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Introduction

Hello friends, hello and welcome to Happy Hour. If the audio is okay, please give me a quick thumbs up. Fantastic, great.

So let's begin as we always do with saying hello, welcoming ourselves and each other with a sense of metta^[1] in the space. I'll begin by saying hi and welcome. I'm Nikki, I'm in Mountain View, California on unceded Ohlone land^[2]. Who is here?

Santa Cruz! Hearing Santa Cruz just surprises me when you say that, I'm so used to New Hampshire. Welcome to California! Don is down in DC, and I'm envious of Santa Cruz. Who is working on having mudita^[3] for people who are in Santa Cruz? How's that reframing, Don?

Someone from Thailand says hello: "It's 360 degrees metta, lovely." And hi Carrie as well. Anybody else want to say hi?

Jill: Hi, I'm Jill. I'm in Redwood City, and it's my first time joining your Happy Hour, Nikki. I want to say thank you so much for your teaching this week at the 7:00 A.M. It's been absolutely refreshing, delightful, and thought-provoking—all the right cocktail items. So thank you so much.

Nikki: Oh, thank you so much, Jill. Thank you for your kind words, thank you for your practice, and thanks for joining Happy Hour. A warm welcome to you. Delighted you're here.

And Lich says hi from Oakland. Hi Lich, long time no see, hope you've been well. Hi Sarah from Flagstaff. And more folks are also joining us on YouTube, which is very sweet. My heart feels warm to see old and new friends. Let's begin and practice together. Thank you, Neil, for posting information about the Happy Hour Google groups in the chat.

At this point, I am changing some settings. I'll change the muting so that accidental unmuting will not be possible, and I'll change the chat settings so that they only come to me. I ask that we keep the chat quiet because it can be quite distracting for me to receive chats while I'm teaching, but I will open that afterwards. And last but not least, I'm going to turn on recording for the sake of AudioDharma. Here we go.

Happy Hour: Uplifting the Heart Through Wishing Well for All Beings Who Share the Earth

Hello and welcome to Happy Hour, everyone. It is lovely to be with you.

For today's practice, I wanted to invite us to explore expansion—the practice of goodwill and compassion for all beings.

I was teaching the 7:00 A.M. session, as Jill earlier mentioned. I was subbing for Gil^[4] this morning, and the topic was compassion. This morning I taught "Compassion 360 Degrees" for all beings everywhere, including ourselves and others. I've been practicing it the rest of the day as I've been walking around, seeing people. The sense of spreading my metta, my compassion, to others—to random people and beings that I see—has been so uplifting, so happy-making. It has been so expansive in my heart to be practicing that during the day. I wanted to bring that into Happy Hour as well, for us to practice together that uplift and joy of this expansion of the heart. Not just in our formal practice on the cushion, but also in our daily life.

I did find myself walking and thinking about what I had to do, caught up in my own world of this and that. And I thought, "Wait, wait, wait a minute, sweetie. Let's practice. Let's practice compassion for this passerby." I just found myself smiling at them, and they smiled back. It was just so uplifting. What a great way to cultivate our hearts and our minds to have more space, instead of being in our own little world of concerns and challenges.

So with that as the preview, let's practice together.

Landing in this body. Landing in whatever posture is most supportive in this moment in time.

Inviting the breath. Inviting the breath to be like a spring breeze to fill our lungs. To be received by our body, by the lower part of the body if possible. It's a way to settle into the body and connect. Perhaps even feeling the breath move through our legs, our feet. With inspired imagination, you know the breath is moving through all our limbs. The oxygen is in our blood, so it's not so far off. This breath is moving through our limbs, keeping us alive, oxygenated.

Allowing yourself to put down any worries, concerns, or stories in this moment. Inviting ourselves to give our hearts to this practice in this moment. All the thoughts will still be there later. Right now, just giving our hearts to this.

Releasing any tightness or holding in the body, any tightness or holding in the heart and the limbs. With each breath, feeling more present, more fully here. Fully connected to this breath in the body.

Now, inviting ourselves as we continue to feel our bodies and embody, to feel as if we are sitting in a circle, in a network of care. A network of interconnection of care that we are a part of. We may not see it, we may not acknowledge it at every moment, but it's like the air we breathe. Let the breathing of this air not be effortful. It's not so much that you're breathing; it's automatically happening. Just witness that this body is partaking in the nourishment that is available on this planet, on this Earth: this oxygen.

We invite ourselves to sense this support, seen and unseen. From people we know and don't know, past, present, and future. Feeling ourselves supported, cared for by the air we breathe, by the food we eat, the shelter we have, and all the beings whose lives we are interconnected with, who support our well-being.

As we breathe in, as we feel this sense of care, let us join our own care for this being who is me.

May I be safe.

