Loving Kindness Practice To Cultivate Compassion
This loving-kindness (metta) practice was introduced to Genna by Buddhist monks themselves. It is intended to cutivate kindness and compassion toward all living beings. It helps decrease stress and increase empathy and emotional well-being.
Transcript
Hello beautiful souls,
My name is Jenna Rose Giannetti and I am a meditation and mindfulness co-pilot.
In today's meditation,
I want to show you a beautiful meditation known as loving kindness meditation also known as metameditation.
This meditation was first introduced to me by monks themselves.
The intention of loving kindness meditation cultivates kindness and compassion towards all living beings.
This is a type of meditation that has the effects of decreasing stress,
Increasing empathy,
And emotional well-being.
The love and kindness meditation practice uses an outward series of phrases that start with our own person and then gradually expands first to another person that you know and that you're fond of.
Then continues with a neutral person and then to someone you're having challenging acceptance with.
Take it the best of this meditation.
Make sure that you're in a place that you are not going to be disturbed,
A place that you can concentrate.
Make sure to shut off your phones.
Maybe put yourself in a room with the door closed when no one will walk in.
Asking you now to make yourself comfortable and find a place.
And at the end of this session,
Pay attention to how you feel.
Do you notice any changes?
Make sure to sit after this meditation to not immediately get up but be able to just observe your feelings,
Observe your thoughts,
And any changes that may arise.
Practice the love and kindness meditation every day for a few days and see what effect it has on your life.
And if you have any questions,
Make sure to let me know in the comments section below.
So when you are ready,
I ask you to sit down or lie down.
Becoming comfortable in your chair or cushion.
Sitting down relaxed.
Making sure that your shoulders are relaxed.
Allow your hands to rest comfortably in your lap.
Gently close your eyes.
Setting into awareness of the body and the breath.
Feeling into our bodies right now.
Notice what's here.
Open to whatever is to be experienced in the body in this moment.
Connecting to the breath.
Noticing the wave-like movements of the belly.
In this practice,
It will be called to learn you love and kindness we all have within us.
This natural capacity for loving kindness or friendship that is unconditional and open,
Gentle,
And supportive.
Loving kindness is a natural opening of a compassionate heart to ourselves and to others.
It's a wish that everyone be happy.
We begin with developing loving kindness towards ourselves.
Allowing our hearts to open with tenderness.
Now allow yourself to remember and open up to your basic goodness.
You might remember a time you have been kind or generous.
You might recall your natural desire to be happy and not to suffer.
If acknowledging your own goodness is difficult,
Look at yourself through the eyes of someone who loves you.
What does that person love about you?
Or you may recall the unconditional love you had when you were a child.
Or you may recall the unconditional love you felt from a beloved pet.
It may help to use that imagination and to picture yourself as a young child standing before you.
Perhaps four or five years of age.
If that allows tender feelings of kindness to flow more easily.
And as you experience this love,
Notice how you feel in your body.
Maybe you feel some warmth,
A heat in your face,
A smile,
A sense of expansiveness.
This is loving kindness.
A natural feeling that is assembled to all of us,
Always.
Resting with this feeling of open,
Unconditional love for a few minutes.
Feeling and resting.
Letting yourself bask in the energy of loving kindness.
Breathing it in and breathing it out.
Inviting feelings of peace and acceptance.
So beginning now to wish yourself well by extending words of loving kindness to yourself.
I'll be offering as guidance the phrases that I've chosen to use in my own practice.
You're invited to alter these phrases and choose whatever words express your wishes of loving kindness towards yourself and others.
And now,
Offering these words in your mind for yourself,
Saying them out loud.
Whatever makes you feel comfortable repeating or saying them within.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be held in loving kindness.
May I feel connected and calm.
May I accept myself just as I am.
May I be happy.
May I know the natural joy of being alive.
And now repeating in the mind these words of friendship and kindness to yourself once again.
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be held in loving kindness.
May I feel connected and calm.
May I accept myself just as I am.
May I be happy.
May I know the natural joy of being alive.
Now you can open the circle of loving kindness by bringing to the mind someone who is dear to you.
Someone who you care about and who has always been supportive.
Reflect on this person's basic goodness,
Sensing what is in particular that you love about him or her.
In your heart,
Feel your appreciation for this dear one and begin your simple offering.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be held in loving kindness.
May you feel my love now.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you be happy.
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now bringing to mind a neutral person.
This is someone you might see regularly but you don't know well.
It might be a neighbor or grocery store clerk or co-worker.
Bring this person to mind now and repeat the words of loving kindness.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be held in loving kindness.
May you feel my love now.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you be happy.
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now if it's possible for you,
Bring to mind someone who you had a difficult relationship with.
Perhaps it's someone you don't like to feel sympathy or compassion for.
Seeing if it's possible to let go of feelings of resentment,
Dislike for this person.
Remind yourself to see this person as a whole being deserving of love and kindness.
As someone who feels pain and anxiety.
As someone who also suffers.
Seeing if it's possible to extend to this person the words of loving kindness in your mind.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be held in loving kindness.
May you feel my love now.
May you accept yourself just as you are.
May you be happy.
May you know the natural joy of being alive.
Now allow your awareness to open out in all directions.
Yourself may deal with a natural,
Mutual person.
A different couple of us.
And I'm all beings.
Humans and animals.
Living every where.
Living in richness.
Poverty.
War.
Peace.
Hunger.
Abundance.
A way of all the joys and sorrows that all beings experience.
May all be filled with loving kindness.
May all be happy.
May all beings awaken and be free.
May all beings be happy.
And now bringing this practice to a close.
By coming back to extended kindness to yourself.
Sitting for a while and basking in the energy of loving kindness that may have been generated here.
Sitting here,
Feeling everything that you felt.
Resolving your thoughts,
Your feelings,
And your emotions that may have arose.
Allowing yourself the loving kindness you've experienced.
Allowing any sadness,
Anger,
Happiness to be present.
Allowing yourself to feel,
To be,
And acknowledge all that you are.
Allowing yourself loving kindness.
Loving kindness.
Loving kindness.
I wish you guys a beautiful,
Fantastic day or night.
Make sure to like,
Subscribe,
And share.
And leave in the comments any questions,
Feelings you have about this meditation.
I wish you all loving kindness.
Have a beautiful day guys.
