Loving-Kindness Meditation & Hierarchy of Needs
A loving-kindness meditation (metta) which incorporates five phrases addressing the heirarchy of needs identified by Abraham Maslow. The practice begins with breath awareness and then moves through five stages - from the self out to the expression of loving-kindness for all beings.
Transcript
This practice is based on metta meditation out of the Buddhist tradition,
And the intent is to develop a sense,
A capacity,
An experience of loving-kindness,
Benevolence,
Friendliness,
Goodwill.
So begin by finding a posture that is comfortable,
One in which you feel supported,
Grounded,
Comfortable.
And bring your awareness to your breathing as a way of preparation,
As a way of getting ready,
As a way of settling in.
Simply observe the breathing,
The rise and fall of the chest,
And perhaps the rise and fall of the belly.
Try to take a few moments to use the breath as a means of preparation.
Now,
Let us begin.
Thinking of yourself,
Perhaps imagining you staring at a mirror and seeing a reflection of yourself,
Inwardly repeat the following phrases.
May the physical needs of my body be met.
May I be safe and well.
May I experience belonging and acceptance.
May I experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May I realize my full potential.
May the physical needs of my body be met.
May I be safe and well.
May I experience belonging and acceptance.
May I experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May I realize my full potential.
May the physical needs of my body be met.
May I be safe and well.
May I experience belonging and acceptance.
May I experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May I realize my full potential.
Now we move to the next stage.
Bring into your awareness an individual with whom you naturally have a sense of loving kindness.
A being that you love,
That merely thinking of brings a smile to your face.
This should be a natural expression in the feeling of loving kindness.
For this being with whom you easily feel a sense of compassion and loving kindness,
Repeat the following phrases.
May the physical needs of your body be met.
May you be safe and well.
May you experience belonging and acceptance.
May you experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May you realize your full potential.
May the physical needs of your body be met.
May you be safe and well.
May you experience belonging and acceptance.
May you experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May you realize your full potential.
May the physical needs of your body be met.
May you be safe and well.
May you experience belonging and acceptance.
May you experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May you realize your full potential.
Now bring into your awareness an image of someone that you know but you have no particular feelings one way or the other.
The neutral person.
This could be someone you work with.
It could be someone you see in your life,
Someone who works in a store that you shop in,
But someone that you feel basically neutral to.
Hold an image of them while you repeat the following phrases and allow that inner sense of loving-kindness to extend to them.
May the physical needs of your body be met.
May you be safe and well.
May you experience belonging and acceptance.
May you experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May you realize your full potential.
May the physical needs of your body be met.
May you be safe and well.
May you experience belonging and acceptance.
May you experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May you realize your full potential.
May the physical needs of your body be met.
May you be safe and well.
May you experience belonging and acceptance.
May you experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May you experience your full potential.
And now we move to the challenging person.
This could be an individual with whom you have struggled.
Perhaps there is current or lingering resentment.
Perhaps there is some sort of conflict between the two of you.
Or perhaps this is an individual that you don't know personally,
But someone who is in your attention that tends to bring up feelings of disharmony,
Anger,
Frustration,
Or conflict within you.
So I invite you now to bring an image of the challenging person into your mind and repeat these phrases.
May the physical needs of your body be met.
May you be safe and well.
May you experience belonging and acceptance.
May you experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May you realize your full potential.
May the physical needs of your body be met.
May you be safe and well.
May you experience belonging and acceptance.
May you experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May you realize your full potential.
May the physical needs of your body be met.
May you be safe and well.
May you experience belonging and acceptance.
May you experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May you realize your full potential.
And now we will conclude with the final stage in which we pull in a sense,
We invoke a sense of all beings,
All life,
All of creation.
Repeat the five phrases.
May the physical bodily needs of all beings be met.
May all beings be safe and well.
May all beings experience belonging and acceptance.
May all beings experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May all beings realize their full potential.
May the physical and bodily needs of all beings be met.
May all beings be safe and well.
May all beings experience belonging and acceptance.
May all beings experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May all beings realize their full potential.
May the physical and bodily needs of all beings be met.
May all beings be safe and well.
May all beings experience belonging and acceptance.
May all beings experience self-esteem and self-respect.
May all beings realize their full potential.
And now as we conclude this practice,
Once again simply bring your awareness back to the breath,
Back to the natural rise and fall,
The inhalation and exhalation.
And as you prepare to go about your day,
Your evening,
Do so with the intention of maintaining this experience of loving-kindness,
Friendliness,
Benevolence.
And know that as you do so,
You indeed are serving as a light in this world.
And your loving-kindness,
Your compassion,
Goes forth from you benefiting all beings.
Peace,
Blessings and joy.
May all beings experience self-esteem and self-respect.
4.7 (696)
Recent Reviews
Olivia
March 22, 2024
Beautiful and touching
Beatrice
November 11, 2020
That was absolutely amazing, thank you so much. I enjoyed it 😊
Winnie
November 5, 2020
Exceptional 🙏🙏. Thank you
Peg
March 6, 2020
Best sleep ever!
Kevin
September 22, 2019
A wonderful metta meditation - thank you Rev Simon!
Paul
January 1, 2019
Well spoken with the right mix of music to enhance the gentle words of we wisdom.
Monique
July 8, 2018
Lovely, very peaceful. Thank you. 💖⚙💖😌💖
rubina
June 10, 2018
Really enjoyed this version of metta practice using Maslow priority of needs - works very well for me and having the background music was just lovely. Very soothing and peaceful. Thank you🙏💟🙂
Steve
March 22, 2018
Beautiful and powerful.
Madelyn
March 7, 2018
Good cadence. Nice voice. Music not distracting. Metta in the morning! 🙏
Marcela
February 27, 2018
I have the experience of forgiveness in this meditation! Thank you!
jim
February 26, 2018
Very peaceful and inspiring.
Nese
February 25, 2018
Love this, thank you 🙏🏻
Kim
February 25, 2018
Thank you! This was beautiful and I feel great!! Peace, blessings, and joy to you.
Elmira
February 25, 2018
Feeling much better. Got my new morning affirmations for myself and my loved ones who need this magic and for the world who need this energy. God bless you. 🌬✨🙏
Kristina
February 25, 2018
Thank you this was lovely. 💛💫
Jan
February 25, 2018
An absolutely beautiful meta meditation; loving voice; heartfelt wishes. I was gifted with the awareness of this guided meditation from a dear friend and will be sharing with others so they too can experience this sublime message. Namaste 🙏🏻🌿♥️🌿✨
emily
February 24, 2018
Helpful prayers for myself those I live and do not live and for all beings.
Iris
February 24, 2018
Beautiful. A emotional reminder of compassionate and unconditional love.
Cj
February 24, 2018
A most beautiful and generous expression of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Rich voice, perfect pace, and just enough repetition to anchor each intention. 🙏🏼