Loving Kindness (Metta) Practice

The word Metta, is often translated as Lovingkindness. This practice of metta meditation can be used as an antidote to judgment and criticism, either towards ourselves, in the form of shame and humiliation, or towards others, through emotional states such as anger, animosity or resentment. Whenever we feel stressed, uptight, anxious or hostile, we do not feel safe. In this meditation, we repeat soothing affirmations and phrases, to open our hearts to feelings of kindness and love, settle the nervous system, and invite a sense of healing into our being.

Transcript

Meta meditation.

Find a comfortable posture in which you can sit upright with your spine elongated and shoulders relaxed,

Hands resting comfortably in your lap or on your thighs.

You may be sitting on a chair,

A meditation cushion,

Or the floor,

And if lying down works best for you,

Do so.

Gaze gently downward or allow your eyes to close,

Whichever works best for you,

As you turn your attention inward.

Take a few gentle breaths,

And on each exhale allow your mind-body to settle and allow yourself to be supported fully by the surface upon which you're resting.

Allow the breath to come and go on its own without force or effort.

Experience the wave-like movements of the breath.

As you settle here,

Allow yourself to open to the experiences that arise moment to moment in your mind-body.

Since meta meditation is a practice of opening our hearts to feelings of unconditional love and kindness,

If it feels comfortable,

Place one hand on your heart or simply bring your attention fully to the area around your heart.

Resting here,

Take a moment to send appreciation to your very own heart.

This little muscle continues to beat daily without any instructions from your conscious mind.

Breathe into your heart and send it well-wishes of gratitude and appreciation.

Next,

We begin by evoking and sending feelings of loving-kindness towards ourselves.

In this very moment,

Right now,

Connect with your deepest heartfelt wish for some ease in your life.

If you feel agitated,

Pain,

Discomfort,

Or distress,

Open your heart to yourself.

We evoke these feelings by silently repeating phrases of well-wishes and unconditional love.

Phrases such as,

May I be safe,

May I be happy and at ease,

May I be healthy,

May I be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

You can silently repeat these phrases or any words or phrases that you find open your heart to.

Fill your mind-body with unconditional kindness and love.

Focus your attention on one phrase at a time,

Allowing your attention to rest on each phrase.

As you repeat them silently with every breath in and every breath out,

May I be safe,

May I be at ease,

May I be at ease,

May I be at ease.

May I be safe,

May I be happy and at ease,

May I be healthy,

May I be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

If your mind wanders,

Which it will,

Be kind to yourself and gently bring it back to these phrases and the feeling of meta.

As you silently repeat with each breath,

May I be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be healthy,

Be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

If you find it challenging to send loving-kindness to yourself,

Recognize this struggle.

If self-critical or judgmental thoughts arise,

You are sending yourself loving-kindness by wishing this struggle will lessen and wishing yourself safety,

Happiness,

Ease,

Health and love.

You can always imagine a younger version of you when you are a child or infant.

Imagine gazing upon this younger you and allowing your heart to open to your deepest wishes for your younger self to live a life of ease.

As you silently recite these or whatever phrases work best for you with each breath in and out,

May I be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be healthy,

Be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

There is no rush.

We simply rest our attention in each of these phrases.

May I be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be healthy,

Be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

We cultivate these well-wishes for others by first calling to mind someone for whom it is relatively easy to experience these loving,

Heartfelt feelings.

This can be someone you know personally,

Someone who helped you in your life,

Such as a teacher or mentor,

Or perhaps someone who simply inspired you,

Who you look up to.

They may be living or no longer alive.

It may even be an animal or pet who fills your heart with joy and love.

Imagine this being standing before you,

Recognizing that you wish for them the exact same heartfelt wishes you have for yourself.

Dropping into your heart,

Connect with the feelings of loving-kindness growing from your heart and filling your entire mind-body.

Silently,

Repeat these phrases,

Sending the warm feelings of loving-kindness and friendship outward.

May you be safe,

May you be happy and at ease,

May you be healthy,

May you be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

Observe the feelings as they arise within you and extend outward.

Notice how it feels to have these heartfelt emotions of love and kindness.

Think of this practice as planting seeds of love in your heart.

The more you attend to and nurture them,

The more they will take root and grow.

May you be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be healthy,

Be filled with loving-kindness and peace,

Or whatever phrases work best for you.

We can broaden our circle by calling to mind others you love and care about deeply.

These could be family members,

A close,

Good friend,

Colleague or co-worker with whom you have very strong and positive connections.

Gazing at them,

Imagining them before you,

Connect with your wish for these people to also have a life of safety and ease.

As you slowly recite the following phrases silently with every breath in and every breath out.

May you be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be healthy,

Be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

May you be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

We all know pain and suffering.

