April 10, 2018 Group Meditation Part 1 of 2

This 33-minute joy meditation was given by Freeman at the Boundless Love Project’s Group Meditation. After doing this meditation, we suggest you listen to the talk, "The Power of Persistence," which happened afterwards. Or, if you listened to this as part of The Four Kinds of Love training series, then listen to the talk  "Joy: The Love That Celebrates."

Meditation details:

• This loving joy meditation cultivates joy for a benefactor, neutral person, dear friend, and a person with whom you have difficulty.

• Be mindful of what thoughts, attitudes, and moods aid you in generating and radiating joy, and what blocks that joy from arising.

After listening, be sure to listen to the talk, "The Power of Persistence," which is part 2 of this group meditation. Or, if you listened to this as part of The Four Kinds of Love training series, listen to the talk, "Joy: The Love That Celebrates."

Joy Meditation Script

We provide this script as reference material for students, and as a helpful aid for meditation teachers who would like to use this meditation with their students.

If you are considering using this meditation script to lead others in meditation, we encourage you to have a bare minimum level of experience and competency in meditation. This minimum level of competency includes one or more years of daily meditation practice, completing one or more 10-day long meditation retreats, maintaining an ongoing meditation practice, and the ability to be very calm, focused, and mindful while leading the meditation.

 

Joy Meditation

[Ring bell]

We do this practice out of love and compassion for all beings and all life everywhere, including our own.

May all beings and all life everywhere be free of delusion, suffering, and dissatisfaction.

May all beings and all life everywhere be loving, peaceful, compassionate, and joyful.

Position yourself in a comfortable, balanced posture that is effortless to hold and that keeps you alert.

Take three slow, deep, effortless belly breaths. On the inhales, feel the energy in the body. On the exhales, invite the body to relax and soften.

Gently bathe your whole body in your loving and compassionate awareness. Calmly be aware of all of the sensations you feel.

If you notice any tension or tightness in the body, invite those areas to relax, soften, and be as comfortable as possible.

Check in with those areas that tend to hold tightness: the forehead, the muscles around the eyes, around the mouth. The neck, the shoulders, the lower back. Invite them all to relax and be at peace.

Relax the muscles of the upper back, lower back, the chest, and the abdomen. Let your belly be nice and soft.

Relax arms and hands; the legs and feet.

Gently rest your awareness on the heart area, the space in and around your physical heart.

Peacefully keep your attention on all the sensations you feel in the heart area while I give some instructions for this meditation.

During this mediation, we are going to incline our hearts and minds towards appreciation, gratitude, and joy.

If during this meditation, you lose the balance of the mind, switch to breath meditation until you regain your composure.

If something arises that you need to investigate, feel free to switch to mindfulness meditation and investigate the thoughts, emotions, and moods that are arising. Use your own judgment to decide how best to proceed during this meditation.

Maintaining awareness on your heart area, gently reflect on all that you are thankful for. Use your own words to express your appreciation.

As you offer your gratitude, try to feel the meaning behind the words.

If your heart area is active, you may also let go of the words and simply allow your gratitude to radiate out from your heart area towards all the life that you appreciate.

Calmly notice how these reflections affect the sensations in your heart area. Does your heart feel open, warm, energized? Can you feel your heart beat? Peacefully notice whatever sensations you notice.

Gently notice how your gratitude also affects your mind. Does your mind feel more open, spacious, balanced, and energized? Peacefully notice whatever sensations you notice in your head area.

Lovingly bring to mind a benefactor who has experienced some success in their life. Pick someone who you deeply respect; who it is easy to open your heart to.

You can either visualize them or have a sense of them in front of you. Reflect on their praiseworthy qualities, and how they have served and benefited your life.

If anything about your benefactor causes your heart to close, notice that and set whatever it is to the side for now. Patiently reflect on only the good qualities of this person.

Have a sense of this benefactor offering you love, kindness, and goodwill. Loving energy radiates out from their heart space and fills your own with love. You may see this as a beam of white or colored light, or simply have a felt sense of this energy. Their love tells you, “You are worthy of love. You are worthy of care.”

