This practice is a guided loving-kindness or metha meditation.
Metta is the Pali word for loving-kindness.
When we practice metha meditation,
We increase feelings of social connectedness and our brain changes in ways that correlate with developing more empathy and generosity.
It also shifts us away from finding faults in ourselves and in others.
Begin by taking a comfortable position in an upright posture or lying down.
Close your eyes or lower your gaze to the floor,
Whatever you are more comfortable with.
As you begin this practice,
Take a moment to welcome and appreciate yourself.
Appreciate your body,
Your mind for being here today.
For taking the time to be present,
To go inside into your own mind.
Settling in to the awareness of the body and the body posture.
To sit and know that you are sitting.
Scan your body to see if there are any areas of tension.
And relax your entire body.
Without straining or concentrating too hard,
Simply relax and gently follow the instructions.
Start by taking a few deep breaths.
Inhale and exhale.
Inhale and exhale.
Inhale and exhale.
Inhale in all the beauty that surrounds you.
All the good energy and pure air.
And exhale out all your worries,
All your anxieties,
All your doubts.
Inhale in and exhale out.
We begin metha meditation by practicing on ourselves.
So I want you to try and envision yourself in your mind.
As you envision yourself and focus on that,
Whether it be a picture of yourself in your mind or anything.
Smile and repeat the following.
May I be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May no harm come to me.
May no difficulties come to me.
May no problems come to me.
May I always meet with success.
May I have patience,
Courage,
Understanding and determination to overcome difficulties,
Problems and failures in life.
Continue breathing in and breathing out.
Now try to extend that loving-kindness.
Envision your parents,
Guardians or any parental figures,
Whether alive or deceased.
As you envision them,
Focus on them and repeat the following phrases in your mind.
May my parents,
Guardians be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May no harm come to them.
May no difficulties come to them.
May no problems come to them.
May they always meet with success.
May they have patience,
Courage,
Understanding and determination to overcome difficulties,
Problems and failures in life.
Continue to inhale and exhale.
As you are breathing in and breathing out,
You may find that your thoughts are scattered or that your mind has wandered.
Maybe your thoughts are in the future,
Thinking about all the uncertainties that lie ahead of us or in the past.
Now that you've brought awareness to having these thoughts,
Just watch them with curiosity,
With non-judgment and with awareness.
Continue inhaling and exhaling,
Being aware that you are right here,
Right now,
In this moment.
Next,
We'll extend our loving kindness to any relatives,
Whether alive or deceased,
Immediate or extended.
Envision all of your relatives,
Smile and repeat the following in your mind.
May my relatives be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May no harm come to them.
May no difficulties come to them.
May no problems come to them.
May they always meet with success.
May they have patience,
Courage,
Understanding and determination to overcome difficulties,
Problems and failures in life.
Continue inhaling in and exhaling out.
If any thoughts arise,
Gently watch them.
Don't get upset that your mind has wandered,
As this is in itself part of practice.
Each time your mind wanders and you become aware of this,
That is mindfulness.
Next,
Envision your friends,
Whether alive or deceased,
Close,
Distant,
Perhaps friends you haven't spoken to in a long time.
Envision all your friends,
Focus on them and repeat the following phrases.
May my friends be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May no harm come to them.
May no difficulties come to them.
May no problems come to them.
May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience,
Courage,
Understanding and determination to overcome difficulties,
Problems and failures in life.
If your thoughts have drifted away,
Simply be aware of them and every time the mind wanders,
Just acknowledge it by saying,
The mind has wandered.
Now,
Take a deep breath and extend your loving kindness to anyone who has hurt you,
Anyone who has caused you any pain or suffering,
Anyone you have had difficulty with getting along with,
Or someone you've been unable to forgive or still in the process of forgiving.
Envision them and as difficult as this may be,
Extend your loving kindness to them as well,
As they too are suffering and they deserve love and compassion.
May all indifferent persons be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May no harm come to them.
May no difficulties come to them.
May no problems come to them.
May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience,
Courage,
Understanding and determination to overcome difficulties,
Problems and failures in life.
Next,
Envision all animals,
Whether you have a pet or not,
Alive or deceased.
Try to envision all the animals in the world.
May all animals be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May no harm come to them.
May no difficulties come to them.
May no problems come to them.
May they always meet with success.
May they have patience,
Courage,
Understanding and determination to overcome difficulties,
Problems and failures in life.
Lastly,
Let's extend our loving kindness to the entire world.
Envision all living beings across the world,
People you've never met from different countries,
Religions,
Cultures,
Ages.
Envision all living beings.
May all living beings be well,
Happy and peaceful.
May no harm come to them.
May no difficulties come to them.
May no problems come to them.
May they always meet with success.
May they have patience,
Courage,
Understanding and determination to overcome difficulties,
Problems and failures in life.
Continue to inhale and exhale.
We'll end off with a few moments of an appreciation practice,
An appreciation for all beings alive or deceased,
For everything they do for us or have done for us to help us lead a peaceful life,
An appreciation towards anyone else who supports you or inspires you.
And lastly,
An appreciation for yourself,
For taking time out of your day to develop your mind,
To enjoy the merit of your practice.
Continue to inhale and exhale.
As you continue on with your day,
Repeat the phrases of loving kindness to yourself and people you encounter,
Whether you know them or not.
May you be well,
Happy and peaceful.
Taking your time,
You can slowly begin to open your eyes or raise your gaze from the floor as we bring this practice to an end.
Thank you for joining me today.
