Heart Focused Metta Meditation (Foundation Practice)

This recording is the shorter version of the Heart Focused meditation which only has the foundation practice of loving-kindness to oneself.

Transcript

Firstly,

Bringing your attention to your sitting posture.

Simply aware that you are now sitting with an upright yet relaxed posture.

And first,

Simply feeling the physical feelings of the buttocks pressing against the surface underneath,

The mat or the cushion or the chair.

Grounding awareness in the present moment.

Now allow a broad awareness to embrace your whole body.

Simply knowing that you are sitting.

And now I suggest taking three slow and deep in and out breaths,

Releasing any tension you may be feeling with the out breath.

Breathing slowly and deeply in all the way into the abdomen.

And then breathing out,

Putting things down,

Relaxing.

Once again breathing in and breathing out,

Letting go.

One more deep in and out breath at your own pace.

Feeling a sense of being present,

A freshness into this new moment.

Now allow your breathing to become relaxed and natural.

Breathing ordinarily at your own pace.

We acknowledge that we are doing a session of meditation,

A loving kindness meditation.

And other than meditating now,

We don't need to do anything or go anywhere.

Not pursuing thoughts,

Allowing thoughts to simply drop away.

Breathing relaxed,

Natural breaths.

Before we move into the loving kindness component,

We will establish body-based mindfulness by doing a body sweeping as per usual,

Followed by some breath meditation.

We do this to prepare the mind.

Now with mindful awareness,

Feel the area around the top of the head.

Being aware of the various feelings on the surface area of the skin.

Now include the face.

And then the ears.

And the neck.

Relaxing any tension as you embrace these parts of the body with gentle,

Natural awareness.

Now include the upper shoulder area.

Simply aware,

Simply feeling.

Becoming more aware,

More alert,

More settled and at the same time relaxing.

Moving into mindful awareness.

And also bringing a quality of loving kindness to your awareness.

Or rather,

Allowing an inherent loving kindness to flow through and pervade awareness.

Aware of the shoulders,

Relaxing the shoulders.

Now gently include the area of the chest in this awareness.

Keep your awareness over this area slowly.

And then include the stomach area.

Moving natural awareness down over the stomach.

With no evaluations or judgements,

Just this simple body based awareness that knows things as they are.

Then bring this gentle knowing awareness to include all of your back.

Sweeping down from the top to the bottom.

Now gently expand awareness to include both of your arms.

Accepting the whole upper area of the body with gentle awareness.

Not judging,

Not discriminating.

Accepting the body as it is,

With an alert yet kind knowing.

Now include the lower abdomen.

And then the area of the groin.

And then the buttocks.

Feel the feelings of your bottom pressing against the harder surface underneath.

And now slowly include the legs.

And then the feet in this awareness.

Gently mindfully knowing the whole body simply sitting.

In order to begin establishing awareness upon the breath,

Move your awareness now to the more localized area of the nose.

And then gently bring your awareness to your in and out breathing.

Being mindful of each in and out breath.

Try to feel the entire in breath in three distinct places.

The tip of the nose,

The chest and the abdomen.

Know the feeling of the breath as it comes in in these three points.

Nose,

Chest,

Abdomen.

While mentally recollecting the syllable,

But.

And as the breath leaves the body,

Knowing at these same three points,

Abdomen,

Chest,

Nose.

Recollecting the syllable,

Do.

Put,

Do.

Put,

Do.

Knowing the in and out breath.

Put,

Do.

Put,

Do.

Knowing the entire in breath.

Each in breath.

And knowing the entire out breath.

Each out breath.

Recollecting the word,

Put,

Do.

Which means knowing.

Awakened knowing.

To assist us in being mindful of each in and out breath.

Put,

Do.

Put,

Do.

Put,

Do.

Loving kindness or metta can have several modes of expression.

There is the outwardly radiating type of loving kindness,

Which is warm and uplifting,

Dynamic or active.

And then there is the more inward flowing loving kindness,

Which manifests as a deep and genuine acceptance of the way things are.

The metta of acceptance is cool and comforting.

It is receptive.

As you are being aware of each breath now,

Try to bring a simple quality of loving acceptance to your awareness.

Aware of each in breath,

Put.

And aware of each out breath,

Do.

Stopping all sense of expectation and any kind of judgment or assessment.

Simply bringing a gentle interest to the experience of the breath.

And accepting it as it is,

With an attitude of kindness.

Put,

Do.

Loving kindness or metta.

Knowing each breath intimately,

Attentively,

Welcoming it.

And offering an attitude of natural and ordinary loving acceptance to each in and out breath.

Not forcing anything,

Simply relaxing into the safety of the kind and accepting attitude of metta.

And dropping for the time being any other attitude which might be present in the mind.

Feeling now the benevolent and refreshing attitude of kind acceptance in conjunction with the in and out breathing.

Actually,

Within the process of developing loving kindness,

It is very important to be become familiar and accustomed to the natural and kind attitude of acceptance.

