Metta,
Or loving-kindness meditation,
Is a practice in cultivating a friendlier,
Caring attitude towards ourself and others.
We bring awareness to the felt sense of love and care,
The embodiment of it,
And we offer wishes of well-being inward and outward in ever-expanding ripples.
At times,
These practices may be difficult.
Perhaps it's challenging to feel the compassionate feelings that are being prompted during the meditation,
Or maybe it brings up other difficult feelings.
So the invitation is to stay with the intention of offering these wishes for self and others,
Whether it's felt or not,
And to hold whatever arises in loving awareness.
At times,
It may feel like nothing much is happening with Metta practice,
But something is happening.
Seeds of benevolence and compassion are being planted.
In mindfulness practice,
Compassion is equally important to awareness.
In fact,
The Buddha said the greatest protection in all the world is loving-kindness.
So in that spirit,
I invite us settling into this practice,
Assuming an easeful posture that also allows alertness,
Feeling into the body,
And making any needed adjustments to support this easeful,
Alert posture,
And finding the breath,
Allowing a couple of deeper clearing breaths before settling back into the breath's natural rhythm.
Feeling into the heart center of the body,
The place where feelings of kindness,
Love,
Compassion,
Care,
Friendliness,
The place where these sorts of feelings often reside.
Getting a sense of the heart space with a curious attention.
Does the heart seem to have an openness,
Or maybe it feels more closed?
Perhaps there's more of a tentativeness.
Just noticing and holding this felt sense of the heart space in loving awareness.
Gently bringing to mind someone who has love and care for you.
A dear,
Kind being.
Maybe someone in your life now,
Or maybe someone from the past.
Perhaps a beloved pet,
Or a child,
Or perhaps an entity such as a spiritual figure or some larger source of love.
Getting a felt sense of this love and care from this being,
Allowing it to permeate the heart center and anywhere else where these feelings are sensed.
You may want to place a hand on the heart as a gesture to support this practice.
Perhaps sensing the receiving of these feelings of love and care from this being as being a warm glow of light shining within the heart space,
Like an ember pulsing in rhythm with the breath.
Resting attention in this warm glow for a few moments,
Allowing these feelings of love to exist without any conditions and without any judgment.
And if it's hard to feel,
Allowing this without judgment as well and holding it in loving awareness with the intention to allow space for the feelings if they arise.
An intention to be open to the experience.
As this warm glow of love and care shines within the heart space,
May you begin to offer some tender wishes for yourself.
May I be safe and protected.
May I be peaceful and free from worry.
May I be healthy.
May I be happy.
Repeating these phrases to yourself or using your own phrases to express wishes for your well-being.
Or perhaps just shortening the phrases or well wishes to one word at a time.
Safe.
Protected.
Peaceful.
Free from worry.
Healthy.
Happy.
Taking in these kind and loving wishes within the warm glow of the heart center.
Perhaps this glow begins to grow and shine a bit brighter as the wishes are received.
Opening up the heart space and allowing this warm glow to radiate gently throughout the body.
Upwards.
Downwards.
Front and back.
The whole body illuminated with these benevolent wishes.
And allowing the warm glow of loving kindness to radiate out from the body and shine upon a dear loved one.
Perhaps the one who initially came to mind in this meditation.
Or perhaps another loved one.
A pet or loving entity comes to mind.
Offering these same wishes of care and kindness to this being.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be peaceful and free from worry.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
Noticing the felt sense of these wishes or wishes of your own for the well-being of this loved one.
Safety.
Peace.
Health.
Happiness.
As these wishes are offered,
Perhaps sensing the warm glow continuing to grow and brightening.
This radiance spreading beyond loved ones to someone whose path you cross with.
But perhaps you don't really know them.
Someone you have no particular feelings about.
But knowing this being is also someone who has wishes for well-being.
Offering these phrases of loving kindness to this neutral person.
And sensing the warm glow shining upon them.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be peaceful and free from worry.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
As these wishes are offered,
Perhaps the warm glow of loving kindness continues to grow and radiate further outwards.
Taking in other beings.
Known and unknown.
Allowing this glow to permeate and shine upon all who come to mind.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be peaceful and free from worry.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
And perhaps bringing to mind someone who is a bit difficult.
For this practice,
Not someone who has been significantly harmful or abusive.
But just someone for whom these feelings are more challenging.
Is it possible to offer these wishes for this being also?
Or to hold the intention for these wishes?
May you be safe and protected.
May you be peaceful and free from worry.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
As these phrases or your own kind wishes of well-being are shared.
Sensing the warm glow of loving kindness radiating outward in all directions.
Sensing the radiance flowing north and south and east and west.
Throughout your region and all throughout your country.
In offering these same wishes to being sensed all along the way.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be peaceful and free from worry.
May you be healthy.
May you be happy.
The radiant glow spreading across the oceans and continents and the entire earth is illuminated.
Offering these same wishes for all the beings.
Human,
Animal,
Bird,
Fish,
Insect,
Plant,
The whole of earth.
May all beings be safe and protected.
May all beings be peaceful and free from worry.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings be happy.
And recognizing the inner connectedness of all beings.
And that you are part of this web as well.
So bringing yourself back into the well wishes with every living thing.
As the glow of loving kindness permeates through the ground and into the sky.
May we all be safe and protected.
May we all be peaceful and free from worry.
May we all be healthy.
May we all be happy.
The earth saturated with this warm glowing light of loving kindness.
A radiant planet.
This glow that started as an ember within the heart center.
Perhaps feeling in again to this heart center.
Getting a sense of the heart space.
Has anything changed?
Might there be a bit more openness or softness?
Just noticing and holding whatever this felt sense of the heart space is.
In loving awareness.
And feeling back into the whole body.
Feeling into the hands and feet.
Into the touch points where the body makes contact with the seat or the floor.
Breathing.
Resting attention with whole body breathing.
As we prepare to end this meditation with the sound of the bell.
Knowing that seeds of goodwill,
Of care,
Of kindness,
And compassion were planted.
And with continued metta practice will support the eventual growth of these seeds.
May this practice be a benefit to all beings everywhere.
