Metta To Phenomena

This is a bringing together of the Metta practice – bringing forth a welcoming attitude, a kind of receptivity. Keeping in mind the truth that everyone and everything appreciates being met with the attitude of kindness, this practice will allow you to express Metta into your life.

Transcript

So this afternoon we'll explore a practice which we call bringing meta to phenomena or to sensations and it's bringing together the meta practice and that welcoming receptivity kind of attitude that we were,

Was one of the aspects of the Dukkha Way of Looking that we were exploring this morning.

And something that can help with this is just the sense that we probably already have of the fact that everyone and everything appreciates being met with an attitude of kindness.

Whatever is arising,

Whoever is arising in our experience kind of responds to an attitude of kindness and compassion.

And there's a couple of ways that you can do that and I'll be guiding the practice so I'll kind of probably mention both as we go but just to say that for some of us it's the most simple to just use the phrases just like we use the phrases in the practice when we're offering the meta to different living beings.

When we use the phrases to offer meta to body sensations or sounds or whatever is arising in the phenomena.

And you might feel like you want to maybe to just adjust the phrases a little bit.

I personally don't find it weird to say to a painful sensation in my body,

May you be happy and peaceful but you might,

Nathan certainly does.

So then he uses may you be welcomed.

So you can kind of adjust them as feels appropriate to you.

So if it feels weird just change it to something that may you be welcomed,

May you be accepted,

May you be held with ease,

Whatever feels like a good adjustment.

And of course it's also possible to do the same practice without the phrases.

So one way is to use the phrases and if the phrases work well for you then that's probably at least the way to begin.

And another way is to just kind of have that open handed attitude that I was speaking about and maybe the feeling of the attitude,

The energy of welcoming,

Of kind of being an open receptive field to experience.

And so you know there can be a mix or you can find your balance between kind of more of the sense of the offering that comes with the phrases or more of a receptive kind of flavor of receiving experience and welcoming it as it arrives and it can be a mix between the two,

Whatever works for you.

Yeah,

So I think that's yeah,

It doesn't take a lot of introduction so that's the introduction and then we'll practice and explore this actually in practice with some guidance.

So beginning by settling the awareness in the body in whatever way is helpful for you.

You can use the contact areas of the body with the seat in the ground.

Explore the balance of the uprightness and the ease in the back.

It can allow the body to settle into the posture and the awareness to settle into the body.

And gently in your own time letting the awareness rooted in the contact areas expand through the body.

Follow the body.

Letting the awareness spread through the whole body.

Maybe even a little bit beyond the body so you're getting a sense of the body filled and surrounded with awareness.

A field of awareness spread through the body,

A little bit around the body.

And if you wish including the breathing within the field of awareness,

It's possible keeping the field of awareness wide and open,

Receptive.

If you're using the breath including the breathing within that field of awareness.

It will just take a little while to settle the awareness in the body with the breathing.

And if you're using the breath including the breathing within that field of awareness,

It will just take a little while to settle the awareness.

Body awareness wide and open,

The breath moving through the field of awareness,

Through the body.

Just as you do this,

Just opening to notice any sensation in the body or area of the body that feels relatively pleasant.

Doesn't have to feel incredibly pleasant,

Just relatively pleasant.

Might be the movement of the breathing.

Might be a sensation in the hands or in the face.

Or in the body that feels relatively pleasant.

Keeping the awareness wide and open.

Feeling the pleasant sensation in the body with Metta.

So if you wish you can use phrases,

Either the ones I'll offer or your own.

If you're using an image or a felt sense in the Metta practice you can feel free to use those.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

At ease.

Gently staying with this attitude,

This intentional attitude of Metta.

As you receive,

As you welcome any pleasant sensation or sensations,

Areas in the body.

If there's more than one place that feels pleasant,

You can either just choose one or you can see if you can radiate that Metta,

That welcoming attitude to different parts of the body at the same time.

To see what works.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

May you be welcomed.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

And now bringing the attention or opening the attention to any areas of the body where there is a neutral sensation,

Not particularly pleasant,

Nor particularly unpleasant.

