Brother Richard

Gently beginning to recognize the pressure of the chair against us, the floor beneath us.

Stretching a little.

And then allowing the sound of the bell to draw us back to the activity of the day.

Welcome back.

In today's meditation, we're going to speak about generating love.

For most of us, love tends to be a reaction to something.

Perhaps it's because we are being loved in return.

Or perhaps it's a reaction towards something that we find draws love from us.

But there are different kinds of love.

In meditation, we begin to recognize that love is not so much an emotion or a reaction as a deliberate act of will.

I can choose to love, choose to live from a loving perspective, even if I am not meeting much love myself in the midst of my life.

This is very important.

It allows us to begin to stabilize ourselves so that our emotions are not always simply reactions to external stimuli, but instead we begin to see that things like compassion, love, forgiveness can be accomplished by deliberate acts of will exercised in a contemplative way

rather than just simply something we hope will appear at some time.

So let's begin.

Entering this time of meditation, choosing this time,

Let's be aware that we are beginning with a loving act, an act towards ourselves of generous love as we give ourselves this time of meditation.

From the beginning, we recognize love as a choice, a choice that nurtures,

a choice that brings with it a blessing.

Settling ourselves into meditation, feeling the ground beneath our feet, our back supported by the chair or cushion, our breath open, present, stable, still.