On This Valentines Day ~
I thought on this day when the ideas of Love and Kindness and Gratitude are at the forefront of most everyone's mind, I'd take it as an opportunity to share a simple and yet very powerful meditation. One that anyone can do, takes no more than 5-10 minutes and leaves you feeling calm, blessed and good about yourself and others.
I've shared this mediation with yoga students on occasion and my kiddos when they were really young and thought I was cool.
Metta meditation, or loving-kindness practice ~
Metta meditation also know as a loving-kindness meditation, is a Buddhist practice for cultivating compassion for ourselves and others through directing loving, friendly phrases and goodwill to yourself, others and all beings. The practice originates from the historical Buddha’s early discourse on immeasurable friendliness, the Metta Sutta.
Metta is a concentration and mindfulness practice that invites the practitioner into a more loving and connected state of mind. This practice can be practiced anywhere, anytime, be it on a meditation cushion or yoga mat. Your couch... Hell, I literally just practiced this while my coffee was brewing and decided to sit in the middle of the kitchen floor.
It's no fluff, no woo woo - just love and kindness. No different than a prayer to a God(s), mother earth or deities - however you choose to define it.
“In metta, we work to develop feelings of ease and love as boundless as the oceans that nourish and sustain our world,” says Buddhist teacher Josh Korda.
Why Practice Loving-Kindness?
Through metta, we become more honest and loving toward ourselves and the world around us and lord knows we could all use more of that! In metta meditation, we extend wishes of happiness, safety, and ease toward ourselves and others. In the most common version of metta practice, we offer these feelings of goodwill through the use of simple phrases first to ourselves, and in succession to someone we love, someone we consider a “difficult person,” and finally to all beings, everywhere.
Lets do this! ~
Get comfortable - whatever that is. Like I said, I did this on the kitchen floor this morning, so by no means does this need to be fussy - you could do it before you get out of bed or close your office door for 10 minutes and sit at your desk. This is an accessible mediation for ALL - just as we are trying to make love and kindness accessible for ALL.
So...there are 4 parts to this mediation* ~
- First, you will offer these love and kindness words to Yourself
- Second, you will offer them to someone you Love
- Third, you will offer them to someone you struggle with or is a difficulty in your life
- Lastly, you will offer the words to All Beings
*Some folks add a 5th as someone your indifferent to (like the guy behind you at the grocery store) Totally your call.
Beginning with #1, Yourself - Repeat these words:
May I Be Happy (take and inhale and exhale)
May I Be Safe (inhale and exhale)
May I Be Healthy (inhale and exhale)
May I Be Free From Suffering and Live With Ease
** inhale and exhale and simply breathe for a moment and take that all in. When you're ready, continue on...
Beginning with #2, Someone You Love - Repeat these words:
May YOU Be Happy (take and inhale and exhale)
May YOU Be Safe (inhale and exhale)
May YOU Be Healthy (inhale and exhale)
May YOU Be Free From Suffering and Live With Ease
** inhale and exhale and simply breathe for a moment and take that all in. When you're ready, continue on...
Beginning with #3, Someone You Struggle With - Repeat these words:
May THEY Be Happy (take and inhale and exhale)
May THEY Be Safe (inhale and exhale)
May THEY Be Healthy (inhale and exhale)
May THEY Be Free From Suffering and Live With Ease
** inhale and exhale and simply breathe for a moment and take that all in. When you're ready, continue on...
Beginning with #4, All Beings - Repeat these words:
May ALL BEINGS Be Happy (take and inhale and exhale)
May ALL BEINGS Be Safe (inhale and exhale)
May ALL BEINGS Be Healthy (inhale and exhale)
May ALL BEINGS Be Free From Suffering and Live With Ease
** inhale and exhale and simply breathe for a moment and take that all in.
That's it! ~
That's all there is to it! Simple right? How do you feel? If nothing else you took ten minutes to just breathe, be still, and think loving thoughts...there are soooo many benefits to that. You may even feel a bit energized - though I still needed to have my coffee after my metta practice this morning.
There is a quote I use to share in class by Penny Pierce from her book FREQUENCY, and for the life of me can't find where the hell I wrote it in my journal, so I'm paraphrasing it here. In essence it goes something like this...
By raising the vibration within you, you raise the vibration of everyone else within your energetic field.
THANK YOU for practicing this mediation if you decided to so. Thank you for helping to raise the vibration in the spaces closest to you and to those furthest away. Can you imagine the impact on the world as a whole if we took more time to share a little more Love and Kindness.
I wish you nothing but love and light and an abundance of peace and ease today and everyday. Thank you for practicing with me and may you always BE WELL.
xo,
B