We Should All Do Loving Kindness Meditation
In my *humble* opinion, anyway.
Sorry to “should” on you, but here’s why I think so….
We spend soooooo much time focused on all the things that aren’t going our way, trying to fix our problems (or commiserating about them), and working on constant improvement that even those of us with the best of intentions kind of cause ourselves to become Negative Nellies to a point.
When we get caught up in a tizzy of discontent, it’s easy to be overwhelmed, irritable, and lose sight of what’s good and beautiful. Which inadvertently leads to some level of unhappiness. This is the reason the principle of contentment is a big part of foundational yogic philosophy. The Sanskrit word for contentment is ‘santosha’ and it’s one of the things we’re all working toward achieving with our practice.
Not perfection.
Contentment.
From a place of contentment we are more able to meet ourselves and others right where we/they are with less judgement, more acceptance, and more feelings of happiness.
Loving Kindness meditation is an incredible tool to support your nervous system, shift your mindset to a positive one, reconnect with your sense of deep happiness and contentment from inside, remind yourself that you are loved, and to love on others.
And who in this world doesn’t love to be loved on a little extra for no reason at all?
With Loving Kindness Meditation you get to feel super centered and loved from the inside out and then you get to shine love and kindness and wish happiness out beyond yourself to others.
The best part is, this type of meditation is super simple to do!
I lead a unique guided visualization Loving Kindness Meditation the second Monday of every month, but during this February, “the month of love” (barf to the chocolate hearts, yay to the sentiment!), I want to share a quick and simple how-to so, even if you never get to join for that, you can enjoy the awesome benefits of this ancient, non-dogmatic, traditional way of meditating.
“Whatever one reflects upon frequently becomes the inclination of the mind.”
Here’s how to do it:
STEP 1 — Begin with simple seated/relaxing meditation to clear your mind for 2 to 5 minutes. Engaging in mindfulness (noticing what is happening in this moment in and around you, noticing your breath, noticing your thoughts...) provides a solid foundation to build upon in loving-kindness meditation.
STEP 2 — Invoke the aspiration of loving-kindness by saying/thinking, “May all beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.” Imagine a situation of happiness or see something that consistently demonstrates happiness to you. Hold that thought clearly in your mind. This can help you contact the “root” of happiness, or the seed of happiness that is planted within all human beings.
STEP 3 — Visualize concentric circles. Each thought we offer in this meditation is like another layer in a radiating spiral reaching out to the world and beyond. On the first layer is yourself. Feeling happiness as you did when imagining the situation of happiness in step 2, wish yourself health and happiness. “May I be healthy. May I be peaceful. May I be happy.” Really feel happy. Really feel content.
STEP 4 — Now envision someone who is alive today. Someone you have a good relationship with and whom it comes easily to wish them well. Take your own feeling of peace and happiness and see that feeling as a tangible energy you can send out to this person. Create the next circle by radiating good wishes to them. “May you be happy. I wish you happiness.” See them experiencing happiness. Imagine their radiant smile.
STEP 5 — Next try radiating happiness to someone you feel neutral about. Maybe someone you see in passing like the cashier at the grocery store or your mail carrier. Renowned meditation teacher Bill Scheffel said, “Sometimes I try to simply remember those people who were in my life the previous day ... Often I find just remembering someone makes them suddenly precious.” As a next step, you might also try choosing to radiate loving-kindness energy to someone with whom your relationship is strained or you are uncomfortable with, or even a person you consider an enemy. You do not need to force yourself to do this or to go anywhere you don’t wish to go. All people will benefit from your radiant meditation on an energetic level and over time it will come easy to wish even an enemy happiness.
STEP 6 — In this last stage of the meditation, loving-kindness becomes less specific. You can imagine your intention and energy radiating out in all directions, the spiral growing and growing. See the radiance of happiness reach through nature, your community, over geographical borders and beyond, like rays of light. You may radiate loving-kindness as far as you can imagine.
STEP 7 — To end your meditation, simply breathe deeply a few times, sighing out the mouth, gently letting go of the visualization and coming back to the here and now of present moment awareness. Sit for a moment in contented stillness and slowly reenter the activity of your life. You’ll probably feel much lighter and more able to connect with others.
Ahhhhh. I love this mediation. Don’t you feel good now?! Hope so!
NamastYAY! Maggie
