Metta,
Or Loving-Kindness Meditation,
Is a practice for nurturing compassion and goodwill toward ourselves and others.
It invites us into a state of warm-hearted connectedness.
People who practice Loving-Kindness Meditation regularly may enjoy benefits such as decreased anxiety,
Decreased physical pain,
Improved relationships,
And positive self-image.
Let's begin by finding a seated position that will be comfortable for the next seven to eight minutes.
Sitting with a straight spine,
Close your eyes and relax the muscles in your face.
Swallow and unclench your jaw.
Relax your shoulders.
Feel your body and mind settling into a space of alert stillness.
Bring your attention now to your breath,
Your natural breath.
Follow it as it moves in and out of your body without attempting to change or deepen it.
Simply allow your breath to be as it is in this moment.
Noticing awareness of your breath,
Begin to draw your energy to your heart center.
Feeling that area of your chest lift and expand with life and vitality with each new inhale.
If it feels comfortable for you,
Place one or both hands over your heart,
Envisioning now yourself looking into a mirror.
Notice what arises as you look at your reflection,
And now speak to your reflection allowing these words to become your own,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be peaceful,
May I be safe.
Notice how it feels to speak these words to yourself,
Allowing this feeling of loving kindness to pour over you just as you are in this moment.
Bring to mind now a person or pet,
Someone who inspires feelings of love and delight in you.
Holding the vision of this being in your mind,
Turning your mouth upward into a smile as you speak these words to them,
Allowing these words to become your own,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be peaceful,
May you be safe,
Welcoming these feelings of loving kindness into your heart.
Imagining now someone to whom your feelings are neutral,
Maybe that's someone that you're not well acquainted with,
But someone that you've had small interactions with,
Such as the clerk at your local supermarket,
Or a neighbor who waves when you pass by.
Allowing these words to become yours,
Say to them,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be peaceful,
May you be safe,
Drawing these feelings of loving kindness up to your heart as you wish this person well.
Bring up the image now of someone that you would consider to be difficult or annoying.
Observe yourself as you direct these words to them,
Making these words your own,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be peaceful,
May you be safe.
Be conscious of what feelings arise,
Doing your best to embrace a sense of loving kindness toward this person.
And now,
Drawing upon all of the loving kindness that we've cultivated in our hearts here,
Imagine this feeling as a white light building within you until it can no longer be contained,
Pouring out into your neighborhood,
Your city,
Your country,
Until it touches every being on earth,
Say with me,
May we all be happy,
May we all be healthy,
May we all be peaceful,
And may we all be safe.
Drawing these feelings of loving kindness,
Resolving to hold them here in our hearts from here on out,
Coming back to your breath,
Coming back to the space that you're in,
Savoring your practice,
Savoring these feelings.
This concludes our loving kindness meditation.
May you be blessed and smiled upon,
And may you have great peace.
Thank you for meditating with me.