Might be the sensation of the body resting into the seat,

That contact,

Or the eyelids resting on the eyes.

There might be a neutral sensation we can feel in the feet,

In the hands.

Just opening to feel any sensation that feels neutral,

Not particularly pleasant or unpleasant.

And opening to that also with Metta,

With welcoming,

Allowing.

Also with the phrases or any other way.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

May staying with that particular sensation or area of sensations.

Gently receiving and welcoming.

Noticing if there is any impact on experience as you do this.

May you be welcomed.

May you be welcomed.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

May staying with that particular sensation or area of sensations.

If the mind moves away,

We just gently bring it back to the sensations in the body and even more to this Metta welcoming attitude.

Letting the awareness be soft and wide in the body.

Receiving sensations.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

May staying with that particular sensation or area of sensations.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

Now gently letting go of the neutral sensations.

Establishing the awareness in the body soft and wide and open.

Opening to any mildly unpleasant sensations in the body.

Really better to start with the mild,

Not with the most intense.

Anywhere where there might be pressure,

A little bit of tension,

Heaviness.

Awareness still wide and open,

Relaxed.

Just holding that area of the body or that sensation in the body in awareness.

Gentle and wide.

Receiving it too with Metta.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

As you receive with Metta,

You can explore bathing the sensation with this Metta attitude.

If you work with the breath,

You can allow the breath to flow around the sensation,

Into the sensation through.

The unpleasantness,

Unpleasant sensation with Metta,

With compassion.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

Noticing any changes in the experience.

As you offer Metta,

As you bathe the sensation in Metta.

Change it in Metta.

If it changes from being unpleasant to being neutral or pleasant or even disappears.

Gently open the awareness to another area of the body where there's some degree of discomfort.

A tickle,

An itch,

A pressure,

A tension.

And hold that with Metta.

May you be welcomed.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

Gently letting go of the sensation.

Letting go of the sensations in the body.

You can open out the awareness more widely.

With that attitude of Metta,

Of welcoming.

You can include sounds from outside the room and from inside the room.

Internal sounds from our own body and sounds from the environment.

Receiving all of them with Metta.

Focusing and opening the field of awareness.

Allowing sounds to arise and pass.

And just like with the body sensations,

You can stay with one sound as it moves through.

Or you can radiate the Metta through the field of awareness,

The field of receptivity.

Receiving different sounds.

Both Metta with kindness,

With compassion.

And include also the impact maybe of the light changing.

Or any visual imagery that passes through the mind.

Any smells,

Any tastes.

Any sensations of touch.

Wide open field receiving experience with Metta and kindness.

May you be welcome.

Allowed.

Peaceful.

At ease.

And for the last five minutes or so of the practice,

Opening the awareness to whatever arises.

Senses in the body,

Sounds,

Visual stimuli.

Any sense contact.

Receiving it all with Metta.

With allowing,

With welcoming.

If a particular stimulus becomes more prominent,

Then attending to that more fully.

Feeling the phrases or the Metta feeling,

Metta attitude.

Noticing any impact,

Any change on experience as you do this.

And for the last five minutes or so of the practice,

Opening the awareness to whatever acc 유튜� to it.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Reviews

A gentle practice that helps you be at ease with experience, however it is. Thank you!

Thank you Zohar 💜 so beautiful to travel this lovely journey of Metta into the field of Awareness. 🙏 they are truly one and the same.

Excellent deep Metta practice. Pushes the boundaries of the experience.

I stumbled upon this while searching for a metta mediation. Loving kindness is radiating through your voice. I have a specific inevitable situation of having to hold space for another this evening and needed to cultivate metta. I hold much gratitude for you for holding some space for me. a job very well done. Your light shines brightly. Namaste. 🙏🧘🏻‍♂️

Coming home to my self 🙏

I do love your meditations. In this one it sounded like someone was snoring in the background.. a tiny bit distracting. Namaste 🙏🏼☀️

The phrases offered were very supportive of receptivity, and the practice of welcoming what is present in the body set the foundation for working with welcoming challenging yet inevitable situations in my life at present. Grateful for this application of metta more broadly. Thank you.