may all be welcome & free (a compassion skill building mantra prayer poem)

AUDIO STARTS 1:15 benediction image text: https://imglink .cc/cdn/d4q7RoT7_9 .png I’ve been obsessed with spreading effective psychiatric care as a student and technician, and loving-kindness meditation is the best bang for your buck in self-care grounding practices that actually help you make real progress. Your breath sets the pace. Breathe slower and deeper than usual, into your stomach, with diaphragmatic breaths. The benediction here can be read aloud or thought/heard. Practice the whole cycle, or just one line. You can stop and begin again whenever you want. Obviously, showing ourselves self-kindness can be easy to parrot and challenging to believe and mean genuinely. Our inner critic has way more practice on loop compared to our compassion skills. Resistance is normal. Notice feelings from boredom, recoil, and judgments. How you respond to the practice is part of the process to observe. Loving-Kindness Meditations are rooted in a ritual of the Buddha recited in south Asia in the language Pali (related to Sanskrit) “mettā” which translates to “goodwill.” This goodwill is not approval. its not affection or agreement, nor is it any closeness. This circle of goodwill widens outward and returns inward. Hold your boundaries knowing that wishing well doesn’t mean inviting any closer. These are well wishes, akin to prayers, sent out into the world we share. We are not commanding but hoping and affirming them like a mantra or simply a poem. There is no religion or faith to adopt here. You don’t need to feel anything. Practicing the sincere wish is the whole meaning. Compassion is the greatest reward, and these meditations offer more mindfulness, empathy, and acceptance too. Research supports the practice of sending out ‘good vibes’ for all we can. Feel free to alter or add or remove anything you cannot authentically wish for yet. Allow this life to be enough.