Guided Loving-Kindness Meditation 6 Directions

This Metta or Loving Kindness Meditation is a guided meditation that runs 30 minutes, which is the suggested minimum time for you to sit. It is based on some of the Metta instructions of Bhante Vimalaramsi. It may be used daily - check our other guided meditations, which have more of the beginning instructions. You spend the first minutes radiating loving-kindness to yourself and then to a spiritual friend and finally to the six directions as required in the full BrahmaVihara practice.

Transcript

Okay,

Please get in a comfortable position.

Please don't move for the sitting.

Be perfectly still.

Take a deep breath.

Let it out.

Relax the whole body.

Relax from the top of the head,

All the way down through the chest,

Through the abdomen,

Legs and down to the floor.

Take another breath and relax.

We have 30 minutes to do nothing but to take a vacation from our life.

Now there is nothing to do but just to sit and watch and be happy.

Put aside all those things that you want to do.

They all can be done later.

Think about anything later.

Now you're just sitting peacefully.

You feel very content.

You're breathing well,

Not moving at all,

Hands folded.

Thinking straight up.

Just noticing what's going on.

There may be sounds.

You feel your body.

You may notice that you're thinking,

Just let everything go.

Any sensation or thought that arises,

Relax.

Come back to the present.

Content to just sit and do absolutely nothing at all.

Because there's no need to do anything.

Just quiet.

Now bring up a smile.

A little smile on your face.

Upturn your lips.

Smile from your heart.

Smile from your eyes.

Smile from your mind.

Remember a time when you were happy.

Maybe you were petting the dog.

You were looking into the eyes of a baby that you were holding.

The baby was looking back at you and you felt this kindness.

This loving kindness feeling.

It's a warm,

Glowing feeling in the center of your heart.

You don't try to make it happen,

You just do it.

You just let it be there.

It's like looking at the baby.

You don't try to feel,

You just feel love for the baby.

And smile,

Continue to smile.

Feel that loving kindness in your smile.

Just stay with that feeling.

Make a wish for your own happiness.

May I be happy.

Feel the smile from the baby for yourself.

Hold yourself in your arms.

Look into your eyes.

May I be happy.

May I be free from suffering.

May I be healthy.

Hold yourself with this feeling of loving kindness.

Who deserves it more than you?

When you have loving kindness,

You can have it for others.

Put yourself inside a bubble of loving kindness,

Of happiness,

And relax into that feeling.

Sink into that feeling.

Feel that same loving kindness.

If your mind wanders a little bit,

You get a little restless,

Just recognize that that happened.

Don't push it away,

Don't try to change it.

Just release what's there that's pulling you.

If you want to get up,

Then just release that thought.

You can sit for a half hour with no need to get up and be happy in that.

Relax the tension and tightness that makes you want to move.

Keep smiling.

A smile uplifts your mind.

It's very powerful.

It lets you know when your mind is down.

Even if you don't feel like it,

It's okay.

Just allow a little bit of kindness right now.

So if a distraction comes,

Recognize it's there.

Release it.

Release any tension or tightness that pulls you back to it.

Just take it a few moments,

Relax.

No need to get back to your object quickly,

Just relax.

Interesting,

Observe it.

Maybe it's anger,

Maybe it's wanting,

Planning.

It's anything that pulls,

And release it and relax,

Relax the pull.

And now as it ebbs away,

Re-smile.

Bring back that feeling.

Return to radiating loving kindness to yourself.

Now think of somebody that you know,

Same sex,

They're alive.

Maybe like somebody you can send some loving kindness to.

Maybe it's a teacher,

Counselor,

Or a monk,

The Dalai Lama,

Mother Teresa.

Just pick somebody out and I want you to picture them.

You just know they're there,

You don't have to see them in living color.

Just know that this person is there.

And wish them happiness.

May he or she be happy.

See them smiling,

Looking back at you.

Wishing you happiness.

Picture them and radiate loving kindness to them and take them and put them in your heart.

And hold them like a baby.

Now put both of you in a bubble of loving kindness and just be in that feeling.

You're not sending the feeling out,

But just simply being with the person and feeling this happiness.

See them smiling and happy.

May they be happy.

May they be free from suffering.

Now let them go and take a family member,

A part of your family,

And wish them happiness.

Take them in your heart and see them smiling and happy.

May your mother and father be happy.

