Guided, a widening circle, loving kindness. Music underneath
About 12 minutes with Steven Webb's calm voice.
Your closest people first, in a circle around you on a meadow. Then it widens to the ones you half know, then to strangers, then to the ones you find difficult. If you meet resistance you soften round the edges rather than force it. Then the edge dissolves altogether and it is just love in, love out.
Who this is for
The days when your world has got small. Usually because of other people.
I use this one myself when I notice that happening. It is a take on the traditional loving kindness practice, built as a circle that keeps getting wider.
What happens in this meditation
You are sat in the middle of a green meadow with a circle round you.
First the people you love. Family, close friends, anybody from your past who belongs there, animals included. You notice the affection that arrives on its own, and send it out on the out breath. May you be safe. May you be joyful. May you live with ease.
Then the circle widens to the people you half know. Neighbours, colleagues, the ones you see but do not really know. Some feel pleasant, some feel neutral, and that is fine.
Then wider again, to strangers and to the people you find difficult. If resistance comes, you soften round the edges rather than forcing anything.
Then the edge dissolves entirely and it is people, animals and the earth. And the words get simpler. Love in, love out.
How to get the most from it
Twelve minutes, and the widening only works if you do not rush it. Stay at each ring until it actually feels like something.
Your closest people stay in the circle the whole time. You are not swapping them out for strangers, you are making room.
Expect the difficult ring to be hard. Softening round the edges is a real instruction, not a polite one. Forcing it does not work.
Questions people ask
What if I cannot include somebody?
Then do not force it. Soften at the edge and leave them at the boundary for now. Wishing somebody safe is not the same as saying what they did was fine.
Does this go with an episode?
Yes, it came out alongside the Stillness in the Storms episode about how big your circle is. You do not need to hear that one first.
Why does my circle keep shrinking?
Mine does too, usually when I am tired, unwell or busy. It is not a moral failure, it is a state, and this is one way of widening it back out.
The transcript
Read alongIt follows the audio. Press any line to jump there.
Welcome to Expanding Circle of Love Meditation. I use this meditation whenever I feel
a little bit of a contraction when I may be struggling with people around me.
It's a wonderful take on the Loving Kindness Metta Meditation. So
just sit and become comfortable. Allow
your body to relax. And just while you're becoming comfortable, just a Small reminder that all these
meditations on Inner Peace Meditations are all completely free. And they're free because of many people like you just treat
me to a coffee and donate. So deeply grateful for that. The note and the
link is in the show notes below.
Anyway, let's just settle down to this meditation and I won't disturb you afterwards.
So as you're settling in, just allow your breath to be what it is.
Allow your body to relax into this moment.
You don't have to do anything with your breath.
You don't have to do anything with your body. Just
allow it to relax.
Your body knows how to relax. You're just giving the individual parts a
little nod to say you can.
Allow your chin, your eyes and your nose,
even your ears and your forehead.
Allow them all to become relaxed in this moment.
Your shoulders and your arms.
All your torso and your bum.
And your legs and your feet right down to your toes.
And then bring your awareness back to your breath.
Breathing in calm. Breathing out relaxed.
And as you're continuing to relax into this moment, just imagine yourself sat on a beautiful lush green
meadow.
And you're sat in the middle.
And around you is this circle.
And you imagine your close friends and your family. The people you love dearly. The people you like spending time
with.
Any animals or anything. Just they're all inside of this circle.
And notice how you feel.
And it can be anybody. It could be people from your past. It
could be anybody you know. Just anybody you feel. It should be in your innermost circle.
As you see their faces, you can sense their presence. You
notice the natural affection that arises.
And as you're breathing in, just notice when you breathe out, you're just gently sending love towards them.
And you just say to yourself quietly, May you be safe. May
you be joyful. May you live with ease.
May you be safe. May you be joyful. May you live with ease.
And now just bring your awareness back to you in the circle again. And now allow the circle to widen
slightly. And
then we welcome any acquaintances, co-workers, maybe neighbours and people you see but
you don't quite know intimately.
Some may bring pleasant feelings. Others may bring some natural, neutral feelings. This is
perfectly fine.
And as you're breathing in, recognise that they too wish to love and be loved also.
And as you're breathing out, just extend this same blessing to them. May you be safe. May you be
joyful. May you live with ease.
You may notice how the heart accommodates them all, all within this spare room in this
circle you have.
Now we're going to once more let the boundary expand until it includes strangers and even those with whom you
experience maybe a bit of tension and difficulty.
If any resistance arises, just simply soften around the edges there's no force. It's not
rigid.
And remember you still got your closest people all around you.
And then we can also offer them a blessing. May you be safe.
May you be joyful. May you live with ease.
And now just imagine a warm light coming out from you and just touching each being just gently.
You're caring and loving everybody within these circles.
And then finally, just allow the circle to dissolve its edge entirely. And
now it's encompassing all life. People, animals and
the living earth itself.
You can feel yourself as distinct and different but you're also seamlessly part of it all.
And let the mantra become simple. Love in and love out.
They're all loving you the same as you're loving them. A
deep acceptance for everything.
And we'll just rest here for a minute or so. Just bathing in this boundless goodwill.
Love in and love out.
You're breathing the love in from everybody around you. And you're breathing the love out across to everybody.
Now just bring your awareness back to a steady glow in your chest. And
you just feel that acceptance and that warmth and love. And
just whisper inwardly. My
capacity to love is limitless and ever growing My
capacity to love is limitless and ever growing
each breath deepens my care for myself and for all beings
Each breath deepens my care for myself and all beings
The love I share returns to me multiplied
The love I share returns to me multiplied.
And as you become aware of your breath, just feel the love of everybody around you. The
complete acceptance of everybody around you.
And now gradually sense the ground beneath you once again.
Become aware of your breath. You're breathing in and breathing out.
And wiggle your fingers and wiggle your toes. And
take a final nourishing breath. Gather the light of all that expanded circle back to your heart where it will
continue to glow throughout the day.
And when you're ready, open your eyes, feeling awake, refreshed and quietly radiant
prepared to meet the world with a deeper care and love.
This meditation was done on the back of a podcast I've just done on stillness in the storms,
expanding our circle of love and care.
There's a link in the show notes below.
Wishing you a peaceful and loving day. Take care. And thank you for your support. I'm Steven Webb.
love · compassion · empathy
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