From inner and outer harm. Knowing that complete safety is not possible, but it's a wish, a blessing we offer ourselves, an act of goodwill. May I be safe.

May I be happy. May I have joy in my heart.

May I be healthy and strong as much as possible.

And may my life flow with ease.

If there are any challenges right now in our body, in our life, inviting these difficulties and challenges to be met with kindness. Not with judgment or being pushed away, but with kindness. May I have ease as I meet the challenges of my life. May I have peace in my heart as I work through what is difficult for me. May I have all the resources I need, all the support with this challenge. May I have ease. And may I be free from sorrow and suffering.

If you like, you can experiment with opening your heart to other beings who share this planet with you. All of us together on this Earth. Just as I want to be happy and not suffer, these other beings—the humans, animals, four-legged creatures, fish, birds, insects, etc.—they too just want to live happily with ease.

Let your heart, your goodwill, shine. Not effortfully, but it's already there, it's already being received through this network of support. It's being shared, this goodwill pouring in, pouring out. We are part of this network; we're not separate. We are supported and we offer support.

Offering all beings everywhere, as much as possible. Knowing that absolute safety is not possible in this world, but it's a wish, a blessing, a kind wish that we offer to cultivate our own hearts.

May all beings have safety. May all beings be happy. May all beings be healthy. May all beings take care of themselves happily.

And acknowledging that for all beings, life is not easy. There are challenges. Being human has its own challenges with our incessant thinking and demands. Also, being an animal, living on this Earth, we're all impacted by the changes to our planet. So as we acknowledge the challenges of living on this planet as a sentient being, letting our hearts meet the challenges and the suffering with goodwill, with kindness, with compassion.

May all of us, all beings on this planet, may we have peace and ease. May we have the resources and support we need to live happily, to meet our challenges. May we all be free from sorrow and suffering. May all beings, including myself, be well.

Compassion 360 degrees. No part left out. All around and through this being who is me.

Radiating from your heart, in your heart center in the middle of your chest, is this goodness, kindness, goodwill, and friendliness. It flows out and shines on its own, not effortful. Every being it touches, it brings care, succor, kindness, goodwill. It touches you first, shining out of your own heart.

Perhaps imagining yourself walking around, walking by people you don't know, neighbors, passersby. Sharing your goodwill. "They're just like me. They want to be happy. Just like me, they suffer. May they have ease. May they be happy."

Maybe you walk by a bird. It's not easy having a body, constantly looking for food, safety, shelter. "May you have ease, dear bird."

You can hear the sound of the ambulance as it's driving by. It signifies that somebody is having a difficult time. "May they have ease. May this being who right now is having a difficult time, may they have peace and ease as they meet this challenge. May they be free from suffering. If they're hurting, they may be afraid or in danger. Wishing them well."

To bring the meditation to a close, acknowledging that all of us share this planet, and there are challenges in living on this planet. And acknowledging that living our lives with a heart that has goodwill and kindness, that spreads and radiates kindness, goodwill, and compassion 360 degrees—it's a much more spacious, uplifting, happier way to live, to serve, to be on this planet.

Appreciating ourselves for having showed up in this practice as best as we're able to. And without any judgment or attachment to what could have been or wasn't, letting go of attachment to outcome. Trusting that we are planting seeds of kindness and goodwill, and they will flourish in their own time. Sharing our co-created goodness with all beings everywhere.

May all beings everywhere be well. May all beings everywhere be free, including ourselves.

Thank you for your practice.

Breakout Rooms

Such a rich practice to cultivate our hearts in expansion, kindness, and goodwill for all beings everywhere. Not just for ourselves but for others. It's so expansive, so uplifting, so spacious, happy-making. And however much it was available to you, let that be enough. Let that be, "Oh yes, ah, what a relief. How lovely."

As we do in Happy Hour at this time, we turn to practicing with our eyes closed on the cushion to practicing together in community. The invitation for the small breakout rooms (roughly of size three) is, of course, showing up with kindness and humility for ourselves and for others, and just sharing from our own experience. Of course, we can just say "pass" when our turn comes, in which case we'll just be sharing silent, kind presence. But it's a really wonderful opportunity to take our practice from the cushion to daily life. This is a sandbox. It's a wonderful sandbox to be able to experiment with.

The prompt is: What arises for you? What do you note when you have goodwill, metta, and compassion for all beings? What arises? Maybe share one nugget from your practice if you wish. And it's perfectly fine to say, "Actually, I was completely distracted or fell asleep." It's okay, there's no wrong answer. It's not a quiz. It's just to show up with kindness and support each other.

