Soulful Metta: An Extended Lovingkindness Practice
This guided meditation builds upon basic lovingkindness phrases to bring you into deeper, soul-centered, presence with each intention. For example, expansions of the common metta phrase “may you be happy” include: “may you feel your joyful, soulful aliveness arising from the reservoir within”; “may you live in profound gratitude for all your blessings, big and small”; “may you sing and dance in a soul-affirming celebration of life”; and “may your soul smile with deep, inner contentment”.
Transcript
Dr.
Shelley Harrell here,
And I'd like to offer a soulful meta-practice,
A soulful experience and expression of loving-kindness.
Meta,
The Pali term for loving-kindness,
Involves sending and receiving the energy of love and care through simple,
Powerful phrases.
Let's begin with a deep,
Intentional breath,
Inhaling into the moment,
Gathering our breath,
And letting go on the exhale,
Releasing tension and tightness,
Softening the body.
Let's do that again.
Inhaling into this moment,
Gathering the breath,
And really letting go on the exhale,
Releasing,
Softening.
Metaphrases can be directed in many different ways.
It is powerful to direct the phrases to oneself,
As there is tremendous healing in self-compassion and allowing ourselves to receive love.
We can also direct meta to others,
A loved one,
A mentor,
Teacher,
To someone we have conflict with,
To an acquaintance in need of love,
Or even to a stranger.
A version that we use in soulfulness practice is directing the phrases to self,
Family,
Or community,
From an ancestral or spiritual source,
From a loved one or someone who is a special teacher,
Mentor,
Someone you admire or respect.
Being intentional about the experience of receiving loving-kindness and from what source you are receiving it.
Let's begin by becoming more present with the feeling of love and care,
The experience of tenderness,
Kindness.
If you feel comfortable,
I invite you to put your hand or hands on your heart,
Feeling the warmth of connection.
Now,
Bring to mind any experience in your memory where you have felt your heart soften.
It could be caring and compassion shown to you,
Love and kindness that you felt for another,
Seeing or observing an act of kindness from one person to another person,
Or even something like a puppy video on social media.
Bring that heart-softening experience or image to mind and just allow yourself to be present with that feeling,
Focusing on opening and softening your heart.
As you inhale,
Allow that feeling to fill you as your chest expands and your heart softly opens.
On the exhale,
Be with the intention to release blocks to loving presence,
Letting down any walls around your heart that separate you from feeling or experiencing love.
It's okay if you don't move into this space easily.
This is a practice.
Meet yourself where you are,
Giving yourself the space and grace to be exactly where you are in this moment.
Now let's do a couple of rounds of this soulful metta practice.
First,
I want to ask you to bring to mind someone who represents love to you.
This can be someone who has loved and cared for you,
A person you have observed to be loving,
A person you have never met,
Or even a fictional or imaginary person.
It could also be a loving community of people,
Family members,
A community of belonging,
Ancestors,
Or even God or a spiritual figure,
Anyone or entity who represents the energy of love.
And if no one arises for you,
That's okay.
Please accept the loving kindness from me,
Dr.
Shelley Harrell,
To you.
I invite you to bring that source of loving kindness to mind,
That person or entity.
Visualize them or something that symbolizes them to you.
Hear them speak your name,
Inviting you to come close.
Feel yourself in their presence.
And now hear them speaking these words,
These phrases to you.
Let's take a couple of deep breaths together now,
Re-centering in this present moment.
Find and follow the flow of your breath,
Letting the natural flow bring you home to this here and now moment together.
Next,
Let's send Metta out,
Giving out the energy of love and care and kindness and compassion.
I invite you to bring to mind a person,
Group,
Or community for whom you feel love,
Care,
Or concern.
It could be someone you know well,
Or a person or persons you wish to send loving kindness to,
Who you feel needs love and care at this time.
Bring them to mind,
Visualizing them.
And as I read these phrases,
Send the intention and energy of loving kindness out to them.
May peace and love wash over you,
Replenishing,
Refreshing,
And nourishing your soul.
May you be safe and protected.
May you know your soul's refuge,
That inner sanctuary untouched by circumstances.
May you be well.
May you bring attention and nourishment to the health of your body,
Mind,
Heart,
And soul.
May you love and be loved.
May love and compassion warm your heart and soothe your soul.
May you be at peace.
May you find comfort and rest in the stillness and quietude within your soul.
May you be happy.
May you feel your joyful,
Soulful aliveness arising from the reservoir within.
May you be free.
May you experience the soulful rhythm and flow of a liberated life.
May peace and love wash over you,
Awakening,
Illuminating,
And liberating your soul.
May peace and love wash over you,
Replenishing,
Refreshing,
And nourishing your soul.
May you be safe and protected.
May you know your soul's refuge,
That inner sanctuary untouched by circumstances.
May you be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May you be grounded and deeply rooted,
Feeling the interconnected roots of life extending deep into the earth beneath you.
