Welcome,
And thank you for taking the time to engage with this Metta practice.
Metta is often defined as loving kindness,
Although my favorite definition is simply friendliness.
So in this practice,
We will be cultivating unconditional friendliness towards ourselves and others.
So let's get started.
Please allow your eyes to either close or lower to a relaxed state,
Whatever is most comfortable for you and allows your attention to turn within.
Nestle your way into a posture that allows for relaxed alertness.
The traditional meditation postures include seated,
Standing,
Walking,
Or lying down.
So please feel free to do any of those,
To choose one that's best for your body and mind in this moment.
We'll start by choosing an anchor.
So an anchor is something to call on to usher us back into the present moment,
The only moment where life happens,
When our mind wanders.
So whether it is your breath,
That will be your gentle reminder to come back into this moment or the field of sound,
Or perhaps the rise and fall of your chest and belly,
Or the sensations of aliveness in your hands or feet.
Just choose one of those that will be a reminder to you to come back to the present moment and something that you can easily and sweetly focus on when your mind wanders.
So noticing your breath,
Nothing to change or fix,
Just noticing the quality of your breathing,
Your inhale and exhale,
And the space in between each breath.
Notice the space in between sounds in your environment.
Bring to mind the gentle hug of gravity,
Which signals your belonging to this earth.
And then allow your attention to scan through your body,
Releasing any tension that you may be holding that isn't serving you right now.
So just take a leisurely tour with your attention,
Noticing any habitual patterns of holding and letting go,
Also noticing any areas of particular ease or comfort,
Noticing where your body makes contact with the chair or the floor,
Feeling supported,
And also noticing where you're not making contact with anything other than the air.
And you can continue this practice of letting go tension that you don't need throughout this meditation,
Letting go,
Letting go.
Now I'll be offering some phrases,
Some meta phrases.
You can please feel free to use whatever phrases are most useful for you if you're already familiar with the meta practice.
And you can also linger anywhere that you find yourself experiencing a somatic sense of friendliness,
Allowing it to grow strong within you and then radiate,
Radiating that sense of friendliness outward,
Like rays of sunshine.
And if you find yourself not feeling so sunshiny,
Whether you are irritated or restless or bored by this practice,
That is also perfectly normal.
Just notice whatever feelings or thoughts arise,
Notice them with acceptance,
Recognizing that you have noticed,
And then coming back to your anchor.
So you can begin by reflecting on someone that you love a lot.
You can picture them,
Perhaps imagine them in the same space with you now.
It could be a person or a pet,
But someone that is very dear to you.
Just notice what feelings arise in your body when you sense their presence,
Sensing their goodness and what a gift it is that they're in your life.
And with this sense of connection and gratitude,
Offer this person the following phrases.
May you be filled with loving kindness,
Filled with an unconditional friendliness towards yourself and others.
May you be safe and protected,
Free from inner and outer danger and harm.
May you be well,
Healthy and strong in body and mind.
May you experience a deep well-being,
Needs met,
A sense of safety,
Satisfaction and belonging.
And notice how this feels in your body to offer these intentions for this person that you care about so deeply,
Picturing them thriving,
Healthy,
All of their needs met.
And savor that feeling and then turn your attention towards yourself,
Picturing yourself either as you are today or perhaps as a young child.
Whatever gives you the greatest sense of really deeply wanting to care for this being that is you.
And offer yourself the same phrases.
And noticing what comes up in your body as you imagine yourself just receiving.
Breathing in,
May you be filled with loving kindness.
Breathing out,
Filled with an unconditional friendliness towards yourself and others.
Breathing in,
May you be safe and protected.
Breathing out,
Free from inner and outer danger and harm.
Breathing in,
May you be well,
Healthy and strong.
And breathing out,
Healthy and strong in body and mind.
May you experience a deep well-being,
With your needs met,
And a sense of safety,
Satisfaction and belonging.
And in your mind's eye,
Perhaps imagine what this looks like for you.
What is the image of yourself with all of your needs met,
Filled with unconditional friendliness towards yourself and others.
Then turn your attention to someone neutral in your life,
Someone you don't feel particularly close to,
Nor particularly aversive towards.
Just someone that you might encounter in your daily life.
Perhaps a male person delivering you the mail,
Or someone you pass by on the street,
Or someone at the post office,
Or grocery store.
And to this person,
Offer,
May you be filled with loving kindness,
Filled with an unconditional friendliness towards yourself and towards others.
May you be safe and protected,
Free from inner and outer danger and harm.
May you be well,
Healthy and strong in body and mind.
May you experience a deep sense of well-being,
All of your needs met,
And a sense of safety,
Satisfaction and belonging.
And then turn your attention towards someone that you don't tend to allow in the inner sanctum of your heart.
Perhaps someone you actively dislike,
Or someone that you feel somehow wronged by.
And picture them.
If it makes it easier to offer these words of kindness,
Perhaps picture them too as a young child,
When they were five,
Six,
Seven years old.
And what they might have been through that led them to the behavior that you are not so fond of.
Notice any feelings in your body that come up as you begin to offer loving kindness towards this person,
Making space for all of it.
Part of unconditional friendliness is that everything belongs,
Even the challenging feelings that we think we're not supposed to have.
So to this person,
Offer,
May you be filled with loving kindness,
Filled with an unconditional friendliness towards yourself and towards others.
May you be safe and protected,
Free from inner and outer danger and harm.
May you be well,
Healthy and strong in body and mind.
May you experience a deep well-being,
All of your needs met,
And a sense of safety,
Satisfaction,
And belonging.
And notice if anything has shifted in you since you first encountered this person in the practice.
And now,
Now that you've offered them this gentle metta offering.
Now holding yourself and these others in your heart,
Sense your shared humanity,
Your vulnerability,
And your basic goodness.
Send love and kindness to all at once,
Recognizing that we're in this together.
Finally,
Allow your awareness to open out in all directions,
In front of you,
To either side,
Behind you,
Below you,
And above you.
And in this vast space,
Sense that your loving presence,
Your unconditional friendliness is holding all beings,
The wild creatures that fly and swim and run across fields,
The dogs and cats that live in our homes,
The life forms that are threatened with extinction,
The trees,
The grasses and flowers,
Children and elders everywhere,
Humans living in great poverty and those with great riches,
Those at war and those at peace,
Those who are dying and those who are newly born.
Imagine that you can hold the whole earth,
Our mother,
In your lap and include all life everywhere in your boundless heart.
Aware of the goodness inherent in all living beings.
Again,
Offer your metta.
May all beings be filled with loving kindness,
With friendliness and care.
May all beings be safe and protected.
May all beings be well,
Healthy and strong.
May the needs of all beings be met.
May all beings know great and natural peace.
May there be peace on earth,
Peace everywhere.
May all beings awaken.
May all be free.
