The new practices we learned this session were:
Loving-Kindness for a Loved One (link to Kristin Neff audio practice | link to Chris Germer audio practice)
Finding Loving-Kindness Phrases
This week, continue exploring to discover words or phrases that are deeply meaningful to you. Here is a link to instructions for "Finding Loving-Kindness Phrases", and here is a link to a guided version by Chris Germer.
The point of the exercise is eventually to settle on a few phrases that you use again and again in loving-kindness practice. So you can begin experimenting with loving-kindness meditation using your own phrases over the coming week, if you like. Whether or not you do that, do keep exploring with "Finding Loving-Kindness Phrases" to find loving-kindness phrases that are deeply meaningful for you.
The core of the "Finding Loving-Kindness Phrases" exercise can also be used to discover what we need at particular moments in our daily lives. For example, if we ask "What do I need to hear right now?," new phrases might arise that can be applied on the spot, as a balm for feeling down or disconnected.