Loving-Kindness | Three Seats

A loving-kindness (metta​) meditation that invites 3 individuals to come and sit with us, to whom we will wish health, happiness a​nd ease of life, before offering the same to ourselves.

Transcript

So settling into a comfortable position could be in a chair,

Cushion on the floor,

Lying down or even standing up.

Setting a position that allows you to be attentive and engaged.

And then feeling into this moment,

The here,

The now.

Recognize where you are and be here.

Now I'm just checking in with the body,

Noticing our feet,

Our legs,

Or they're making contact with the floor beneath us.

Where our body may be making contact with either the chair or the cushion.

Where are your hands?

Where are they making contact with the body?

And then overall,

How's the body feeling right now?

You could even narrow it down to one word,

Just checking in with the state that we're in at this moment.

And then just look for any areas of clear tension,

Places in our body that we could just let go a little bit,

Maybe in our shoulders,

Any clenching in our hands or in our feet,

Our jaw,

Our face,

Our forehead.

Just non-forcefully,

Just release.

Letting yourself sink into this position just a little deeper.

Now dropping in to check in with the breath.

Feeling the details of the breath from the inhale through the exhale.

Where is the breath entering the body?

Where do we feel the breath in our torso?

And where do we see the breath leaving the body?

Just observing the breath for a few moments.

And I'd like you to envision that in this room,

You're sitting in a small circle.

In addition to yours,

There are three empty seats.

One to your left,

One in front,

And one to your right.

Right here in this room,

Not drifting away to another place,

But here with you.

And to the first seat to the left,

I'd like you to bring to mind and invite an individual that you care deeply about.

It could be this deep caring or love,

Or if there's someone that the words unconditional love pertain to.

And if we're fortunate enough to have a number of people that fit this,

Don't get caught up in selecting the perfect person for this meditation.

Don't get caught up in the guilt of choosing one over the other,

But just the first that comes to mind.

See this individual taking the seat next to you.

See the smile on your face as you look them in the eyes as they're sitting.

And you see the smile of reciprocity that's returned.

And notice if there's a change in your energy and the way that you feel when this person is next to you.

When this person like you has goals and dreams,

They also have struggles and difficulties,

Obligations.

They find moments of joy and happiness.

And this individual like us,

Like all,

When it's really boiled down,

Just wants to be happy.

Looking them in the eye,

Repeating these words softly to them.

You may want to move your mouth and your lips as you say the words,

But keeping it silent.

And feeling it from inside and meaning it when you say it.

May you be healthy.

May you be happy.

May you move through this life with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you move through this life with ease.

And for all of us,

To move through life with ease does not discount the inevitable difficulties and hardships and loss and struggle that are all part of this human condition.

But ease may mean being able to do so without adding additional struggle and pain and stress.

To move forward with the strength to recognize what is and is not in our control.

Being able to let go when we need to let go.

To find ease by taking what life gives us.

And now for the middle seat.

Enter and invite in someone who is relatively neutral in your life.

Maybe described as an acquaintance.

You may or may not even know their name.

It could be a cashier from the grocery store,

A co-worker that you don't know too well.

Maybe somebody you see in traffic on your commute every day.

See them come and take this middle seat.

Recognizing they,

Like yourself and the individual in your first seat,

They too have dreams and aspirations and goals.

But also struggle and loss,

Challenges and difficulties.

An adversity that we know nothing about.

Through all of this.

They just want to be happy.

So see now if we can wish them the same three things that we wished to the individual in the first seat.

And mean it in the same way.

Understanding how connected we all are.

By saying it and feeling it and meaning it.

Look them in their eyes.

May you be healthy.

May you be happy.

May you move through this life with ease.

May you be healthy.

May you be happy.

May you move through this life with ease.

And how does it feel to wish well to somebody that you don't know that well?

How do you think it would feel if someone did the same to you?

If someone were to wish you health and happiness and ease and you could hear it in their voice that they meant it.

And now for our third seat.

The remaining empty seat to our right.

I want you to envision and invite in someone with whom you've had difficulty.

And in this broad spectrum of difficulty,

You may not want to reach into the darkest corner of the cave to find somebody.

But someone you've maybe had conflict with.

You have a very difficult time agreeing with.

Maybe even someone who's brought some level of harm to yourself or someone you care about.

And watch them sit in this seat,

Joining the circle.

And feel if there's a change in the way that things feel now.

Notice if there's anything in your body.

And know now,

Despite your personal reason for conflict or disdain,

This individual,

Just like the rest in the circle,

Just like yourself,

They too just want to be happy.

Though their actions may seem counterproductive to this from your perspective and based on the information that you have.

They too just want to be happy.

They too have dreams,

Goals,

Aspirations,

Places they want to see,

Things that make them happy.

And with that comes the inevitable struggle and difficulty and suffering that we all share.

So much of which with this individual and all we know nothing about.

We don't know what they've gone through.

What they're going through.

And how much do we gain by carrying these negative feelings about this individual?

How really does that serve us?