May all of your relatives be happy.

See them smiling and happy.

Wish them loving kindness.

Now wish any neutral people happiness.

The cashier at your local Starbucks or the bus driver.

Just anybody that you kind of know,

It's a neutral person.

May they be smiling and happy.

May they be content.

Keep smiling.

Now any troublesome people,

Any people that you might not like,

May they be happy.

Everybody's got good qualities.

Don't focus on the negative.

See the positive.

Think of anybody that you might not like and wish them happiness.

Keep them in your heart.

Wish them happiness anyway,

Regardless.

Come back to happiness for yourself and feel this loving kindness glowing out from you.

Wish all beings in front of you loving kindness.

May they be well and happy.

You don't have to see them,

Just know that all beings in the next city,

In the next town,

In the next state or province,

In the next country,

May all these beings in front of you be happy.

May all beings in front of all of the land in front of you be happy and now out into space and on out to the edge of the universe.

May all beings in front of you be happy.

There are six directions,

The front and now let's wish all beings to the back happiness.

See them smiling and happiness.

See your loving kindness just going out like beams of light.

Golden beams of light radiating out from your head.

Touching every being that it comes upon.

And surrounding them all with happiness and loving kindness.

Contentment.

And to the left,

All beings.

May they be happy and content.

And to the right,

May all beings be happy and content.

May they be healthy,

Prosperous and kindly and generous.

Know that they're happy and smiling with you.

You can notice your feeling as it goes out.

Just make it a sincere feeling.

Don't focus too much on it,

But make it sincere and really know that you care about these people.

You wish for their own welfare.

And now all beings below you,

All beings in the earth,

Small,

Large,

All living beings,

All insects,

All animals,

Any sort of being,

Deva beings.

Hold the whole earth in your heart and wish them loving kindness.

And now above,

Into the heavens above,

Out as far as the mind can even imagine.

Systems of loving kindness extending out and out infinitely,

Touching everybody with a feeling of happiness,

With a feeling of kindness.

And may they be well and happy.

Now in all six directions that you've done,

All beings everywhere,

All around,

All directions,

From the animal world to the human world to the spirit world to the heavenly worlds.

May all beings everywhere in this bubble of loving kindness be happy.

See your love just going outward,

Touching everything and everybody.

Continue to smile.

Let go of any distractions and come back to the feeling of loving kindness moving out.

And may all beings everywhere in this bubble of loving kindness be happy.

And may all beings everywhere in this bubble of loving kindness be happy.

And may all beings everywhere in this bubble of loving kindness be happy.

Continue to feel this bubble of loving kindness growing ever bigger.

Smiling out,

You're in the middle.

You are floating in this ocean of loving kindness.

There is nothing below you and nothing above you.

You're smiling into this vast ocean of kindness.

You're smiling into this vast ocean of kindness.

May all beings in the universe be happy.

May they have love in their heart and no hatred.

For this period of time there is no enmity,

No aversion,

Only love.

You have become love.

Just think into it.

You have become love.

Just think into it.

You have become love.

Just think into it.

You have become love.

Just think into it.

You have become love.

Just think into it.

Reviews

This is pure gold. Thank you 🙏🏾 😻🙏🏾

Calm soothing instruction and a period of silence at the end. I am new to TWIM. This was very helpful to my understanding of TWIM. May you be happy and content… :-)

One of my favorite meditations on insight timer. Just great.

That was wonderful! Certainly one of the nicest loving kindness meditations I have done. I love 💕the image of the girl's face smiling in front of the Buddha-smile. This is so beautiful, and I wondered whether she's part of the Sangha, or is it a stock picture?
That smile reminds me of the story of the Virgin Mary appearing to Bernadette at Lourdes, with her beautiful loving smile. Then Bernadette, whom, I understand, was usually very reticent, agreed to replicate that smile for one person, who asked her to, because "he was a poor sinner."
Smile was so beautiful that it comforted him throughout his life even when his wife died, and his daughter died; he became very holy. I can see why. Of course, Buddhism and Catholicism are different but there is a place where all religions & philosophies flow into one. any case, this was beautiful. Thank you. We will play it in my group , Magical Meditations ...

Awesome!

So gentle. Beautifully created. Thank you.

Lovely

Beautifully relaxing

A great recording. My go to

Great meditation. Thank you. Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu 🙏🙏🙏🤗🤗🤗