Mettā - Offering Kind Intentions To Others And Ourselves

This is a guided mettā meditation where we direct kindness and friendliness to six different recipients. We send kindness to ourselves last. To practice mettā, we can use a number of simple phrases repeated silently, as well as visualisation and awareness of body sensations/emotions. Mettā is a transformative practice that has the potential to help us move through difficulty and cultivate positive intentions for ourselves and those around us.

Transcript

So settle into your posture.

Noticing that feeling of poise,

Feeling of steadiness that comes from taking our meditation posture.

A sense of openness.

And as the body settles,

Relaxes,

So too does the mind calm and settle.

Let the spine be nice and long here and the whole body relaxed at ease.

And to just set an intention for this practice,

Bring to mind this idea of kindness and self-compassion.

We do the meditation practice as a way to explore and gain understanding,

But we also do it as a form of care,

As a way to cultivate positive qualities.

And one of these qualities is kindness,

Particularly towards ourselves.

And here acknowledge that this kindness is not selfish,

But instead being able to help ourselves,

Care for ourselves,

Allows us to be more available for others.

The benefits of the practice ripple outwards.

So let's begin the practice of metta.

Begin by bringing to mind somebody who it is easy to wish good things for.

Someone a person that is easiest to feel a sense of kindness towards.

It could be a relative,

Close friend,

Partner.

It could also be a pet,

Whoever it is easy to wish well.

Once you've picked who you're going to bring to mind,

Take a moment to visualize them.

If you like,

You can picture them in detail,

Perhaps even there with you in the space that you're in,

Or doing a particular action.

Or you can also just think of them briefly,

Or have a sense of what it's like to be around them.

Whatever works for you,

Whether attempting to visualize in detail,

Or just having a gentle,

Vague sense of their presence.

Once you have this person or pet in your mind,

Repeat the following phrases silently,

Gently,

And with kindness.

May you be loved.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

Continue repeating the phrases at a steady pace,

Not too fast,

Not too slow.

You might also like to say the phrases synchronized with the cycles of the breath,

Or you might like to give more or less space between them.

Continue repeating the phrases.

May you be loved.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

Notice if any feelings come up for you.

This might be something subtle,

Or it might be strong,

Like a warm feeling in the chest area.

You might also feel something very different from a sense of kindness.

Whatever you feel is totally fine.

Just see if you can observe what is happening and continue to say the phrases.

This plants seeds in the mind that will eventually,

With practice,

Grow into feelings of well-being.

May you be loved.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

If you'd like to,

You're welcome to change the phrases.

Use phrases that you know work for you.

Just make sure that whatever phrases you use,

They refer to qualities that all beings would like to have.

They're general qualities.

The next person to bring to mind is the benefactor.

Someone who has helped you or supported you.

Someone it is relatively easy to think positive thoughts about.

This could be a friend,

A family member,

A teacher,

A colleague,

Anyone that has helped you.

Take a moment to bring them to mind in whatever way works for you.

Then repeat the phrases for this person.

May you be loved.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

If you'd like to,

You're welcome to change the phrases.

As you do this,

Notice the words that you're using.

Notice that there are three somewhat separate things going on in your awareness.

The visualization of the person,

The phrases that you're silently repeating,

And any feelings that arise in the body or felt in the body,

Heart or mind.

Just notice that those three things are going on.

You can allow your attention to move between those as is most helpful to you.

You may like to bring more emphasis to the phrases or perhaps bringing more attention to the feeling.

Especially if there are nice feelings or a pleasantness felt in the body.

Now bring to mind someone who you don't know very well.

A somewhat neutral person.

This could be an acquaintance or someone who you've seen recently on the street or at a local shop or cafe.

Repeat the phrases for them.

May you be loved.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

A feeling of kindness or friendliness or love.

See if you can allow that feeling to be present and strong but not too strong.

You might like to open up the space of awareness and allow that feeling of metta to sit within a larger space,

To be spread throughout a larger space.

Just noticing how you can make subtle adjustments in the practice to modulate the feelings that are cultivated,

That are generated through the practice.

Now bring someone to mind that is somewhat more difficult to feel this sense of connection or kindness towards.

Don't start with the most difficult person you can think of but instead pick someone who is just a little tricky or that you don't always agree with.

It could be your boss or maybe someone who you think is a little stubborn.

It could also be someone who you are close to but you've had a little disagreement with.

If you find that bringing them to mind is somewhat difficult,

It might help to picture them in a full meditation posture,

Sitting there with you in the space.

Say the phrases for them.

May you be loved.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

Remember that in this meditation we aren't trying to change anything,

Change anybody or even to send out positive feelings towards these people.

Instead we are trying to cultivate these qualities of kindness and friendliness in ourselves and to mindfully observe whatever comes up.

When doing this silently meditation we have the opportunity to observe how the body and mind reacts to this practice,

This process.

Continue saying the phrases for the person who is a little more difficult.

May you be loved.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

Remember that in this meditation we are trying to cultivate these qualities of kindness and friendliness in ourselves and to mindfully observe whatever comes up.

Continue saying the phrases for the person who is a little more difficult.

May you be loved.

May you be peaceful.

Remember that in this meditation we are trying to cultivate these qualities of kindness and friendliness in ourselves and to mindfully observe whatever comes up.

Continue saying the phrases for the person who is a little more difficult.

May you be loved.

May you be happy.

Remember that in this meditation we are trying to cultivate these qualities of kindness and friendliness in ourselves and to mindfully observe whatever comes up.

Now,

See if you can extend this wish for well-being to all living beings.

You might like to do this gradually.

First,

You can picture the people that are near to you in your house or your building,

Then on your street,

Then in your suburb,

City,

Country,

Gradually extending this sense of all beings until it includes the whole planet.

When you're ready,

You can say the phrases,

May all beings be loved.

May all beings be peaceful.

May all beings be happy.

May all beings be loving.

May all beings be happy.

May all beings be loving.

May all beings be peaceful.

May all beings be loving.

May all beings be happy.

And finally,

Finally,

Bring to mind yourself.

It can help to try and look at yourself from an external point of view.

One way of doing this would be to picture yourself sitting in front of you as if you're looking into a mirror.

Or you might like to visualize yourself interacting with others or doing an activity that you really enjoy.

For many of us,

It can be more difficult to wish feelings of kindness and well-being towards ourselves than it is to wish the same feelings towards others.

Try to bring back to mind this idea of self-compassion,

That all beings experience suffering.

All beings make mistakes.

No one is perfect.

It's okay to be suffering.

It's okay to make mistakes.

See if you can bring a sense of acceptance and kindness towards yourself in this way.

Knowing that just as you have wished happiness and safety for others,

You too deserve happiness and safety.

Repeat the phrases for yourself.

May I be loved.

May I be peaceful.

May I be happy.

May I be loved.

May I be peaceful.

May I be happy.

May I be loved.

May I be peaceful.

May I be happy.

May I be loved.

May I be peaceful.

May I be happy.

May I be loved.

May I be peaceful.

May I be happy.

For the last few minutes of this practice,

You might like to drop the phrases and the visualization and just rest in this feeling of metta,

This feeling of kindness.

Noticing any changes to your quality of mind,

Your mind state,

Any changes in the feeling in the body.

As you allow yourself to rest in this quality of kindness.

You you you you you you you you you

Reviews

Helped me cultivate a genuine feeling of metta. Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu

That was amazing ☯️