May you sense the presence of a transcendent power greater than you,
Knowing that you are surrounded and held by that which can be felt but not seen,
God,
Spirit,
The ancestors and angels watching over you.
May wisdom and faith bring you security in the deep knowing that all is evolving toward good.
May you access that place within where you are strong and secure,
Resourceful and resilient.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be well.
May you bring attention and nourishment to the health of your body,
Mind,
Heart,
And soul.
May you listen to the wisdom of your body and soul telling you what is needed for health and healing.
May you treat your body as the sacred temple that it is,
Honoring it and not abusing it.
May you experience relief from any ailments you may have.
May you feel your aliveness and vitality and as healthy,
As strong as possible.
May you feel the transformative power of your own self-healing soul energy radiating throughout your being.
May you care for your whole being,
Your optimal holistic wellness beyond mere surviving and towards full thriving.
May you be well.
May you love and be loved.
May love and compassion warm your heart and soothe your soul.
May you see through the eyes of love,
Listen with the ears of love,
And act from the ground of love.
May you open your heart and allow love to pour into your being,
Allowing yourself to fully receive love.
May you bring love,
Compassion,
Patience,
And forgiveness to yourself,
A tender voice of kindness to the hurt places within.
May you connect to the shared struggles of our collective human journey with empathy and benevolence towards others.
May you relate to others with humility,
Knowing that everyone has a story you do not know and challenges you do not see.
May you be a gentle and comforting presence when others are hurting.
May you treat others with kindness,
Embodying and emanating the energy of love.
May you support,
Encourage,
And uplift others.
May you feel a sense of belonging and experience the loving embrace of community.
May you know the eternal,
Restorative,
And transformative power of love to heal,
Uplift,
Liberate,
Connect,
And save us all.
May you love and be loved.
May you be at peace.
May you find comfort and rest in the stillness and quietude within your soul.
May you feel a sense of inner balance,
A settling of your body,
Your mind,
And your emotions.
May you know the deep serenity and tranquility at the core of your being.
May you find your calm center within the storms of life and the deep knowing that this too shall pass.
May you know that your peace is your power.
May you gently roll with the inevitability of change through the peaks and the valleys and the always evolving landscape of life.
May your inner peace be reflected in how you live,
Being a presence of peace in your interactions with others and in the world.
May you live in harmony with yourself,
Knowing the peace of walking your talk and living in alignment with your values.
May you move through each day with ease and grace.
May you be at peace.
May you be happy.
May you feel your joyful,
Soulful aliveness arising from the reservoir within.
May you live in profound gratitude for all your blessings,
Big and small.
May you feel awe at the beauty and majesty and miracles of creation all around you.
May you feel confident in your worth,
Your value,
Your gifts and your purpose,
Knowing the radiance of who you really are.
May your soul sing and dance in celebration of life.
May your spirit be uplifted by the inspiring heights of human expression,
Creativity and performance.
May you feel excitement,
Enthusiasm and passion for life.
May you laugh out loud.
May you experience the contagiousness of true happiness,
Receiving it and spreading it.
May you make time and spend time doing the things that bring you authentic joy.
May your soul smile with deep inner contentment.
May you be happy.
May you be free.
May you experience the soulful rhythm and flow of a liberated life.
May you experience the emancipation of your mind,
The opening of your heart and the illumination of your soul.
May you be unchained and unshackled from anything holding you down or holding you back.
May you transcend limitations,
Those imposed by others and those you have imposed on yourself.
May you release and let go of habits,
Patterns and behaviors that no longer serve you.
May you know that within each moment lives the freedom to choose and to begin again.
May you be fully liberated from all forces,
Internal and external,
That oppress,
Dehumanize or imprison you.
May you realize our interconnected reality that none of us are truly free if any of us are oppressed.
May systems of oppression be dismantled and injustices be eliminated.
May the suffering of oppressed persons be healed and the humanity of oppressed persons be lifted up.
May the light of truth open your eyes and inspire you to participate in our collective liberation.
May you discern truth and resist internalizing the illusions,
Projections,
Hype and lies you have been told.
May you rise up free,
Free to pursue your purpose,
Share your gifts and show up unapologetically,
Authentically you.
May your spirit soar untethered and unbound.
May your full potential be unlocked and unleashed to manifest your highest calling for your life,
The lives of others and the world.
May you be free.
May peace and love wash over you,
Awakening,
Illuminating and liberating your soul.
Now let's take a couple of deep breaths together,
Re-centering again in this present moment.
And as we close this practice,
I invite you to use these soul metaphrases,
A subset of them or other metaphrases you may find or create on your own.
Engage in this practice.
4.7 (133)
Recent Reviews
Hope
February 16, 2024
You are a loving guide. Thank you very much
Annemarie
February 16, 2024
What a beautiful meta meditation!thank you
Ginger
February 15, 2024
Overwhelmly Appreciative Thank you 💙 Blessed by your words & love
Megan
February 14, 2024
Loved this beautiful meditation! A creative take on metta and a lovely way to fill my heart