Loving-Kindness Meditation

“…eventually tides will be the only calendar you believe in…
And someone’s face, whom you love, will be as a star
Both intimate and ultimate,
And you will be heart-shaken and respectful.

And you will hear the air itself, like a beloved, whisper
Oh let me, for a while longer, enter the two
Beautiful bodies of your lungs…

Look, and look again.
This world is not just a little thrill for your eyes.

It’s more than bones.
It’s more than the delicate wrist with its personal pulse.
It’s more than the beating of a single heart.
It’s praising.
It’s giving until the giving feels like receiving.
You have a life- just imagine that!
You have this day, and maybe another, and maybe
Still another…

And I have become the child of the clouds, and of hope.
I have become the friend of the enemy, whoever that is.
I have become older and, cherishing what I have learned,
I have become younger.

And what do I risk to tell you this, which is all I know?
Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world. ”
~ Mary Oliver, Evidence: Poems

Today I’m sharing a simple Loving-Kindness guided meditation. Buddhists also know this as a metta meditation. Metta in buddhism means ‘friendliness’. Metta is the heart-generated warmth that reaches out and embraces others. It is also a warmth that we can direct to ourselves.

It is well documented that regular meditation helps us to reduce inflammation, anxiety and depression, to improve our immune responses, better manage pain, feel more happy and calm, and improve our overall wellbeing.

It has also been documented that recipients of the prayers and meditations of others also feel an increase in happiness and wellbeing, and an awareness of being loved.

This introductory meditation allows you to send loving kindness to yourself, and also to a loved one whom you’d like to support.

I’m posting this meditation in support of a girlfriend whose mother is suffering from a profound bout of anxiety and depression. The mother has indicated that it is stressful for her to have her daughter try to help her, and for now she is pushing her daughter away. This simple loving-kindness meditation will help my friend to overcome her feelings of rejection, and to actively engage in sending energetic support to her mother.

To participate in the meditation, all you have to do is sit or lie quietly, close your eyes and follow along to the sound of my voice. The meditation takes 9 minutes, but I suggest that you leave yourself a little longer so you can come quietly and calmly back into the world at the end of the session.

Loving-Kindness Meditation:

I encourage you to practice this meditation often. You will find that it can make a tremendous positive difference in your life over time.

Much love to you, Nicole xx