Awakening The Heart: Meditations on Love, Compassion, Joy and Forgiveness
About this book
The essence of these meditations are powerful and intentional phrases that express the heart s wish for ourselves and others to be happy, to be free from pain, for joy to flourish and to forgive ourselves and others for harm that has been caused. Because of the accessibility of these techniques, you can practice them in any moment. Simply repeat the phrases whenever anyone comes into your mind and heart, whether they are near or far, from the past or present, or even if they have passed from this life. And you can always offer them to yourself at any time.In this way you can practice kindness compassion, appreciative joy and forgiveness by silently saying these heartfelt wishes when you are driving in your car, sitting on a bus, standing in line at a store, watching children play, sitting in a business meeting, or while watching the news on television. These practices are portable, simple and immediate. The more you practice, the more your heart will shine with a loving, compassionate, joyful presence.Loving Kindness is a boundless quality of heart that allows us to love all life without need for anything in return. It teaches us to wish genuinely for the well being of all. Begin by generating a kind attitude to ourselves; we then learn how to extend this quality of friendliness and kindness to friends, strangers and even people we have difficulty with. It liberates the heart from a self- centered love that enriches our life with warmth and well-being.Compassion is the natural response of an open heart when it encounters pain, whether in ourselves or others. It is the capacity to feel care and concern in response to the suffering of the world. It is this powerful quality that allows us to turn toward difficulty with courage and empathy.Appreciative Joy is the beautiful quality of heart and mind that genuinely celebrates and rejoices in the happiness and success of others. It is a direct antidote to feelings of envy, comparison and jealousy. It is a rare and expansive state that increases our access to joy in our lives.Forgiveness Meditation is a practice that invites us to turn towards the heart that has closed due to the harm that we have done to ourselves or others and where in turn we have been hurt by others. By using phrases that express our intention to forgive ourselves and others for the pain that has been caused, we can gently begin the process of releasing wounds that may have burdened us for years freeing up a greater capacity for the heart to love.