Rachel Molieri

Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

Lisa

Washington, DC, United States

Sheila

Larkfield, Kent, England

You will practice loving-kindness meditation, sending wishes for well-being to yourself, loved ones, those who challenge you, and all beings.

Loving-Kindness (Metta)

Relationships

Buddhism

Traditions

Compassion

Visualization

English

Loving Kindness meditation is often referred to as "Metta Meditation." It helps us to cultivate kindness; both inwardly and outwardly. You will be lovingly guided to send well wishes "may you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering" to yourself, someone you love, someone you have challenges with, someone who is neutral and all beings together. The daily practice of this meditation softens the heart. A wonderful practice for all people at all levels of practice.

Sacred Practice: Loving-Kindness Practice For All Beings

 You may deposit or return without sandwiches. Come into a comfortable seat. If you're seated on a chair, uncross your legs and place your feet flat on the floor. If you're seated on a cushion or a pillow, let the legs be crossed or straight, whatever feels best for you. Let your seat be so comfortable that there is no sensation in the hips or in the legs. Feel the weight and the heaviness and the earthy quality of your seat feel connected to the earth. And from that connection, begin to rise up in the spine, lifting the belly, lifting the center of the chest, lifting the roof of the mouth, lifting the crown of the head. Feeling as if you're drawing down into the ground with your seat and up into the heavens with your crown, creating a nice, long, spacious spine. Feeling the heads of your arms draw back and the shoulders down the back, creating a sense of openness in the center of the chest and in the heart. Relax your jaw and the tongue in your mouth. Relax your cheeks and your brow. Relax your eyes and close your eyes. Bring your attention to your breath and the sensation of your breath on the tip of the nose. Feel the cool air on the tip of the nose as you inhale. Feel the warm air on the tip of the nose as you exhale. Let that sensation of cool air as you inhale and warm air as you exhale captivate your attention for the next few rounds of breath. In this meditation, we cultivate a quality of loving kindness to ourselves and also to others. And so feel yourself in space, feel your body, feel how you feel right now and say to yourself in your mind, may I be happy, may I be well, may I be free from suffering. Please continue to say this quietly in your mind to yourself over and over, may I be well, may I be happy, may I be free from suffering. Don't worry if you feel the words or even believe them. Just let the words drop like a feather falling slowly and sweetly to the ground. Just say, may I be happy, may I be well, may I be free from suffering. Please continue to say this quietly. If the mind wanders, just bring it back to these words, may I be happy, may I be well, may I be free from suffering. Please continue to say this quietly. Now, please bring to mind someone in your life whom you love. It doesn't have to be a human, it could be an animal, a pet. Let someone that you have great affection for bring them into your mind's eye. See them and say to them, may you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering. Keeping this being in your mind's eye, focusing all of your attention on their essence and saying these words, may you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering. Letting the words just fall out of your mouth or in your mind quietly, steadily. May you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering. Please continue to say this quietly. Please continue to say this quietly. Please continue to say this quietly. Imagine you holding hands on the right side of you. And then bring to mind someone with whom you have challenges, someone who brings up negative feelings or emotions in you. Bring that person to mind. See them in front of you. See their humanity. See them as a being that has desires for happiness and peace just like you do, that has pain and disappointment just like you do. See this being in front of you and say, may you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering. Don't worry about how it feels. Just say the words. May you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering. Say these words over and over. May you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering. And take this being now that challenges you and bring them to your left. Imagine holding their hand on the left side. And then bring to mind someone in your life that you see every day that you don't know very well, maybe the person who you buy coffee from in the morning, the person who delivers your mail, someone with whom you have neutral mind about. Bring this person to mind and say to them, may you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering. Seeing this person in your mind's eye as a person with their own story, their own desires and disappointments, their joys and excitements, pain and loss. Seeing the humanity in this person you don't know and saying to them quietly and steadily, may you be well, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering. And now in your mind's eye. In your mind's eye, have this person take the hands of the person on your right with whom you have so much affection and the person on your left with whom you have challenges and create a circle. And in this circle in your mind's eye, imagine you all say together, may we be well, may we be happy, may we be free from suffering. Feeling the collective humanity and oneness in all of these beings. May we be well, may we be happy, may we be free from suffering. May we be well, may we be free from suffering. Imagine releasing the hands and placing your hands over your heart's left palm on the center of the chest, right palm over your left palm. We dedicate this session of our meditation to all beings everywhere, all beings, whether big or small, near or far, seen or unseen, may all beings everywhere be well, may all beings everywhere be happy, may all beings everywhere be free from suffering. Taking a nice deep breath in through your nose and a complete breath out. Namaste. Namaste.