If you know someone who is suffering right now,

You can always bring them to mind and send them these heartfelt wishes of unconditional love and kindness.

May you be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be healthy,

Be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

May you be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

When your mind wanders,

Your attention drifts from these phrases.

Being kind to yourself simply brings it back to the sensations in your heart and the phrases.

Broadening our circle even more,

You can call to mind a neutral person,

An acquaintance,

Someone you interact with but may not know very well,

Such as a neighbor,

A co-worker or someone you see at the grocery store.

When you think of this person,

You may not have any strong feelings about them,

Yet this person longs for the same things you do and in that regards,

Neither of you are different.

Recognizing that they too desire safety and health and happiness,

Imagine them before you as you send them meta as well.

May you be safe,

May you be happy and at ease,

May you be healthy,

May you be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

Peace.

As our heart continues to open and grow,

We can now begin to call to mind a difficult or challenging person,

Someone with whom you have had a bit of a struggle.

It is often easier to begin by selecting a person in your life with whom the challenges are minor,

Someone you find mildly annoying or irritating.

The irony is,

However,

When we are irritated or angry with another,

Often we are the only ones suffering.

By holding to our thoughts and feelings,

We prevent ourselves from being safe,

Happy,

Healthy and loving.

So you can start by repeating the phrases of loving-kindness to yourself,

But then recognize how this person with whom you are struggling also wants to live in ease.

In fact,

If they and we felt safe,

Happy,

Healthy and loving,

Most likely our relationships would be different.

So imagining this difficult person,

Connect with your intentions as you recite meta to them as well.

May you be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be healthy,

Be filled with loving-kindness and peace.

Peace.

If you find yourself contracting or pulling away from this difficult person in your mind,

Allow your heart and mind to recall the faces of all the people towards whom it is easier to send loving kindness.

Each time you see a loved one,

Allow your heart to open more,

And then allow your heart to share these feelings equally with everyone.

Yourself,

Your loved ones,

The neutral person,

And the difficult person.

As you say,

May you be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be healthy,

Be filled with loving kindness and peace.

Over time,

You may find yourself able to add more people with whom your challenges are greater and more intense.

The practice of loving kindness can release us from resentment and pain and help us create the space for greater connection.

Despite disagreements and grievances,

We can still connect with a heartfelt desire for others to be free from suffering and experience safety,

Happiness,

Ease,

And health.

May you be safe,

Be happy and at ease,

Be healthy,

Be filled with loving kindness and peace.

As your heart continues to open and the feelings of loving kindness grow,

You can expand your circle to all human beings,

All animals,

All plants,

All beings everywhere.

May we all be safe.

May we all be happy and at ease.

May we all be healthy.

May we all be filled with loving kindness and peace.

You might feel your heart expanding from your loved ones to maybe people in your neighborhood,

Expanding it out to the state,

Expanding it out to the country,

Expanding it out to all beings everywhere.

May all beings be safe.

May all beings be happy and at ease.

May all beings be healthy.

May all beings be filled with loving kindness and peace.

As this practice of Metta comes to a close,

Allow yourself to orient back into the room.

Feel the surface upon which you're resting.

Perhaps you move your fingers and toes.

And as you hear the three bells calling you back into the room,

Allowing your eyes to open gently,

Notice the effects of this practice of Metta meditation and see the ripples throughout your day.

And perhaps we can bring just a little bit more gentleness,

Kindness,

And love to the next things we do.

Reviews

Lovely Metta meditation. Thank you, Dr. Brad.🌺

May you be happy, healthy and have an easy life, thank you ! 🙏🏼🤲🏼🤗

Thank you very much. I appreciated a lot this metta.

May your wise words carry me through the day.

May all beings be filled with loving kindness and peace🙏♥️

Simple, yet beautifully and calmingly verbalized❣️ A WONDERFUL way to
Pray for myself and others.
Thank you! 💕

Thank you
Gracias🙏🏻❤️

Thank you. The words will be my daily transmission of love to all henceforth.
May you be safe
May you be happy and at ease
May you be healthy
May you be filled with living kindness and peace.
Namaste.

What a beautiful job done with metta! Loved his voice timing and explanation.
A favorite! Thank you.🕉

Thank you! Lovely! 🙏

Great meditation but can't really bring myself to send these whishes to myself....

Opening a new place in my heart.

I REALLY needed this opportunity today, to take time and practice Metta. This was lovely, thank you! Namaste...

Beautiful, gentle and soothing. Easy to follow and enjoyable! Thank you

Excellent instruction on opening your heart. This is what I need right now and I will listen to it often.

I really enjoyed this. Definitely want to learn more about meta meditation. 🙏🏻

Lovely thank you