This metta meditation comes from the Buddhist psychology practice of loving-kindness,
Which is to focus positive thoughts towards others.
The practice is the softening of the mind and heart,
An opening to deeper and deeper levels of the feeling of kindness.
It has no conditions,
It does not depend on whether one deserves it or not.
One of the aims in this meditation is to feel good,
So find yourself in the position most preferred,
Whether sitting or lying down.
Make any adjustments to allow you to be relaxed and comfortable,
Ensuring you feel safe and secure,
And close down your eyes.
You may begin by focusing mindfully on each breath.
Notice your breath as you inhale and exhale,
Taking your breath deep down into your belly,
Breathing in for a count of four.
Hold,
And out for four,
And hold.
Repeat that a few more times now,
As this coherent flow of your breath becomes second nature.
When you are ready,
Bring awareness to the parts of your body as I describe them,
And begin to allow them to relax,
Releasing any tension,
Allowing it to simply melt away.
Feeling your body relax from your feet,
Up to your legs,
Hips,
Flowing up through your lower and upper arms,
Shoulders,
Neck,
Your whole torso now,
And finally up into your head.
Feeling calm and contentment,
Settling through your entire body now.
Begin to focus around your chest area,
Your heart centre.
Breathe in and out from that area,
As if all experience is happening from there.
Now as you continue this gentle mindful breathing,
Think of someone close to you,
Someone for whom you have strong unconditional love.
Picture this person in your mind,
Or feel their presence.
As you continue your breathing,
Think of this person,
And wish this person the following three times.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
Now continuing to breathe mindfully,
Think of a friend or family member,
Or feel their presence.
As you continue your breathing,
Think of this person,
And wish this person the following.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
Now think of a neutral person,
Someone for whom you neither feel strong like nor dislike.
Picture this person in your mind.
As you continue your breathing,
Think of this person,
And wish this person the following.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be safe.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you be happy,
May you be at peace.
Now as you continue your mindful heart-centered breathing,
Think of yourself.
Picture yourself in your mind as you breathe gently and quietly.
Wish yourself the following.
May I be safe,
May I be healthy,
May I be happy,
May I be at peace.
May I be safe,
May I be healthy,
May I be happy,
May I be at peace.
Continuing to breathe mindfully.
Move to someone you have difficulty with and you find challenging.
This may be a person with whom you've had long-standing problems or someone you just briefly encountered.
Picture this person in your mind.
As you continue breathing,
Think of this person and wish them the following.
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you be happy,
May you be at peace.
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you be happy,
May you be at peace.
Continuing to breathe gently and mindfully.
Think of the entire world,
All people and all things.
Allow yourself to picture all people and all things.
You may have mixed feelings,
Just allow yourself to continue your breathing.
Think of all people everywhere and everything in the entire world and wish them the following.
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you be happy,
And may you be at peace.
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be at peace.
Let the feelings of these phrases radiate and spread throughout your whole body,
Mind and heart.
Allow yourself to bathe in loving kindness.
Whenever you are ready,
You may very gently come back to full awareness.
Open your eyes and carry these feelings of loving kindness with you throughout your whole day.
