45-Minute Guided Metta Meditation Based On The Mind Illuminated (No Ambient Sound)

This is a 45-minute guided metta (loving kindness) meditation based on Upasaka Culadasa's "The Mind Illuminated." Used with permission. Identical to my 30-minute guided meditation except with longer stretches of silence between prompts to allow for deeper practice.

Transcript

This is a 45-minute guided meta meditation based on Aposika Chuladas' book,

The Mind Illuminated.

This meditation conditions your mind to readily enter a state of ease,

Peace,

Love,

And happiness.

It also cultivates loving-kindness and compassion towards all beings,

Including yourself.

Take a moment to make yourself as comfortable as possible with your back straight.

Close your eyes if you wish.

Relax,

And while maintaining a straight back,

Release any tension in your body.

Relax your mind and take some moments to appreciate the fact that you're gifting yourself with time away from the usual tasks and worries of your life.

Breathe through your nose as naturally as possible without trying to control your breath.

Bring your attention to the sensations associated with the breath in and around your nostrils or upper lip.

You can also focus on the sensations of breathing in your abdomen.

When you notice that your mind has inevitably wandered and drifted away,

Take a moment to appreciate this success and gently return to the sensations associated with your breath.

Let's enjoy the breath for a little while.

Thank you for watching!

You you you you you Now,

Let the breath sensations slip into the background of awareness.

They should remain there for the duration of your sit,

Which will help stabilize your attention.

Make the wish,

May I be free from suffering.

Call to mind,

As clearly as you can,

What it's like to be completely free of every kind of suffering,

Mental or physical.

Take note of the ways you are free from suffering right now.

Recall past times of ease and comfort.

Use your imagination.

Do anything necessary to generate a clear,

Strong sense of what it feels like to be free from suffering,

Completely comfortable,

And at ease in both mind and body.

Call to mind,

As clearly as you can,

What it's like to be completely free from suffering,

Mental or physical.

Call to mind,

As clearly as you can,

What it's like to be completely free from suffering,

Mental or physical.

Now,

Without losing the feeling of ease and comfort,

Make the wish,

May I be free from ill will.

Call to mind,

As clearly as you can,

What it's like to be completely free of every kind of ill will,

Completely at peace with everything and everyone.

Tune into the peace you feel right now.

As before,

Remember,

Imagine,

Or do anything else you can to generate a clear,

Strong feeling of being free from ill will with no residue of hostility,

Anger,

Or resentment in your heart.

Feel completely at peace with the world.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now,

Without losing the feeling of comfort and peace,

Make the wish,

May I be filled with loving kindness.

Call to mind,

As clearly as you can,

What it's like to be filled with the wonderful,

Heartwarming feelings of love and kindness.

Think of someone you love and focus on the feeling of tenderness and caring it produces in you.

As before,

Remember,

Imagine,

Or do anything else you can to generate a clear,

Strong feeling of loving kindness and deep caring.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now,

Without losing these feelings of ease,

Peace,

And love,

Make the wish,

May I be truly happy.

Call to mind,

As clearly as you can,

What it's like to be truly happy,

Contented,

Wanting and needing nothing,

Saturated with the simple bliss of being alive.

Make note of the happiness you already feel right now.

As before,

Remember,

Imagine,

Or do anything else that helps elicit feelings of happiness.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now,

Let us bring it all together and sit for a little while,

Basking in the experience of the complete absence of suffering,

Being at peace,

And filled with love and happiness.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Say to yourself,

Just as I wish to be free from suffering,

Free from ill will,

Filled with loving kindness,

And truly happy,

So do all beings wish for these things.

Now,

Think of someone you care about deeply and have good feelings towards,

Someone who has helped and comforted you in some way.

Picture this person as clearly as you can,

Wherever you think they might be at this moment,

Whatever they might be doing,

Substituting their name,

Make the wish.

May they be free from suffering.

May they be free from ill will.

May they be filled with loving kindness.

May they be truly happy.

As you do so,

Send these feelings to them,

From your heart to theirs,

From your mind to theirs.

Visualize the expression on this person's face as they feel the sense of ease and comfort,

Peace and goodwill,

Loving kindness,

And true happiness,

Welling up from seemingly nowhere.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Think of someone else you care about and do the same for him or her.

