Mettabhavana Meditation Practice This meditation helps to cultivate a sense of friendliness and loving-kindness to ourselves and to other people.
Metta means loving-kindness,
Bhavana means developing.
So Mettabhavana simply means developing loving-kindness.
It helps to develop compassion and open our hearts to the suffering of all sentient beings.
The practice has five stages.
In each stage,
You will visualize giving Metta.
Firstly,
To yourself.
Then in the second stage,
A friend.
In the third stage,
A neutral person.
In the fourth stage,
Someone you are having some mild difficulties with.
And in the fifth and final stage,
To all of those people.
Then opening out your awareness and your Metta to encompass many more people.
This giving of Metta can be done by visualizing the person and sending the Metta as energy from your heart space to theirs.
Or simply bringing the person to mind and wishing them well.
Don't worry,
You don't have to remember all that.
I will give a short introduction to each stage and then I will be silent so that you can practice peacefully.
You will hear a bell to signal the end of that stage and the transition to the next.
When you discover that your thoughts have wandered during the practice,
Please do not worry.
That's completely normal.
Simply realize it has happened.
Remember that you are practicing Metta Bhavna and without any judgment or analysis,
Bring your awareness back to your practice.
Do this as many times as necessary.
It is just part of getting better at meditation and concentration.
It's all part of the journey and it doesn't mean that you're not being successful.
You are here practicing,
You showed up today.
And that's what's going to ultimately bring you success in meditation.
Showing up every day for yourself and practicing.
So making yourself as comfortable as you can at this time.
Whether you are sitting on a chair or meditation cushion or lying down.
Ensure your spine is straight and your shoulders are relaxed.
Bring your awareness onto your breath.
There's no need to alter the breath in any way.
Just watch it as it enters and exits your body.
So begin the first stage of the practice.
Visualize yourself or simply hold the idea of yourself in your mind.
Notice all of the emotions and sensations that you are feeling about yourself.
There's no wrong way to feel here.
Don't make any judgments or try to censor or analyze anything.
Just allow it to be there.
It is part of your experience,
Part of you.
Now,
Either imagine cultivating an energy of metta,
Loving kindness in your heart space.
And allowing it to infuse throughout your being.
Or if visualization is not your thing.
Simply say the following words to yourself as sincerely and meaningfully as you are able at this moment.
May I be well.
May I be happy.
May I be at peace.
May I be well.
May I be well.
May I be well.
May I be well.
Thank yourself for giving and receiving metta.
Then bring to mind a good friend.
Someone for whom it is easy to cultivate friendliness.
Again,
Either visualize them in front of you or just bring them to mind.
And notice your actual feelings towards them without judgment or analysis.
Now,
Like the previous stage,
Either visualize sending the metta from your heart space to theirs.
Or simply wish them well with the phrases.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May I be well.
May I be well.
May I be well.
May I be well.
May I be well.
For the third stage of the practice,
Thank your friend for receiving your metta.
And bring to mind a neutral person.
Someone with whom you have no emotional attachment one way or the other.
This could be the person who served you at the supermarket recently,
The postman,
Or an acquaintance you know just to say hello to in passing.
Again,
Either visualize them in front of you or just bring them into your mind.
And then noticing your feelings without any judgment.
Now,
Like the previous stages,
Either visualize sending the metta from your heart space to theirs or just wishing them well with those phrases.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be at peace.
May I be well.
You you you you you for the fourth stage Thank the neutral person for receiving your meta And bring to mind someone with whom you have had some recent difficulties make sure that the difficulties haven't been too intense so don't choose your worst enemy here just somebody with whom you have had some mild difficulties this could be someone who you simply don't get on with that well someone with whom you've had a recent disagreement or difference of opinion or perhaps it is someone who you feel doesn't like you very much again,
Either visualise them in front of you or bringing them into your mind and then just notice in your feelings about them without any censorship,
Judgement or analysis visualising,
Sending them your meta from your heart to theirs or wishing them well with those phrases may you be well,
May you be happy,
May you be at peace you you you you you you for the fifth and final stage of the metta bhavana practice bring all four people to your mind yourself your friend the neutral person and the difficult person visualising them all in front of you or bringing them all to your mind and now visualising,
Sending the meta from your heart space to all of theirs or wishing them all well with those phrases may you be well,
May you be happy,
May you be at peace you you thank them all one last time for receiving your meta now open out your awareness and meta to the people in your direct vicinity perhaps encompassing the people in the building that you are practising in then expanding out further to include the street and then filling the neighbourhood expanding outwards to encompass the town or city now filling the whole country next expanding your meta to encompass the whole continent and finally allow your awareness and meta to flow over the entire globe sending meta to every sentient being that calls our planet home you can also repeat those phrases if you find them useful may you all be well,
May you all be happy,
May you all be at peace you you you you letting go of all effort you have been making now and sink into stillness feeling the effects of your meta practice hopefully you are feeling warm and positive emotions just bathe in the glow of your practice for another minute before we close with a blessing you bringing your palms together at your heart centre bringing your chin to your chest to bow to your heart centre bringing your hands to your forehead may you have purity of thought to your lips may you have purity of speech and back to your heart centre may you have purity in your heart and loving kindness for all beings Om Shanti Shanti Shanti may three fold peace be with you Namaste