For it is this attitude which is the necessary foundation of the more outward flowing forms of metta.

Often times there are other less benevolent attitudes and feelings affecting the mind.

This is of course quite normal.

We do however need to address this before we attempt to radiate metta outwardly.

Using key phrases which remind us of our intentions can be very helpful.

While still being mindful of each in and out breath and bringing an attitude of loving acceptance to this simple experience of breathing,

We will change our method of mental noting now.

In conjunction with the in breath,

You can mentally recite softly and gently,

May I be well.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

May I be well.

And in conjunction with the out breath,

You can mentally recite,

May I be happy.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

When we generate inwardly the attitude of loving acceptance,

It is similar to cleaning out the space of the mind and preparing it to incline towards generating even greater goodness and benevolence.

And so expanding our attitude of loving acceptance now,

While still being aware of each in and out breath,

Try to bring this attitude of kind,

Non judging acceptance to the felt experience of the entire body.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

Allowing an awareness imbued with loving acceptance to rest within the parameters of the physical body.

However your body is,

Relaxed or tense,

At ease or sore and aching,

Strong or weak,

Fat or thin,

Healthy or sickly,

Whatever you could say about your body for the time being,

You simply drop any sense of judgment or assessment.

And accept the perception and experience of the body exactly as it is now,

However that may be.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

Bringing an attitude of loving acceptance to this body and mind.

Try to see the experience of the body as being perfect just the way it is.

And offer this body an all embracing attitude of acceptance.

You can affirm your experience by mentally repeating,

I completely allow this body to be just the way it is now.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

I allow this body to be precisely the way it is,

With loving acceptance.

Try to establish or rather relax into this kind and embracing attitude,

While maintaining an awareness of your breath and also using your breath to generate and expand this quality of loving,

Kind,

Accepting attention.

Using it to flow through and embrace or to bathe and wash the entire body and mind.

May I be well,

May I be happy.

May I be well,

May I be happy.

May I be well,

May I be happy.

May I be well,

May I be happy.

And now bring to mind the perception of yourself as a spiritual practitioner,

Aspiring to liberation.

And without thinking about it too much,

Simply offer this attitude of loving acceptance to this perception of yourself as well.

After all,

At the very least,

You are a person who aspires to virtue and goodness.

Accept any sense of judging yourself in relation to extremely lofty goals.

And simply accept with true kindness your current level of goodness,

Understanding that this attitude will nourish your efforts.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

And now,

Hopefully having established a suitable inner mental environment,

We can move on to the next stage of radiating loving kindness towards oneself.

Try to maintain a clear awareness of each in and out breath as we continue along with our loving kindness meditation.

When we radiate loving kindness,

Essentially what we are doing is generating a focused quality of positivity or goodwill,

A pure type of love,

And then consciously directing this towards ourselves and others.

Once we understand what metta actually is,

Learning to radiate loving kindness towards oneself is fairly easy.

As with metta,

All we really have to do is to have,

Or to make,

A simple and kind wish,

And to hold this wish in the heart.

The same wishes which we have already been mentally recollecting as an aid to staying mindful of each in and out breath.

Breathing in,

Wishing,

May I be well.

And breathing out,

Wishing,

May I be happy.

Having set our intention clearly and having prepared the mind,

Now that we are moving into the more dynamic mode of generating metta,

We consciously try to intensify our wish of loving kindness,

Or rather,

We wish with even more sincerity.

Remember though that loving kindness is a subtle mental quality.

We needn't push or try too hard.

Bringing to mind this wish,

We generate,

Concentrate and direct our goodwill in the area at the very center of the heart.

We can do this quite easily in conjunction with the in and out breathing,

Generating genuine heartfelt goodwill in the area of the heart.

With each in-breath sincerely wishing,

May I be well.

And on the out-breath,

Allowing this goodwill and concentrated positive energy of metta to spread out and fill the area surrounding the heart,

Breathing out,

Wishing,

May I be happy.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

At this stage,

Many people will be experiencing a pleasant warm feeling in the area of the heart.

Not everyone will experience this in the beginning,

But many people will.

If you can feel this warm feeling of positive goodwill in the area of your heart,

As you continue to make the effort to radiate loving kindness towards yourself,

Try to maintain this pleasant warm feeling,

Refreshing or regenerating it on each in-breath and allowing it to suffuse the entire heart and chest area with each out-breath.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

May I be well.

If you cannot feel a pleasant warm feeling in the area of the heart yet,

Never mind.

Trust that your pure intentions and skillful efforts are definitely having a powerfully positive effect upon your mind.

Try to focus upon your intention that whether or not you can feel or notice any particular results,

You are still sincerely wishing yourself well.

You are acknowledging your potential,

Affirming it,

Blessing yourself.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

For some people,

The words well and happy might seem somewhat vacuous or empty.

As we are meditating,

You can consider for a few moments what we might actually mean by these simple words,

Well and happy.

