Loving kindness is an ancient practice and it's done a variety of ways. But today we'll model our practice after the work of Sharon Salzberg, author, scholar, and mindfulness teacher. We'll be holding someone in our minds and in our hearts, and then repeating some phrases to deepen our loving kindness within and without.

The purpose of practicing loving kindness is to deepen the connection to ourselves and to each other. What's important about this is how integral our connection to self and others is in our overall health and well-being. The benefits of practicing loving kindness can add significant meaning in our daily experiences. How often do you find yourself in judgment of self and or others? And it's so easy to slip into the default mode when negative events are magnified. Just a drop of loving kindness in a sea of negativity can change the entire sea.

We don't need to imagine the results. Let's practice again and see for ourselves. There will be a total of four different invitations within this practice, and it'll get a little more challenging as we go. So remember to stay in choice and accept or decline the invitation based on your own needs. Let's begin.

So the invitation is to find your way back to that space between comfort and alert. And if you feel comfortable, see if you can follow again, those three breaths in a row from start to finish. Again, nothing to change, just bringing awareness to the breath. And if it feels safe and comfortable for you, you can gently close your eyes or soften your gaze. But the first invitation is to picture in your mind and in your heart someone from either your past or your present, who, when you think of this individual, it makes you smile. And as you hold this individual in your heart or in your mind, we're going to repeat these phrases. May you be safe. May you have peace. May you receive loving kindness. May you be safe. May you have peace. May you receive loving kindness.

The next invitation is to picture in your mind and in your heart just a neutral person. It can be someone that you passed while driving today or you walked past in the hallway. A neutral person who you can picture, though. And let's go ahead and hold that person in our mind, in the heart. And repeat the phrases. May you be safe. May you have peace. May you receive loving kindness. May you be safe. May you have peace. May you receive loving kindness.

And the next invitation is a little more challenging. See if you can call to mind in your heart and your mind a person with whom you may have some challenging feelings or emotions around. Nothing too deep, we're going to keep it pretty surface level, but you certainly know that you feel some frustration here. And when you're ready, we're going to call this person to mind and hold them in our heart. May you be safe. May you have peace. May you receive loving kindness. May you be safe. May you have peace. May you receive loving kindness.

And finally, for our last invitation here, this is a challenging one. We're going to call to mind and heart someone who you spend every minute of every day with. And that would be yourself. So holding yourself in your mind, in your heart. We're going to repeat these phrases again. May I be safe. May I have peace. May I receive loving kindness. May I be safe. May I know peace. May I receive loving kindness.

And while we're here, you may just want to take another couple breaths on purpose in this moment, non-judgmentally. Hopefully feeling more connected to yourself and more connected to each other.