How much could we gain and open up by letting that go?

And now just recognizing the human that's in front of us,

Not the action,

Not our perception,

But the actual human that's in front of us.

And we find it in ourselves to look them in the eye and mean it when we say it.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you move through this life with ease.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you too move through this life with ease.

And notice if there's any change.

Any change at all in the way that you feel.

We sit here with three individuals,

All of which we have very different relationships,

But all of which are part of this human experience.

All drawing upon the same human condition,

This wanting to be happy.

And the inevitable challenges that come with living.

And how much of them would we find in ourselves if we had followed their same path,

Most of which is just chance?

Where were we born and to whom?

What made our life altering experiences or presented to them along their life?

And what if they had been presented to us?

How easy we could begin to move seats.

So sit and listen to these words.

I found hate in the dark center of the forest and journeyed to the fringe in search of love,

Finding only the pale obscurity of indifference.

For the radiance of love too occupies the center where I once stood.

The two perpetually entwined in a paradoxical masquerade where perspective appoints the lead and my heart paints the scene.

It's perspective.

It's an open heart.

They can change our relationship to the entire world.

But they both have to be open.

We have to close the circle.

We need to bring our attention now to the seat that we're in.

We all need to bring it to ourselves.

The question is,

Can we look at ourselves and treat ourselves the way we would treat and view the individual in the first cushion,

The first person to our left?

Could we treat ourselves the way we would treat someone we were responsible for?

A child,

A parent,

A pet.

These people that we would drop everything.

We would drop everything to aid them if they needed us.

Are we even willing to do that for ourselves?

Care for ourselves when we're feeling ill?

Forgive mistakes?

Can you tell yourself,

Don't worry about it.

It's going to be all right.

It's not a big deal.

Can we give and take advice to ourselves?

Can we give ourselves advice and take it?

Can we wish the best for ourselves?

Knowing that there's nothing wrong with doing so.

Now can we say the words to ourselves and mean it,

Not feel guilty or self-serving?

May I be happy?

May I be healthy?

May I move through this life with ease?

May I be healthy?

May I be happy?

May I move through this life with ease?

May I treat myself the way I would treat someone I was caring for?

May I do for myself the things I would do for the person in that first seat?

The ones that matter the most to us,

The ones we care for.

How possible is it for us to serve them if we can't serve ourselves?

How much happier will they be if we're happy as well?

Now taking this connection.

This shared human bond between everyone in this circle.

Let's begin to expand our awareness to include others.

Maybe there's others in the building that you're in right now.

Expand just enough to include a few other people.

And to them,

May you be healthy.

May you be happy.

May you move through this life with ease.

And now expanding a bit further.

Expanding to the town,

Village,

Or city that you're in.

And to include all beings.

Not just humans,

But our pets and the animals.

Everything in ground,

Above ground,

In the water,

And in the sky.

May you be healthy.

May you be happy.

And may you move through this life with ease.

Now expanding as far as possible.

Just as far as you are comfortable.

And bringing in all beings.

All beings in this big open awareness.

May you be healthy.

May you be happy.

May you move through this life with ease.

May you be healthy.

May you be happy.

May you move through this life with ease.

May you be happy.

To all beings.

All of us.

We're all in this together and more connected than we could possibly know.

And our time is not long.

How much different could everything be?

When we bring this understanding and this compassion to ourselves,

To those around us,

To our community and beyond.

And moving forward,

Move through this day with these words in your head.

Just see how it feels to wish these words to yourself.

And quietly wishing them to others when you see them.

Not out loud,

But just repeating the words in your head as you cross paths.

So now bringing that awareness and attention back to the body.

Returning and feeling into the breath.

Not forcefully,

Not manipulated,

But breathing with ease.

Draw the inhale,

Just let the exhale fall.

As you're ready,

Go ahead and bring a little movement back to your body.

Let me just start by moving your fingers,

Your toes,

Your ankles.

If your eyes are closed,

You can start with a soft,

Unfocused gaze,

Picking a point in front of you.

And as you're ready,

Opening back up to the room and to our day.

Thank you.

You

Reviews

This is a wonderful meditation! Thank you. 🌅

wonderful. I loved the description of the forest will be doing this again

Thank you for your natural soft voice and clear guidance. Such great words may you be happy May you be healthy and may you move through this life with ease

This took me on such a terrifying and beautiful journey. Amazing.. Just, amazing.

This was great for me. I liked the slow, relaxed pace. The length was perfect. I felt like I had time to sink in to it and enjoy. Thank you. It was a nice way to start the morning. ✨

Thanks, it was perfect!

Really nice Metta meditation. Soft and slow. Namaste

Really great it helps you to consider kindness not only to yourself but to others who may have wronged you

Wonderful, thank you!

Was nervous about the length of this meditation but found his voice calming and the voice very good for me. Powerful at time. Ty

Thank you so much for this beautiful mediation. I love it, such nourishment for the soul. 🙏🏾💝

Really lovely peaceful meditation. Thank you