while diving into reflections on Impermanence, Death, Bardos, and Rebirth. The "Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" by Sogyal Rinpoche is a profound masterpiece I highly recommend to anyone in this lifetime, whoever find themselves ready and willing to open their Consciousness into how to live and how to die.

At this time, I am savoring 'A Year to Live" by Stephen Levine and "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" by Padmasambhava. And like you, I had tremendous joy contemplating on "Walking Each Other Home" by Ram Dass!!

Thank you for sharing the sit program at NY Zen Center that you are currently participating in. I will definitely look into it!

Metta to you both. Thank you for the inspiration🙏

EL

tougholdcrow · August 23

@vajra13 I have read Sogyal Rinpoche's book and yes, it is very moving. You are inspiring me to listen to it again. (I tend to listen to audiobooks these days as I'm falling asleep.) Robert Thurman—Uma Thurman's dad!—studied under the Dalai Lama and translated the Tibetan Book of the Dead and he has some wonderful lectures on it. He's always full of hope and joy. I will also look up Stephen Levine. And Rhonda will keep inspiring us to sit . . . .

rlschaller · August 24

@vajra13 welcome bodhisatva 🙏so glad your voice and heart are on this thread journey with us. Loved Stephen Levine’s book, read it many years ago may be time to revisit. And Soygal Rinpoche as well. I’m just starting to read Bhikku Bodi’s The Noble Eightfold Path right now and my favorite Mindfulness of Perception by Bhante Gutanarana is my bedtime reading. I’m reading it for the third time, so much wisdom I keep learning.

@tougholdcrow I love reading the dharma before bed and meditation to fall asleep and dream with. Listening must be lovely.

Cushion sisters … so nice we are here together.

rlschaller · August 25

Happy Sunday. Joining the online sit at 10am EST, come on in if you like (free and open to all) 🙏❤️ Rhonda

NYZ center
Sunday Morning: Zazen and Dharma Talk (Click to Join)

10:00am Heart Sutra Chanting

10:10am Zazen

10:40am Kinhin

10:50am Zazen

11:20am Kinhin

11:30am Dharma Talk

12:00pm Closing with Four Vows

rlschaller · August 25

and for your listening meditation pleasure, thought you might enjoy Drukmo Gyal chants. Just beautiful.

https://youtu.be/ovqUTl-WSkg?si=pQEl3j7lm6-JQtAI

rlschaller · September 15

We don’t have to go anywhere to obtain the truth. We only need to be still and things will reveal themselves in the clear water of our heart. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

rlschaller · September 17

My DH found this amazing quote by Maharishiji which really spoke to me this morning, bringing peace and love to all - happy Tuesday:

Maharishiji on: Everything is the Expression of One’s Self’

“The mind takes a dive into the Being. This is the innermost aspect of our existence; this is the self within; this is the reality of Ī That is why the omniscient say ‘that I AM’ or ‘That THOU ART’.

Speaking of the sap, you could tell the flower, ‘Thou art the sap’. We could tell the stem, ‘Thou art the sap’ so we can tell everything, ‘Thou art that eternal Being which knows no variation, no change, no destructive character. Thou art immortal, absolute Being’. Now, even though the sap has none of the qualities of the parts of the flower, nor has the unmanifested Being any of the qualities of its manifestations, yet it has its own qualities.

Bliss is one quality of Being; absolute is another quality of Being; eternity is another quality of Being. So Being is absolute bliss consciousness. Consciousness is another quality of Being. Absolute means that it always remains the same; it knows no change. This absolute bliss consciousness forms the basic level of life and is the basis of all time, space and causation.

All the laws of nature work on the level of absolute bliss consciousness which is the ultimate reality and Truth. When we meditate we come in direct contact with this field of life which is evenly present everywhere, just as the sap is evenly present everywhere in the flower. So Being, or that absolute bliss consciousness, is omnipresent. It is the omnipresent reality of life.

One fundamental of life which is present everywhere is that which is my own essential nature, which is the essential nature of everything. Just as the sap is the essential nature of all the parts of the flower, so also that absolute bliss consciousness is the essential nature of everything. That which I AM in essence is that which everything else is, in essence. There is the whole philosophy of life. That element or that level of existence which belongs to me, belongs to everything.”

~ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

St. Michael’s Retreat; Lumsden, Canada

September 1966

Published by International SRM Publications November 1968

rlschaller · September 22

happy first day of autumn!

rlschaller · September 28

I lead a free group meditation practice every Friday morning on Zoom 8:30am-9:00am EST . It’s part of my work at Pratt institute, called Mindful Pratt. My Friday morning group is called Meditate with me. If anyone is interested in joining us ( an open group of about 10-12 women), it’s a drop in /come when you can group - email me at rschal20@pratt.edu

I led a Loving Kindness meditation this week, here is a script if you want to try it on your own:

Practice: Loving Kindness
As you begin to stop and become present, become aware of the breath, the body, the mind and whatever is being carried within today. Perhaps thoughts, feelings from the day’s events or whatever is going on with you recently. Simply allow and acknowledge whatever is within and just let it be without judgment or evaluation. Gradually shift your focus to the awareness of breathing. Focus on the rise and fall of the breath. Breathing in, breathing out.

Now bring your awareness to your heart area, and feeling any sensation within just all any waves of sensation to go wherever they need to go. Notice your beating heart and reflect upon how fragile and precious life is. The heart is the gateway into deeper compassion and love for yourself and for all beings. Now feel into your own precious life with compassion, mercy and love.

You may often be critical or judgmental of yourself or hard on yourself. Feel into the powerful qualities of living kindness itself, a boundless love that could be compared to the sun, the moon, the stars all shinning on you, on all living beings. Bring this love into your heart, skin, flesh, organs, bones, cells and being. May you open to deep kindness and compassion for yourself. Accept the imperfect person that you are. Experience loving yourself and open to each of the phrases for a few minutes. Let them sink into your being. Breathe…. fill your heart with light.

And repeat silently to yourself the following

Start with yourself – repeating the phrases silently as you radiate love:

May I be happy, may I be peaceful, may I be safe from inner and outer harm, may I be strong and healthy, may I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.