Happy Monday everyone! Today on #anwen-meditates I want to share a lovingkindess meditation practice. This type of meditation was first introduced to me at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. Jack Kornfield was one of the founders of this center and he has written a book called "The Art of Forgiveness, Loving kindness, and Peace". I have derived the basis of my lovingkindess meditation from a part of his book, however the meditation is original and I have not copied anyone else's script. You can find more info here:
https://jackkornfield.com/meditation-lovingkindness/
Additionally, the clips that I used for this video were found on Flickr Creative Commons Videos and have no copyright restrictions. The creator of the clips is named Jane Spaulding - she has shared some beautiful artwork!
This type of meditation fosters the development of compassion and the cultivation of love. Another important aspect of this meditation is that it is unconditional. We are not only spreading love to ourselves or our friends and family, but rather to the whole universe. It begins with sending lovingkindess to yourself, and then expands to friends and family, to strangers, to people that have hurt you, and to every living thing on this world. If you are currently reading this:
May you be filled with lovingkindness.
May you be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be at ease and happy.
Namaste.
The Script
Sit in a comfortable position, breathing in and out. Bring your attention to your feet, your legs, your stomach, your chest, your back, your neck, your face, your skull. Now bring your attention to your breath, being mindful of your inhale, being mindful of your exhale. Breath in love, breath out kindness. Breath in love, breath out kindness.
Bring attention to your heart space, imagining your heart bursting with a green energy ball of love. This green energy is a never ending well, and love is pouring out in an infinite flow. Feel this ball of energy grow bigger, encompassing your whole chest area, and then bigger, encompassing your whole body, and it keeps on swelling bigger, encompassing your whole world. You are now flowing with the vibration of love, you are love.
Now as you accept your being of love, recite to yourself:
May I be filled with lovingkindness.
May I be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May I be well in body and mind.
May I be at ease and happy.
Bring into your mind a close friend or family, reciting to them:
May you be filled with lovingkindness.
May you be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be at ease and happy.
Do this with someone you barely know, such as the person you sat next to on the bus today, or your mailman.
May you be filled with lovingkindness.
May you be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be at ease and happy.
Bring to mind someone who has hurt you in the past. It is important to note that you are not necessarily condoning their past actions but rather forgiving them in order to heal yourself.
May you be filled with lovingkindness.
May you be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be at ease and happy.
Send the loving-kindness to everyone on Steemit, in this new community that you are now a part of:
May you be filled with lovingkindness.
May you be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be at ease and happy.
Send the loving-kindness to everyone on this planet, to all living creatures, to the whole universe:
May you all be filled with lovingkindness.
May you all be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May you all be well in body and mind.
May you all be at ease and happy.
Slowly bring your attention back to your own body, breathing in love, breathing out kindness. Breathing in love, breathing out kindness. Breathing in love, breathing out kindness. Breathing in love, breathing out kindness. Namaste.
My Slow-Cooked Root Veggie Recipe
First lets begin by boiling some beets for 20 minutes. After they are boiled, take them out and peel the skin off. Reserve a cup and a half of the boiled beet water for later.
Chop up the beets! I don't give exact measurements for how many beets, potatoes, ect you need for this recipe as it is really up to your preference.
Begin to chop up some carrots! I usually leave my carrots unpeeled unless they are not organic.
Next, quarter some radishes. Yes, creating a heart shape with your radishes is absolutely necessary for the success of this recipe ;-)
Bring in the potatoes! If you want a heartier dish, add in more potatoes.
It's time to get your tissues out and begin chopping onions (or take pictures and prank your friends that you are truly crying over something).
Pit and chop up some dates and dried apricots for a fun, sweet addition!
Add in your herbs. I added 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ginger, and some salt and pepper to taste. Combine everything into your slow cooker and add in the 1.5 cups of boiled beet water.
Set on "low" for 8 hours... Voila, dinner is served! I added cilantro and lime to the top. Hot sauce also never hurts :-)
Hi friends! If you didn't catch my last posts, I am creating a new tag #anwen-meditates to post my own health videos and tutorials. I am creating a Steemit health channel - all of my videos and tutorials are for the wonderful users of Steemit! I am planning on sharing many tutorials, including yoga, guided meditations, breathing exercises, and more. I am also uploading the videos to YouTube in the hope of attracting more users to Steemit.
I have been practicing yoga and meditation for 8 years now, and these practices have been critical in shaping who I am today. My constant practices have brought me inner peace and stability during crazy times, have healed physical and emotional injuries, and have taught me how to be PRESENT!
I am really excited to be able to share these practices with you all. I am first going to share tutorials and videos that you can do right now, wherever you are. These can be used as breaks from the information overload of Steemit / life in general, when you wake up, before you go to bed, or really any time at all. I hope you enjoy :-)