It is World Kindness Day today, the perfect time to share the Loving Kindness meditation.
The Loving-Kindness Meditation (also called “Metta”) is a tradition that has roots in many different cultures. It is a gentle but powerful form of mindful meditation that cultivates the spirit of loving kindness as a way of opening your heart to feel more compassion and kindness towards yourself and others, to let go of any grievance or feelings of resentment, and to increase feelings of calmness and inner peace.
There are different versions of this practice, all based on repeating a set of phrases, in the same way that you would repeat a mantra, or a blessing. It’s a bit like making a wish from the heart with the image of someone or something in mind, and blowing it into the wind.
Loving Kindness is a heart felt emotion that can be directed to yourself, others or the planet. This simple set of phrases are powerful and the benefits of daily practice include:
- Increased self-acceptance and self-love
- Lower cortisol and stress in the body
- Immune function is boosted
- Reduced heart rate and blood pressure
- More empathy, acceptance and compassion towards others
- A better mood and more positive mindset
Traditionally, this practice is directed towards yourself, (round 1) your loved ones (round 2), people you don’t know very well (round 3), those who have hurt or angered you (round 4), and finally to everyone and everything on the planet and beyond (round 5).
Memories of hurt or upset can cause your brain to send out a distress signal to your entire body and this strengthens the negative associations of that memory. Even the name or image of someone who has hurt you in the past can activate the stress response, and we know that stress is a major cause of illness. In order to disable those associations in the brain, we have to create new positive thoughts, visualise the person or event, and remain calm and deeply relaxed at the same time. Memory pathways are then altered and updated and regular practice over time will enable you to totally let go of unhelpful feelings and feel so much better. Each time you do the meditation, different people might suddenly pop into your mind, or different situations, as the subconscious prompts you to release certain things from deep within your psyche.
Nelson Mandela famously said, after 27 years in prison, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.”
We don’t always consciously hold grudges, but the subconscious mind has a way of holding on to things. I have been told by many of my clients that they find it difficult to love themselves because they are less than they would like to be, in some way.
The Metta phrases are as follows and you can learn them or write them on a card and then just say them randomly, at various times throughout the day when you want to share some loving kindness, to yourself or others. It goes like this:
“May you be happy
May you be well
May you be healthy and strong
May you be free from all pain
May you be peaceful and at ease
May you be filled with loving kindness”
Let me know if you would like to receive a complimentary Loving Kindness audio meditation and I can send you my own recording.