If at any point the feelings you have so carefully cultivated begin to fade,

Take a few moments to make them strong again.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now,

Think of people you are not so close to and that you have less affection for.

These might be the people you know through your work,

Neighbors,

Or casual acquaintances.

Choose one of them,

And imagine where they might be and what they might be doing.

When you can picture them in your mind,

Repeat the practice of making the wish,

Sending your positive feelings to them as a gift,

And picturing the expression on their face as they become aware of those feelings.

Once again,

If the feelings of comfort,

Peace,

Love,

And contented happiness fade,

Take the time to refresh them.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now,

Think of people you encounter from time to time,

But don't really know,

Such as cashiers,

Waiters,

Or school crossing guards.

Choose one and perform the loving-kindness practice for them.

You you you you you you When you are ready,

Think of people you have had difficulties with,

For whom you feel some kind of dislike.

It might help to remind yourself that they,

Too,

Are as subject to every kind of suffering as you or anyone else.

Recall that any ill will you feel towards them also creates suffering for yourself,

Robbing you of peace and contentment.

Likewise,

The ill will they may feel towards you only adds more misery to their own lives.

Whatever love they feel,

And whatever true happiness they enjoy,

Can only benefit those around them.

Practicing loving-kindness with someone you dislike can be hard.

So to start,

Don't choose someone you have really intense feelings about,

Or with whom you've had a recent conflict.

Picture him or her in your mind.

Make the wish,

Send them your positive feelings,

And watch as they are moved by those wonderful feelings.

Do this with as many difficult people as feel comfortable.

Never forget,

If the feelings of comfort,

Peace,

Love,

And contented happiness start to fade,

Take the time to refresh them.

To go through the motions without having these feelings in your heart simply is an effective practice.

You might have to practice loving-kindness for weeks,

Or even months,

Before you are ready for the most difficult people in your life,

But this is your eventual goal.

It's important not to rush,

Though eventually you do want to work your way up to those for whom you have had the most intense dislike,

Your worst enemies,

The ones who have hurt you in ways you have not been able to forgive.

Now,

Think about all those who live in your neighborhood.

Make the wish for them.

Send them your positive feelings.

Imagine everyone in your neighborhood simultaneously filling with happiness,

Love,

Peace,

And comfort.

Your heart is an inexhaustible source of these precious feelings.

The more you send them out,

The stronger they become.

Imagine everyone in your neighborhood simultaneously filling with happiness,

Love,

Peace,

And comfort.

Your heart is an inexhaustible source of these precious feelings.

The more you send them out,

The stronger they become.

You you you you now think about all those who live in your city imagine everyone in your city simultaneously smiling as they are filled with happiness love peace and comfort may they be free from suffering may they be free from ill will may they be filled with loving kindness may they be truly happy you you you you now think about all those who live in your country their faces radiate with delight as they are filled with happiness love peace and comfort you you you you you now think about every human being in the world may they be free from suffering may they be free from ill will may they be filled with loving kindness may they be truly happy humanity glows as it is filled with happiness love peace and comfort you you you now think about every sentient being on earth may they be free from suffering may they be free from ill will may they be filled with loving kindness may they be truly happy they are filled with happiness love peace and comfort you you you now make the wish and send these same positive feelings to every being of every kind in the entire universe may they be free from suffering may they be free from ill will may they be filled with loving kindness may they be truly happy happiness love peace and comfort permeate every being of every kind throughout all of space and time you you you now turn all these feelings towards yourself remind yourself that you are as worthy and deserving of peace love and happiness as anyone else loving and accepting yourself with all your own feelings and shortcomings it's the most direct path loving and accepting others say to yourself as I am no less deserving than anyone else may I continue to be free from suffering may I continue to be free from ill will may I continue to be filled with loving kindness may I continue to be truly happy conclude by holding strong wish for these feelings to continue to remain strong and resolve to live in a way that makes this possible make it your purpose to embody these precious qualities of mind for the sake of sharing them with others commit to using meta meditation as a model for the practice of loving kindness in daily life you you thank you for sitting with me this has been a guided meta meditation based entirely on a posse could chill it out his book the mind illuminated it is offered with chill it out his permission to be shared with all for the benefit of all sentient beings I hope to sit with you again very soon

Reviews

Great practice. Will be taken for next sits.

Good length. Calm voice. Helpful practice.

I would have liked a TMI style six step preparation and four step transition or at least the time to do those.