Intention:
The intention of this Invitation is to immerse deeply in your customized loving-kindness phrases by using them to inspire a visual exploration entirely of your choosing.
Process:
We’ve talked about how finding your Loving Kindness Phrases can be somewhat like writing poetry. We pose the questions, “What do I need?” and “What do I wish to hear?” and then allow open space and time for responses to emerge. We will do the same with this Creative Invitation. By offering little specific guidance in terms of materials or processes, we wish to intentionally create room for your unique visual expression of the phrases to emerge, exactly as they wish.
As always, we’ll ground in the body and the breath as we transition to the creative space. Then, with a spirit of curiosity and perhaps playfulness, simply use whichever materials you love to create an image(s) using your phrases. Allow the phrases to take root in your heart, if you can, and ask how they might want to be expressed.
If what you create feels pleasing to you, you may wish to display it somewhere you see often to gently remind yourself of these kind wishes during your daily life.
Examples of meaningful words expressed visually:
Taking it a step further:
We’ve also talked about how loving-kindness practice is a process of cultivating goodwill over time by continuing to offer yourself your phrases. To that end, maybe you’re inspired to write your phrases in other unexpected, private places as ongoing gifts to yourself. If so, here are a few ideas to start:
- On the inside cover of a beloved book
- On the outside of your Here and Now Box
- On sticky notes on your mirror, inside your desk drawer, the inside of a kitchen cabinet, or on your car’s dashboard
- On the side of your daily vitamin bottle
- On an email which you pre-schedule to be delivered to yourself each week
- On flower pots resting on your porch
- On your pet’s leash, so that you, your dog, and your phrases can all go for a walk together
For reflection:
- As you shaped your phrases into a your chosen physical expression, did you find that unexpected or new phrases emerged for you, or that any of your prior phrases no longer felt like a fit?
- While immersing in the meaning of the phrases during the creation process, what came up for you?
- If your inner critic showed up during any of the experience, how did you relate to him/her?