Hello.
This is a Metta or Loving Kindness Meditation by Maggie Stevens.
Today we're going to practice loving kindness.
Metta can be thought of as goodwill,
Friendliness,
Fellowship,
Connection.
It has been described as the quivering or opening of one's heart.
Traditionally this practice has an order offering kindness to ourselves,
To a benefactor,
To a friend,
A neutral person,
And then to a difficult person.
Eventually we offer our wish for happiness to all beings everywhere.
Now this might sound like a tall order.
What,
Just me and my ordinary life and the whole world?
It's okay.
None of us are responsible for world peace by ourselves.
Instead,
Within Metta meditation we're interested in the way of our hearts.
Sometimes they open and sometimes they close like a clam and that's perfectly natural.
So we'll go slowly together and if at any time along the way my words don't resonate with you or something becomes painful,
I'll offer alternatives and you can always pause and come back to the meditation at a different time.
You are always taking care of you.
So start by sitting comfortably.
If sitting isn't available to you,
You might lie down or stand.
You want to be in a comfortable position that's relaxed,
With your back straight but not tense or arched.
You could choose to lie down,
Stand,
Sit in a chair with your feet on the floor or on a cushion,
In a comfortable position where you can spend some time.
And you might just quickly scan through your body from the top of your head,
Down through your head,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Your chest and belly,
Your back,
Your whole torso,
And then down to your legs.
And if you feel any tension,
See if you can just allow your breath to allow it to calm.
And just take a moment to be home in your body,
Whatever it's experiencing.
Now see if you can bring your attention to the area around your heart and see if you can just breathe from that area.
The practice of metta often starts with ourselves,
But sometimes that's difficult.
So let's try starting with a benefactor.
We can think of a benefactor as someone with whom love is so uncomplicated that when we think of them,
We smile.
This could be a pet,
A beloved teacher,
A family member.
It could be a mythical or fictional character.
Think of a being that when the picture of them arises in your mind,
You smile.
And now try offering them these following phrases.
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
And if these words don't resonate with you,
Feel free to substitute your own.
They're the words of your heart.
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
And may you live with ease.
And see the love in that being's eyes as they look into your eyes.
And now they say to you,
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
And be aware of what it feels like to have this being offer these words of love and care to you.
You might want to put your hand on your heart as they say to you,
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
And may you live with ease.
And if you feel some feelings of discomfort,
Just see if you can hold them with love along with the words of your benefactor.
You can hold them in your heart,
This too.
You may think,
May I be kind to myself and accept myself just as I am.
May I be kind to myself.
May I accept myself just as I am.
Now try bringing to mind a good friend,
A person who you wish to be happy.
You might see them in your mind's eye and remember all the qualities about them that you love.
And offer the phrase to them.
If you like,
You can say their name before the phrases.
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
You might be curious as how your heart feels and your body feels as you say these words.
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
You might notice an expansion in your body or you might not notice any feeling at all.
Whatever it is,
It's fine just the way it is.
Now bring to mind a person that you may see on a regular basis but you don't know well.
Perhaps it's a delivery person or a postal worker.
It might be the person at the grocery store or someone you see when you're out walking.
You don't know their story but you do know that just like you,
They have their own joys and their own struggles.
You know that that person also wants to be happy.
Try offering the phrases to that person that you see in your mind's eye.
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
You can imagine that your good wishes for them lifts their spirits.
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
And may you live with ease.
When we consider that the neutral people are much more like us than we imagined,
They also have joys.
They also have sorrows.
It's easier to open our hearts.
Now try imagining a difficult person.
For this practice,
We're not picking someone who's difficult or from whom we have a great amount of conflict.
For this practice,
We're staying in the kitty end of the pool,
Someone who might bring up a minor annoyance.
Or for whom in the last week you felt a little anger.
Imagine seeing this person.
Can you imagine them as a small child or perhaps sleeping and vulnerable?
When we think of them,
We can remember no being wants to suffer.
And sometimes those who need the most love ask for it in the most unloving ways.
See if you can offer the phrases to them.
May you be safe.
May you and your heart be peaceful.
May you be healthy.
And may you live with ease.
Be curious as to how that feels.
And if you find that it's too difficult to offer this person loving kindness right now,
You might think it's my intention to offer you loving kindness in the future.
But at this moment,
I can offer loving kindness to myself since I am struggling.
May I be safe.
May I be peaceful.
May I be healthy.
And may I live with ease.
Sometimes offering metta to a difficult person is just a bridge too far for us.
And since the practice is to open our heart,
We can offer metta to those with whom it's easy and know that just like working a muscle,
We can intend one day to include difficult people.
Try imagining seeing the whole earth as if you're seeing it from space.
A blue-green planet floating in the darkness of space and on it are all creatures,
All animals of the air and land and water,
All humans on every continent,
People of different countries,
Different ethnicities,
Different languages.
There are children and elders and some are struggling and some have ease.
See the whole planet.
May we all be safe.
May we all be peaceful.
May we all be healthy.
May we all live with ease.
May we all be peaceful.
May we all be safe.
May we all be healthy.
And may each and every one of us live with ease.
And now,
Bring your attention to your heart.
Notice what feelings might be there.
Is it open?
Or perhaps it opens and closes like a clamshell.
Opening and taking in and closing and nurturing.
Meta and loving kindness is a practice.
And the more we practice,
The more we are able to open our heart.
As the Insight teacher,
Sharon Salzberg,
Says,
The heart is a generous muscle.
And loving kindness is the way we exercise our loving and generous hearts.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes and return to your space.
