Loving Kindness Meditation
Also called metta meditation, loving-kindness meditation is the simple practice of directing well-wishes towards other people. It begins a powerful connection that starts from within.
Why practice loving kindness meditation?
It opens us to listening to each other’s stories.
It's calms your nervous system.
Peace and focus.
The Practice
Preparation: Sit quietly in a comfortable position with a straight spine. You may use the sanskrit mantra at the bottom of the page or the words in English below.
While focusing on someone you know well and love, repeat these words:
May you be filled with loving-kindness
May you be well
May you feel peaceful and at ease
May you be happy.
Next, bring to mind someone who is struggling:
May you be filled with loving-kindness
May you be well
May you feel peaceful and at ease
May you be happy.
Now, someone you sense has a need for kindness, and you don’t know them well:
May you be filled with loving-kindness
May you be well
May you feel peaceful and at ease
May you be happy.
Stay seated for 3 rounds of inhale and exhale. Inhaling to a slow count of 3 and 4 on exhale.
If you are interested . . .
You may want to try a beautiful sanskrit mantra which reminds us that we are interconnected with all living beings in the universe. Sanskrit dates back 7000-8000 years. Used before language, before the written word, its sounds are not simply phonetic but rather carry within them resonating sounds.
“Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu”.
Meaning:
May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.
Sanskrit writing and pronunciation:
Let’s examine the syllables of the mantra:
Lokah: People or universe Samastah: All beings living in the same location Sukhino: Free from suffering, centered in happiness Bhav: The state of unified existence Antu: May it be so, it must be so