A little lovingkindness for you 💜
Oct 05, 2018
I don’t know about you, but a quick glance at the news is usually enough to send me into an angry tizzy. We’re living in contentious times, my friends. No matter what you think, believe & feel, there’s an army of people loudly thinking/believing/feeling the exact opposite. Tough times.It’s also a good time to swim around in some lovingkindess.
Lovingkindess is a simple meditation practice. The purpose is to direct goodwill toward others, including those you completely disagree with, who push your buttons and otherwise drive you absolutely crazy. It’s my favorite way to feel calmer when what I really want to do is strangle someone.
Studies show that lovingkindess meditation can make us feel happier and more connected to others. As our connections grow stronger, perhaps we’ll be more likely to treat others more kindly. I also believe we generate positive energy that helps push out the negative.
It’s easy to do. Start by sitting comfortably either on a chair or on the floor. Gently close your eyes. The meditation is a repetition of phrases, starting with ourselves before moving on to others.
Traditional phrases include:
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I be at peace.
I tend to vary these phrases as needed – a few moments of quiet time before I start gives me an indication of which phrases I want to say.
After repeating these a few times for ourselves, we move on to someone we like, maybe someone who’s helped us. Call their face to mind as you repeat:
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be at peace.
Next up is someone we feel neither love nor hate toward, simply neutral. For some reason, I tend to think of the guy who directs traffic in my dry cleaner’s parking lot.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be at peace.
Then we consider someone we don’t like, someone we have a negative relationship with. Could be someone in our personal lives, or in the public eye. As best as we can, we say:
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be at peace.
I find it’s helpful to remind myself that this person was once someone’s baby, someone’s child and is a human, even if they’re not always acting like a good human.
Then we direct our lovingkindness to all beings everywhere. Sometimes I imagine sitting down with the three other people I held in my thoughts while doing this meditation:
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be safe.
May we be at peace.
Try this a few days a week. Five minutes is a great starting time. As with all meditation, it gets easier to do on a regular basis.
May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May you be at peace.
