Live Satsang Soul Circle 8/3/25 - Metta or Loving-Kindness when it feels REALLY REALLY HARD!

Time stamps:
0:00 - 34:30 - Intro, context and teaching on Metta Bhavana
34:30-1:19 - Soul Circle shares

Audio-only: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eotBixxTR0TcVmbseAltXyGipO04Lkke/view?usp=sharing

Metta Bhavana Practice (more classical)

May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.

Metta Bhavana Practice (Gina's 2025 Version

May you feel safe.
May you feel happy.
May you feel strong.
May you live with ease.

I will not let the world harden my heart.

We’ve been sold a dangerous lie: That you can either be awake to suffering or connected to joy.
Either compassionate or playful.
Either grieving or joyful.
But that’s a false binary. And it’s not the way the heart actually works.

Circle questions:
What does “fierce compassion” look like in your life?
What’s a time you’ve tried to find compassion when the temptation of despair or anger were strong?
How do you feel about this practice right now?

Journal Prompts:
1. When do I feel most resourced to offer love, kindness and compassion to others? What contributes to that state?
2. What is my relationship with compassion right now? Do I allow myself to experience it fully?
3. Where in my life am I emotionally barricading myself, and why? What am I protecting?
4. How can I practice Metta in ways that feel authentic, not performative, in my day-to-day life?
5. Who in my life (including myself) most needs loving-kindness from me right now? What might it look like to offer it?
6. What's the big-picture value in this practice? Why would it be worth rising to this significant challenge?