Loving Kindness Meditation (Metta)

When we face uncertainty and stare into the unknown, it’s easy to feel anxious, fearful, or sad. We are missing many of the things that we formerly relied upon to support our resiliency, such as the ability to gather with family and friends or to join with others in yoga classes, dance, and group meditations.

While it can be challenging to commit to similar habits on our own, it is more important than ever during these complex and uncertain times to have a supportive practice that increases our hopefulness and keeps the mind/heart, light, and flexible, rather than heavy, dull, and grim.

Loving Kindness Meditation (metta)

The practice of metta, or loving-kindness meditation, is one such practice that sustains us as we face the challenges and difficulties of these times.

The simplest form of this practice is just to repeat, “May I be happy,” on the in-breath and, “May all beings be happy,” on the out-breath. Try this for a few minutes and you will find your mind becoming increasingly joyous.

To go into the practice in more depth, you can use loving-kindness phrases, such as “May I be safe, may I be happy, may I be healthy, may I have ease of well-being.” Offer these phrases to yourself first, breathing each one in gently, like a delicious aroma.

Once you start to feel more buoyant and cheerful, you can begin offering these phrases to others, picturing them in your mind as you do so. “May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you have ease of well-being.”

First visualize your parents, friends, and loved ones and offer them these phrases. Then visualize someone you barely know, such as your mail delivery person, and offer the phrases to them.

I love you. Keep going.