Please only share from your own practice. No asking questions, no giving advice to others. If you notice somebody's doing that, it's okay to say, "Hey, we're not supposed to ask questions or give advice." Just keep the container light and as safe as possible for one another. So be kind, enjoy interacting with one another, being inspired with one another. Again, remember that you're sharing for your own benefit to be held witness; you're not sharing to impress anyone or educate anyone. It's just sharing in community: "This is what came up for me," or maybe nothing came up, and it's perfectly fine.

So I'm making the breakout rooms. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other. Be kind, be kind, be kind. Here we go.

Reflections and Q&A

Welcome back, everyone. The rooms are closed, and we have time for reflections and for questions. Chat is open; you're welcome to type in chat. It could be either to everyone or it could be privately to me, in which case I'll only read the reflection and not your name. And if you haven't shared for a while, you're welcome to raise your hand and share your reflection, question, or challenge. What did you notice with this practice?

Neil says, "Lovely practice for Earth Day's eve." Oh, thanks, Neil. Yeah, I was thinking that tomorrow is Earth Day, exactly. All of us together living on this Earth, our home.

Any other reflections? How was it? Did it feel uplifting to be practicing kindness or compassion for other beings, all beings? I see some nods. Anyone care to comment? Or was it challenging? That's fine too, it's all okay. Okay, now I'm going to open it up to those who have spoken recently as well as those who haven't.

Fred: Well, thanks Nikki. It's always better to do this than not, and it doesn't have to be terribly powerful for me in the instant of the experience. The experience is recognizable as being positive, and it may sweep out the debris of thoughts that aren't very useful. But I feel with increasing confidence that it's always worth doing. The impact may be later, or it may be cumulative. It just doesn't need to be fireworks all the time.

Nikki: Thanks, Fred. Well said. All the points you made—it doesn't have to be fireworks, it always feels better than not, it is accumulative, and it ripens later. All the wonderful points you made very wisely, absolutely. Yes, yes, and yes. Thank you for making them.

Hugh^[5] says, "Love for all is a two-way street. The more we love the world, the more love the world pours into us." Yes, that's how it feels, doesn't it? It feels like when we meet the moment with kindness, then it's basically our perception that the world becomes kind to us, that we see more kindness in the world, we see more compassion in the world. And if we see fear, danger, and threat always, that's what we'll perceive, that's what our mind will pick up.

An anonymous sharer says, "Thank you, Nikki. I made a mistake today where I mixed up two people. I spent a lot of the day trying to recover from shame. Thanks for the reminder that sending compassion outwards means the compassion is touching me too. I appreciate it." Thank you for that reflection, beautiful. Yeah, we make mistakes, and our compassion always—it's 360 degrees—touches us first. Beautiful, thank you for that reflection.

Ellie, I see your hand, please.

Ellie: Nikki, thank you. The same thing kind of happened with the chat that you read to me today. Actually, around lunchtime, I was making lunch. I was hurrying up and then suddenly your voice came to me: "Oh, I can see you're having a hard time, sweetheart. It's okay, it's okay," or something like that. I mean, I was scolding myself, and then, "Oh, I hear you," like what you were talking about before. I just calmed down, and then things flowed okay. Also, on Wednesday, something you had mentioned—I had a question about wisdom, and then you said without it, it'll be a bumpy road. Without incorporating the loving-kindness aspect into the wisdom aspect. I was just reflecting on that, so I just wanted to thank you for those two reminders. Your voice arose in me in the moment of rushing panic.

Nikki: Oh sweet, thank you Ellie. Thank you so much for sharing that. Yeah, it's not the first time that practitioners tell me that my voice pops up and they call themselves "sweetheart" or "dear" or whatever I bring into the guided meditation. Like, "Well sweetheart, you're having a hard time, you're stressed. Ah, it's okay, it's the mind." Bringing in wholesome reminders. So yeah, I celebrate. I'm glad this helps your own practice. Really, it's your own practice, it's your own mind, it's your own heart that's supporting you.

And yes, without kindness, wisdom alone is pretty bumpy. Joseph Goldstein^[6] likes to say that it's like riding a bicycle without air in the tires. Wisdom without kindness is a pretty bumpy ride. You want to put air in your tires, definitely. And so kindness, metta, compassion—all of these practices put air in our tires. So thank you all. May you have air in your tires as you travel this Earth. May all beings everywhere on this planet and beyond, may we all be well. May we all have all the resources we need to face the challenges we have on this Earth. May we all be well.

Take good care, be well. I won't be here next week; I'm teaching a retreat at IRC^[7], so I'll see some of you there. Take good care, be well.

I'll stop the live stream and now it's just us in gallery view. Yay! I get to see you and thank you, and ask you if you wish to unmute yourself for spreading compassion and kindness to one another and saying goodbye. Blessing each other with our goodbyes. Take care. Goodbye, everyone.

(Chorus of goodbyes)
Goodbye, everyone. Thank you. Have a good weekend, thank you. Good night.