Expanding Your Circle of Love

0:00Welcome to Expanding Circle of Love Meditation. I use this meditation whenever I feel

0:08a little bit of a contraction when I may be struggling with people around me.

0:14It's a wonderful take on the Loving Kindness Metta Meditation. So

0:21just sit and become comfortable. Allow

0:25your body to relax. And just while you're becoming comfortable, just a Small reminder that all these

0:33meditations on Inner Peace Meditations are all completely free. And they're free because of many people like you just treat

0:41me to a coffee and donate. So deeply grateful for that. The note and the

0:49link is in the show notes below.

0:52Anyway, let's just settle down to this meditation and I won't disturb you afterwards.

1:02So as you're settling in, just allow your breath to be what it is.

1:08Allow your body to relax into this moment.

1:13You don't have to do anything with your breath.

1:17You don't have to do anything with your body. Just

1:21allow it to relax.

1:25Your body knows how to relax. You're just giving the individual parts a

1:32little nod to say you can.

1:36Allow your chin, your eyes and your nose,

1:42even your ears and your forehead.

1:47Allow them all to become relaxed in this moment.

1:51Your shoulders and your arms.

1:56All your torso and your bum.

2:01And your legs and your feet right down to your toes.

2:06And then bring your awareness back to your breath.

2:10Breathing in calm. Breathing out relaxed.

2:32And as you're continuing to relax into this moment, just imagine yourself sat on a beautiful lush green

2:39meadow.

2:41And you're sat in the middle.

2:46And around you is this circle.

2:50And you imagine your close friends and your family. The people you love dearly. The people you like spending time

2:58with.

3:00Any animals or anything. Just they're all inside of this circle.

3:06And notice how you feel.

3:28And it can be anybody. It could be people from your past. It

3:34could be anybody you know. Just anybody you feel. It should be in your innermost circle.

3:55As you see their faces, you can sense their presence. You

3:59notice the natural affection that arises.

4:08And as you're breathing in, just notice when you breathe out, you're just gently sending love towards them.

4:30And you just say to yourself quietly, May you be safe. May

4:37you be joyful. May you live with ease.

4:44May you be safe. May you be joyful. May you live with ease.

5:05And now just bring your awareness back to you in the circle again. And now allow the circle to widen

5:11slightly. And

5:13then we welcome any acquaintances, co-workers, maybe neighbours and people you see but

5:21you don't quite know intimately.

5:26Some may bring pleasant feelings. Others may bring some natural, neutral feelings. This is

5:33perfectly fine.

5:39And as you're breathing in, recognise that they too wish to love and be loved also.

5:52And as you're breathing out, just extend this same blessing to them. May you be safe. May you be

6:00joyful. May you live with ease.

6:11You may notice how the heart accommodates them all, all within this spare room in this

6:19circle you have.

6:27Now we're going to once more let the boundary expand until it includes strangers and even those with whom you

6:34experience maybe a bit of tension and difficulty.

6:39If any resistance arises, just simply soften around the edges there's no force. It's not

6:47rigid.

6:55And remember you still got your closest people all around you.

7:01And then we can also offer them a blessing. May you be safe.

7:07May you be joyful. May you live with ease.

7:28And now just imagine a warm light coming out from you and just touching each being just gently.

7:36You're caring and loving everybody within these circles.

7:43And then finally, just allow the circle to dissolve its edge entirely. And

7:50now it's encompassing all life. People, animals and

7:57the living earth itself.

8:12You can feel yourself as distinct and different but you're also seamlessly part of it all.

8:20And let the mantra become simple. Love in and love out.

8:32They're all loving you the same as you're loving them. A

8:36deep acceptance for everything.

8:49And we'll just rest here for a minute or so. Just bathing in this boundless goodwill.

8:57Love in and love out.

9:02You're breathing the love in from everybody around you. And you're breathing the love out across to everybody.

9:17Now just bring your awareness back to a steady glow in your chest. And

9:23you just feel that acceptance and that warmth and love. And

9:28just whisper inwardly. My

9:31capacity to love is limitless and ever growing My

9:37capacity to love is limitless and ever growing

9:41each breath deepens my care for myself and for all beings

9:54Each breath deepens my care for myself and all beings

10:03The love I share returns to me multiplied

10:08The love I share returns to me multiplied.

10:15And as you become aware of your breath, just feel the love of everybody around you. The

10:22complete acceptance of everybody around you.

10:44And now gradually sense the ground beneath you once again.

10:50Become aware of your breath. You're breathing in and breathing out.

10:56And wiggle your fingers and wiggle your toes. And

11:00take a final nourishing breath. Gather the light of all that expanded circle back to your heart where it will

11:07continue to glow throughout the day.

11:19And when you're ready, open your eyes, feeling awake, refreshed and quietly radiant

11:26prepared to meet the world with a deeper care and love.

11:32This meditation was done on the back of a podcast I've just done on stillness in the storms,

11:40expanding our circle of love and care.

11:44There's a link in the show notes below.

11:50Wishing you a peaceful and loving day. Take care. And thank you for your support. I'm Steven Webb.