Loving Kindness: Love Others

Expand your loving kindness with this meditation as you breathe in God’s love and share it outward through prayer. We expand compassion from one loved person to the wider world, then receive the same blessing for ourselves and close with a simple prayer for peace.

For more on the theme Love Others, see page 112 of With God in Every Breath by Whitney R. Simpson.

Transcript

Welcome And Where To Find More

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Hi, I'm Whitney and you're listening to Exploring Peace Meditations. You can find more about me and my books at WhitneyRsimpson.com, and you can find more prayers and meditations like this one at exploringpeace.com slash podcast. So, as we begin, I'd invite you to silence your phone, find a seated posture in which you can take purposeful deep breaths, soften and close your eyes. Take a moment and welcome God's love. If love were to have a color, what might that color be? As you take the next few breaths in, breathe in God's love and imagine that color of love filling your body with each breath. As you exhale, imagine that you're breathing out that color, sharing God's love. Today's meditation is a loving kindness meditation, one in which we not only receive God's love, but we share God's love with others. So as we begin, ask the Holy Spirit to bring someone that you care about to mind. A loved one, a friend, a companion, a neighbor. Listen in the quiet to see if a name rises up or a face that you can see in your mind's eye. And then as I offer these words, you're simply going to share them for this person that you love and care about. You can say their name silently or aloud, or you can simply use the words that I use. You'll catch on. As I offer you this sentence, offer it to the one you care about today. May you be filled with God's love. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be at peace. And now let's expand that love. Slowly widen your circle of compassion, listening for the name of an acquaintance, a coworker, someone you casually know and also care about. Listen for that person's name or visualize that person's face. And as I offer these words, you can say this silently or aloud as you offer this prayer. May you be filled with God's love. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be at peace. Now broaden your focus beyond someone you know to your community, your town, your state, your country. As you expand your circle of compassion, take a moment and hold in your mind a group of people. And then offer these words for all of them. May you be filled with God's love. May you be happy. May you be healthy. And may you be at peace? Allow your imagination to expand and share God's love with all living creatures. Not just your town, your community, your country, but the entire world. And what if that included all the animals, all the pets, all the strangers, all the friends, all the loved ones, all the enemies. What if all living creatures could receive this blessing today? Take a moment and offer this prayer for all God's creation. May you be filled with God's love. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be at peace. And as I offer these words, repeat them just for you. May I be filled with God's love. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be at peace. Creator God, fill us with your love. Let us be happy, healthy, and at peace today. So that we may reflect your love for others, for our loved ones, for our neighbors, for strangers, for our community, and for the world. Help us be your love and receive your love this day. In your holy name we pray. Amen. Thank you for exploring the gift of God's peace with me. Until next time, may God's peace be with you.