[Applause]
if you want to sit comfortably again
close your eyes or not
just let your energy settle into your
body
and again instead of resting our
attention on the feeling of the breath
in this practice we rest our attention
on the silent repetition of certain
phrases and since the first recipient
is ourselves phrases like
may i be safe
be happy be healthy
live with ease live with ease means and
the things of day-to-day life like
livelihood and family
may not be such a struggle may i live
with these
[Music]
people always say to me who am i asking
we're not asking anybody we're gift
giving we're offering
it's like you're handsome in a birthday
card and say may you have a great year
may you be safe may i be safe
so you can use these phrases or any
three or four phrases that make sense to
you
that are big enough so you can make this
offering to yourself and then to others
and just gently repeat them over and
over again with enough space and enough
silence
so that it's a rhythm that's pleasing to
you
you don't have to conjure up any special
feeling
or emotion the power of the practice is
in the complete wholehearted gathering
behind one phrase at a time
may it be safe
be happy
be healthy
live with ease
and again the skill set is the same if
your attention wanders as it likely will
you go to the past you go to the future
you're all over the place it's okay
you realize that see if you can gently
let go just bring your attention back
in this case to the phrases
[Music]
and see if you can bring to mind what we
call a benefactor that's someone who's
helped you
maybe they've helped you directly
they've helped pick you up when you've
fallen down
or maybe you've never met them but
they've inspired you from afar
it could be an adult could be a child it
could be a pet i've often these days
used a puppy actually
because my friends adopted a puppy and
as a family i see they're
much happier than they were before but
does texts say this is the one who when
you think of them you smile
so is there someone who makes you smile
and if so you can bring them here get an
image of them
or say their name to yourself
get a feeling for their presence
and offer the phrases of loving kindness
to them even if the words don't seem
really perfect
they're carrying the heart's energy and
so they're serving us as a vehicle
may you be safe be happy
be healthy
live with ease
[Music]
you
[Music]
um
so
and for a little bit see if one of those
neutral people
comes to mind checkout person in the
supermarket
post office delivery person
someone that you see now and then who
serves a function in your life
and if somebody like that comes to mind
you can bring them here
you may not know their name
but you could just get a feeling for
them and see what happens as you offer
the phrases of loving kindness to them
even not knowing their story or anything
about them
we can believe that everybody actually
wants to be happy in the sense of
a sense of belonging a feeling at home
somewhere in this world we're not so
different
and everybody while we don't share the
same measure of pain or suffering we do
share
this kind of incredible vulnerability
that life can just change on a dime look
at where we are
you know it's so insecure and so it's in
that spirit that we offer loving
kindness
to to this person
[Music]
so
[Music]
and then we're gonna be gathering just
whoever comes to mind
friends family colleagues neutral people
to see who pops up puppies
and will offer loving kindness to the
collective
may you be safe be happy
be healthy live with ease
so
[Music]
and then all beings everywhere all
people all creatures
all those in existence near and far
known and unknown may all beings
be safe be happy
be healthy
live with ease
do
and when you feel ready you can open
your eyes or lift your gaze and we'll
end the session
thank you sharon
you