As much as you can, open your heart to this truth that you are worthy of love. May you accept and receive the love that others offer you.

Gently now, silently offer your benefactor these phrases of sympathetic joy, doing your best to feel and experience the meaning behind the words.

May your happiness continue, increase, and never end.

May the love in you continue, increase, and never end.

May the good in you continue, increase, and never end.

May your success continue, increase, and never end.

I’m happy that you’re happy.

Feel if your heart is opening or softening. If you feel a sense of joy in your heart area, then settle into that feeling, grow that feeling so that it fills you and surrounds you.

Continue to send them joy using your own words and wishes for their success.

If you have a strong felt sense of energy in your heart space, then let go of the words, and simply send that joy directly to them. Let your joy radiate out from your heart as light, color, or energy.

Let your benefactor go with love, and Gently turn your awareness towards a neutral being, someone you don’t know that well, and have no strong feelings for either way. They could be someone in this room, or that you saw in the library or at the store. Have a sense of who you have picked.

Calmly reflect on the truth that all beings want to be happy.

Gently now, silently offer your neutral being these phrases of sympathetic joy, doing your best to feel and experience the meaning behind the words.

May your happiness continue, increase, and never end.

May the love in you continue, increase, and never end.

May the good in you continue, increase, and never end.

May your success continue, increase, and never end.

I’m happy that you’re happy.

Share your joy with them using your own words.

Allow your breath to collect and send your intentions of joy to this being.

Letting your neutral person go with love, calmly pick a beloved friend or relative who is easy to open your heart to. Have a visual or felt sense of this being in front of you. Reflect on all that you admire, cherish, and love about them.

Silently offer your beloved being these phrases of sympathetic joy, while connecting to the meaning behind the words.

May your happiness continue, increase, and never end.

May the love in you continue, increase, and never end.

May the good in you continue, increase, and never end.

May your success continue, increase, and never end.

I’m happy that you’re happy.

Keeping your awareness on the heart space, let each inhale gather your energy of joy, and let each exhale send that joyful energy to your beloved being.

Letting go of your dear being with love, now pick a being who is more challenging for you. Chose a being who you find mildly annoying, yet know there is a possibility of opening your heart to.

If who you pick does not feel safe, then set them aside, and choose someone else who is not as challenging.

Have a sense of this being in front of you. Gently reflect on all qualities they possess, or skillful actions they have done, that you appreciate about them.

If any thoughts arise that close your heart to them, simply notice these thoughts and set them to the side for now.

Also reflect on any successes that this being has had.

Lovingly offer them these phrases of sympathetic joy, while feeling the deeper meaning behind the words.

May your happiness continue, increase, and never end.

May the love in you continue, increase, and never end.

May the good in you continue, increase, and never end.

May your success continue, increase, and never end.

I’m happy that you’re happy.

Use your own words to offer them your blessings of joy.

Keeping this person in the field of your joyful energy, bring in a sense of your benefactor on one side of them, and your beloved being on the other side of them, and the neutral being next to your friend. If it feels safe, you may all hold hands in a circle. Otherwise, just have a sense of you and them all together in one group.

Gently share your joy with the group of you:

May our happiness continue, increase, and never end.

May the love in us continue, increase, and never end.

May the good in us continue, increase, and never end.

May our success continue, increase, and never end.

I’m happy that we’re happy.

Continue to feel all of the arising sensations throughout the heart space and the body as we share the merits of our practice.

We share any merits gained from this practice with all beings and all life everywhere.

May all beings and all life everywhere be free from suffering and misery.

May all beings and all life everywhere abide in a deep and lasting peace.

May all beings and all life everywhere know the highest forms of happiness and be at ease.

May all beings and all life everywhere know their deepest essence to be: joy, peace, compassion, and unconditional, boundless love. 

May all beings and all life everywhere be liberated, fully liberated, permanently liberated.

[Ring bell]