What would it mean to you to be truly well?

And what would it mean to you to be truly happy?

For our purposes here,

Try to invest these words with particularly relevant or pertinent meanings.

Empower them.

As a dedicated spiritual practitioner,

Happiness might mean a growth in beautiful qualities such as peacefulness,

Contentment,

Energy,

Patience and forgiveness.

Or it might mean wishing that we may meet with excellent training situations and guiding influences in this and all subsequent lives until we are completely free.

Or it might simply mean maintaining well-being throughout all of the vicissitudes of life.

Wish for yourself whatever it is that would be a true blessing in your life.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

As you wish yourself well,

Remember to try and generate warmth,

Positivity and radiant goodwill in the area of your heart.

For some people it is more helpful to simply think in terms of love.

Pure love.

Giving the heart to oneself with pure love.

Radiating love through the body and mind without any wishes or hopes or expectations at all.

With pure goodwill and loving kindness.

Giving loving kindness to arise and expand or to imbue and embrace your body and mind in the area of the heart with each in and out breath.

Breathing in,

Generating warmth,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

Radiating goodwill,

May I be happy.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

If you can,

Try now to allow a feeling of warmth and metta to spread out from the heart and fill the entire chest or upper body area.

Or even to suffuse the entire body.

Only try to do this if it seems possible.

On the in breath,

Generating goodwill,

May I be well.

And on the out breath,

Radiating it outwards,

Suffusing the body with loving kindness.

And remember,

If you cannot yet feel a warm feeling in the heart,

Never mind.

Keep laying the foundation and sowing the causes.

For some people,

Metta may very well be present in the mind,

Even if one cannot feel it.

Trust that focused pure intentions are very,

Very powerful.

Likewise,

If you can only generate a little feeling of loving kindness,

This is fine too.

Remember to be kind and patient with the meditation as well.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

May I be well.

May I be happy.

As you practice loving kindness meditation more and more,

It will definitely become possible to generate and expand the heart of metta.

To embrace more and more of your experience and to embrace others with this beautiful quality of pure goodwill.

All good results come with practice,

Effort and time.

Breathing in,

May I be well.

Breathing out,

May I be happy.

May I maintain well-being in myself.

May I take care of myself and my life happily.

Before ending the metta meditation,

Take a moment to rejoice in your efforts today,

Understanding that what we have been doing here is extremely wholesome and potentially utterly transformative.

By way of closing,

You can dedicate the merit produced by this session of meditation towards one being in particular,

Or to several beings of any type,

Or to all beings everywhere,

As you prefer.

May I be well.

Reviews

Ajahn Achalo helped me change the way I live my life. His kind voice and teachings reverberate in my soul. This is one of my favorite guided meditations ever. Infinite gratitude.

Thank you so much! This remains my favourite guided metta meditation even though it was one of the first I found years ago. And strangely I saw you at the Bodhi tree when I made a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya. May all blessings be yours

this feels so good 🌹 good on the inside and good on the outside 🙏

This teaching keeps yielding more and new benefits for my practice. I’m very grateful for it!

I have sat in loving kindness meditation before. This was a profound and deeper experience and a better understanding of what the practice can be. Thank you for sharing this.

Thank you for this nourishing practice. It helps me tremendously in so many ways. With gratitude 🤍

Sadu Sadu Sadu 🙏🏾with metta for such lovely guidance.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu! Anumodami!

Thank you Venerable Sir for the great
gift of this sublime Dhamma practice & abundant goodwill. I rejoice in this warm-hearted well-spring of goodness. May all beings share in this goodness and May they & you always & forever be happy & well. 🌞🫶💛🌎🌍🌏

May you have a happy & healthy day.
😌🙏

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

Amazing meditation. Just what I needed tonight. Thank you 🙏

What a beautiful practice. Thank you for this Metta, teacher 🙏✨

So nurturing and peaceful. Just want I need, many thanks and blessings to you. 💜🙏🏽

This is a wonderful practice with deep and genuine effects 🌟🙏🌟

Thank you Ajahn for this wonderful heart opening practice. May you be well, may you be happy.

Perfect practice to ground the mind and stabilize the soul. I'm sure this practice will help me heal myself

Very helpful guide to developing metta meditation.

Thank you for this love and kindness meditation 🙏🏼🌹

I feel so good after doing this meditation. As you say it is transformative and I look forward to doing it regularly. I was very anxious before and has made me feel so relaxed and am really excited that I’ll be able to change my habitual modes of thought over time by doing this. Thank you :-)

Thank you for this beautiful practice. I have been doing it everyday for about 2 weeks and I am noticing a difference in the way I interact with others. I am more patient and understanding of others suffering.

One of the most insightful teachers I’ve had the pleasure of listening to 🙏🏼

While doing this meditation, time stopped and when I returned to the room it was already over. Never felt this way before. It was a feeling between sleeping and being awake. Felt so very well