So I'm really pleased to share this practice of Metta meditation.
Metta is a Pali word for loving kindness.
And it's a practice that I have used in my own life over many years.
And I'll talk about that a little bit later.
But Metta is a way of caring for ourselves,
Extending love to ourselves and to other people and things.
So maybe we could just jump right in and begin the practice of Metta.
So come into a comfortable position,
A comfortable seated position where the spine is straight,
But not rigid,
And you feel relaxed.
If it's okay and comfortable,
Allowing your eyes to be closed.
And maybe take a few breaths in and out of the nose,
Breathing in and breathing out.
And in this meditation,
We'll begin with several verses.
Allow the verses to really wash over you,
To be part of you.
So that these verses aren't just a sort of wishful thinking,
But if they could really embed in your heart and in your mind,
That that would be so.
So we begin with Metta with the verses that you hold and you say for yourself.
And then you'll direct your attention to people that you love,
You care for,
And then directing the verses to those people,
People that you love.
Sometimes that's easy to do,
To wish well,
To want good things for people that you already care about.
Next,
I'll invite you to invite Metta to people that you don't know,
The so-called neutral person.
And again,
With all your heart,
To wish these verses,
This love and this kindness,
This well-being,
To people that you do not know.
And then finally,
Bringing right into your mind's eye and your heart,
The person that you believe is the cause of your suffering.
And if you feel it is appropriate for you to direct these verses to even that person,
The person that you believe has caused you suffering.
So beginning with yourself,
May I be peaceful,
Happy and light in body and spirit.
May I be safe and free from injury,
Free from anger,
Afflictions,
Fears,
And anxiety.
May I learn to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself.
May I learn to identify the sources of anger,
Craving and delusion in myself.
May I know how to nourish the seeds of joy in myself every day.
May I live fresh,
Solid and free.
May I be free from attachment and aversion,
But not be indifferent.
And now taking a few deep breaths in and out of the nose,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Directing your attention from yourself,
This feeling of love and safety and care,
To directing your attention to the person that you love so much.
It could be an animal,
A plant,
A mineral.
It could be your dearest friend or parent,
A guardian.
But bring that being into the room with you,
This space.
See that person or persons clearly.
In directing metta,
The verses,
To the person you love.
May you be peaceful,
Happy,
And light,
And body and in spirit.
May you be safe and free from injury.
May you be free from anger,
Afflictions,
Fears,
And anxiety.
May you learn to look at yourself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May you be able to recognize the seeds of joy and happiness in yourself.
And identify the seeds of anger and craving and delusion that are there as well.
May you know how to nourish the seeds.
Every day,
May you be able to live fresh,
Solid,
And free.
May you be free from attachment and aversion,
But not be indifferent.
And again,
Taking a few deep breaths,
Breathing in and breathing out.
And now turning your awareness from the person you love to the neutral person.
This could be someone you see on occasion.
Maybe it's a stray animal,
A cat that comes around your street.
It could be someone that you pass on the street every day,
But you don't know.
And directing these verses to that person,
To the person that you don't know.
And with all your heart,
To wish love and kindness to this person as well,
To this being.
May you be peaceful,
Happy,
And light in body and in spirit.
May you be safe and free from injury.
Free from anger,
Afflictions,
And fear.
Free from anxiety.
May you learn to look at yourself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May you be able to recognize the seeds of joy and happiness in yourself.
May you learn how to identify the sources of anger and craving and delusion that are there within you as well.
May you know how to nourish the seeds of joy and happiness every day.
May you live fresh,
Solid,
And free.
May you be free from attachment and aversion,
But not be indifferent.
And again,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Directing your attention now from the neutral person,
The person or thing or beings or group of people,
The animals that you don't know,
To the person that you believe is the cause of much suffering,
The person that you have difficulty with.
See that person clearly.
All the very aspects of that person's life.
It may be a group of people to look deeply at their suffering,
His or her suffering.
And if it is appropriate for you to direct the verses,
To direct metta,
Love,
And kindness,
Even to this person who has caused so much suffering.
May you be peaceful.
May you be happy in light,
In body and in spirit.
May you be safe and free from injury,
Free from anger,
Afflictions,
Fears,
And anxiety.
May you look at yourself with the eyes of understanding and love and be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in yourself every day.
May you learn how to identify the sources of anger and craving and delusion that are there within you as well.
May you know how to nourish the seeds of joy,
The seeds of happiness in yourself every day.
May you live fresh,
Solid,
Free.
May you be free.
Free from attachment,
Free from aversion.
May you not be indifferent to love.
And again,
Breathing in and breathing out.
And when you are ready,
Opening your eyes.
Thank you.
