TMI Metta (Loving-Kindness) Meditation - Long

In this loving-kindness practice, you’ll be generating a feeling of loving-kindness for yourself and others. Over time it will help you to enter a state of calm, peace, safety, and well-being more easily.

This meditation is based on the book The Mind Illuminated.

Transcript

So,

Beginning this metta practice,

Just settling the mind,

Finding a comfortable position for the body,

Noticing any areas of tension or tightness in the body and seeing if you can allow those to relax.

If you find it helpful to settle the mind,

You could focus on the breath for a few moments and when the mind is settled,

Allowing everything else to fall into awareness and making the wish,

May I be free from suffering,

May I be free from suffering,

And calling to mind in as much detail as clearly as you can what it feels like to be totally free from suffering,

Physical and mental,

Feeling perfectly at ease,

Perfectly content,

Repeating the phrase as often or as infrequently as feels helpful,

And noting all the ways that you are free from suffering right now and savouring that,

Becoming aware of any sense of ease or peace in the body and the mind,

You could also recollect a memory of when you felt totally at peace,

Doing anything that helps you to get in touch with that feeling of being free from suffering,

And now making the wish,

May I be free from ill will,

Free from ill will,

And calling to mind in the same way what it feels like to be completely free from anger,

Hostility or resentment,

Bearing no grudges,

Being at peace with everything and everyone,

And just holding that wish for yourself to feel this way,

And then without losing these feelings of comfort and peace,

Making the wish,

May I be filled with loving kindness,

And calling to mind what it feels like for you to be filled with the warmth,

Tenderness,

Fulfilling feelings of love and kindness,

You might think of somebody you love or a time when you felt a deep feeling of loving kindness and selfless well-wishing,

Really allowing yourself to get into that feeling,

To enjoy it,

To let it fill you,

To let it touch your heart,

May I be filled with loving kindness,

And as much as it's available right now,

Noticing and appreciating the effect that loving kindness has on the mind,

On the body,

And with this feeling of ease and peace and love,

Now making the wish,

May I be truly happy,

Whatever that means for you,

And calling to mind what it's like to be totally happy,

Content,

Wanting for nothing,

Experiencing the bliss of just being,

And appreciating this feeling in your body,

Allowing it to spread throughout the whole body,

So whatever feels good in your experience right now,

Sit for a while just basking in that feeling,

The peace,

Love and contentment,

Allowing it to fill you and nourish you,

And just as you wish to be free from suffering,

Free from ill will,

Full of loving kindness and happy,

So do all beings wish for these things.

So now,

Beginning to direct metta outwards towards others,

And to begin with,

Calling to mind somebody who you care deeply for,

Somebody for whom it's easy to wish well,

So you could get a clear picture of them in your head,

Or even imagine that they're there sitting with you right now,

And making the wish,

May they be free from suffering,

And directing any feelings of contentment and ease,

Peacefulness that you have right now,

Imagining them,

Imagining that you could just give those feelings to this person for whom you care deeply,

May they be free from ill will,

And again,

Holding in mind this sense of being free from enmity,

Free from resentment or anger,

Being at peace with everyone,

And imagining that you could send these feelings towards this person,

May they be filled with loving kindness,

You could maybe imagine this person feeling the same well-being that you're feeling right now,

The same kindness and love,

Imagining perhaps how they'd react to that,

May they be truly happy,

And if this well-wishing towards your friend leads to more feelings of peace or joy,

If imagining them receiving these good feelings creates good feelings in you,

Then you could imagine also giving those feelings away,

And you can also imagine sending this well-being to others who you have affection for,

Friends and family,

People who you care about,

And now calling to mind somebody for whom you have no strong feelings,

Maybe an acquaintance,

A neighbour,

A shop worker,

You could imagine where they might be and what they might be doing,

And taking these feelings of warmth and peace that you've been cultivating,

Imagining sending those feelings to this person,

And again imagine how they might react to being touched by them,

Just as you yourself have been during this practice,

So may they be free from suffering,

And if the feeling of matter has faded at all,

You can take some time to refresh it,

Using whatever means has worked best for you so far,

Perhaps calling to mind again how it feels to be really at peace,

Content and full of well-wishing and kindness for yourself and others,

May they be free from ill will,

May they be filled with loving kindness,

The same loving kindness that you're feeling now,

They're human and just like you,

They have this capacity for these beautiful feelings of warmth,

Tenderness and love,

May they be truly happy,

So now bringing to mind somebody with whom you've had some difficulties,

Maybe there's a feeling of dislike towards them,

But also for this practice,

Not using the most difficult person,

So not using anybody who your feelings toward feel overwhelming,

So bringing this person to mind and recalling that just like you,

They are subject to suffering,

Just like you,

Their ill will causes them to suffer,

Just like you,

They've been affected by their circumstances,

Affected by ignorance and a lack of wisdom,

And just like you,

They act however misguidedly out of a desire to be safe and protected from harm,

A desire to be happy,

It may help to recollect that any ill will you feel towards this person will only create extra suffering for you,

And similarly,

Any love they feel,

Whatever happiness they can enjoy will only benefit those around them,

And so sending these wishes also to this person,

May they be free from suffering,

If it feels like a stretch to wish this person great happiness,

Maybe you can start just by wishing for them to be free of suffering,

And seeing again if you can hold a sense of these feelings within yourself,

What it feels like to be free of suffering,

To be at ease and content,

May they be free from ill will,

And as you send these wishes,

Sending these warm benevolent feelings towards this person,

You could imagine them being moved by these feelings,

Just as you have been,

May they be filled with loving kindness,

And again if you need to,

You can pause to refresh these feelings of metta,

These feelings of kindness and ease within yourself,

Calling to mind what it feels like for you to be full of loving kindness,

And again just imagining sending these feelings to this person,

Imagining how they might be moved by them,

And remembering that we don't need this person to be perfect in order to send them metta,

We also don't have to hold the intention of seeking them out or interacting with them to send them metta,

To wish them well,

May they be truly happy,

And finally taking these feelings of metta and spreading them outwards,

So beginning again with yourself,

Taking a moment to refresh the feeling if you need to,

Feeling again the effect of metta in the mind,

In the body,

And then outwards to those in your immediate environment,

Maybe in your house or your building,

May they be free from suffering,

And outwards further encompassing everybody in your neighbourhood,

Your city,

Spreading outwards further,

Wider,

You could imagine the metta shining out of you like a light,

Spreading,

Sharing these feelings,

May they be free from ill will,

Your heart has an inexhaustible source of these precious feelings,

Radiating them outwards,

Covering the whole of your country,

Holding the wish,

May they be filled with loving kindness,

May all beings experience this warmth,

This love,

Now covering the whole world,

May all beings be truly happy,

And now spreading out infinitely in all directions,

Radiating metta outwards to every being in the universe,

Any form of sentient being there may be,

Those living now,

Yet to be born,

Bathing everything that is in metta,

Nothing left out,

Unbounded.

And now to conclude the meditation,

Just holding a strong wish for these feelings to continue,

And resolving to live in a way that makes that possible,

Now bringing the practice to a close.

Reviews

Beautiful meditation. Much metta you!