by Jayne Summersby
In this series I give a very simple step-by-step guide to three different meditation methods:
1. The Mindfulness of Breathing
2. The Metta Bhavana (sometimes known as Kindly Awareness)
3. Body Awareness
The Cultivation of Kindness (Metta Bhavana)
I love this meditation. It fills me with positivity. It can be challenging at times and often brings some strong emotions to the surface. But I have found that the transformation and peace that follows has always proved worth it.
What does this method do?
In this series I give a very simple step-by-step guide to three different meditation methods:
1. The Mindfulness of Breathing
2. The Metta Bhavana (sometimes known as Kindly Awareness)
3. Body Awareness
The Cultivation of Kindness (Metta Bhavana)
I love this meditation. It fills me with positivity. It can be challenging at times and often brings some strong emotions to the surface. But I have found that the transformation and peace that follows has always proved worth it.
What does this method do?
- brings calm to your mind and body
- trains your mind to respond to life's challenges with positivity
cultivates feelings of loving kindness to our fellow beings - provides a sense of well-being
Step By Step
1. Prepare for the sit in the normal way. In addtion, you will also need to choose three people who you will visualise during the meditaiton. Ideally, these people should all be real people who are living and to whom you are not related or sexually attracted. The first person should be a good friend. Second, choose someone you don't know well, like the postman or someone you see on the bus. The third person should be someone with whom you have difficulty.
2. Stage1 Bring to mind an image of yourself. Befriend yourself. Often we are mucher harder on ourselves than we would ever be on others - now is the time to see yourself from the outside. Just like other people, you want to be loved and cared for. Just like other people you try your best in life. Just like other people, you sometimes succeed, and sometimes fail. You want to be a good person. You want to be loved. Bringing yourself to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May I be well. May I be happy."
3. Stage 2 Bring to mind the first person you have chosen - the good friend. Be aware of your emotional response towards them, looking to cultivate any feelings of love or warmth you may experience. Remember that your good friend is like you - they experience hope and loss, happiness and sadness, joy and fear. They hav dreams. They experience pleasure and pain, just as you do. Bringing the person to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May you be well. May you be happy."
4. Stage 3 Bring to mind the second person - the person you don't know very well. Although you don't know them well, you do know that you share the same humanity. Like you, they want to be loved. Like you, they try their best - sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they fail. Bringing them to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May you be well. May you be happy."
5. Stage 4 Bring to mind the third person - the person you don't get on with. Although you don't get on with them, and they may evoke difficult emotions, just reflect that they too share their basic human experince with you. Like you, they want to be loved. Like you, they try their best - sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they fail. Bringing them to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May you be well. May you be happy."
6. Stage 5 Finally, imagine that all the people you have chosen are sitting there with you. Envelope the whole group in a bubble of love and positivity. Unite the group with your common experience of humanity. Like you, they want to be loved. Like you, they try their best - sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they fail. And broaden your imagination out to all people, all beings, in your neighbourhood, in your country, in the whole world. Bringing them to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May we be well. May we be happy."
7. End the meditation by gently broadening out your attention to the whole of your body, then opening your eyes.
Things to watch for
1. Prepare for the sit in the normal way. In addtion, you will also need to choose three people who you will visualise during the meditaiton. Ideally, these people should all be real people who are living and to whom you are not related or sexually attracted. The first person should be a good friend. Second, choose someone you don't know well, like the postman or someone you see on the bus. The third person should be someone with whom you have difficulty.
2. Stage1 Bring to mind an image of yourself. Befriend yourself. Often we are mucher harder on ourselves than we would ever be on others - now is the time to see yourself from the outside. Just like other people, you want to be loved and cared for. Just like other people you try your best in life. Just like other people, you sometimes succeed, and sometimes fail. You want to be a good person. You want to be loved. Bringing yourself to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May I be well. May I be happy."
3. Stage 2 Bring to mind the first person you have chosen - the good friend. Be aware of your emotional response towards them, looking to cultivate any feelings of love or warmth you may experience. Remember that your good friend is like you - they experience hope and loss, happiness and sadness, joy and fear. They hav dreams. They experience pleasure and pain, just as you do. Bringing the person to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May you be well. May you be happy."
4. Stage 3 Bring to mind the second person - the person you don't know very well. Although you don't know them well, you do know that you share the same humanity. Like you, they want to be loved. Like you, they try their best - sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they fail. Bringing them to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May you be well. May you be happy."
5. Stage 4 Bring to mind the third person - the person you don't get on with. Although you don't get on with them, and they may evoke difficult emotions, just reflect that they too share their basic human experince with you. Like you, they want to be loved. Like you, they try their best - sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they fail. Bringing them to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May you be well. May you be happy."
6. Stage 5 Finally, imagine that all the people you have chosen are sitting there with you. Envelope the whole group in a bubble of love and positivity. Unite the group with your common experience of humanity. Like you, they want to be loved. Like you, they try their best - sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they fail. And broaden your imagination out to all people, all beings, in your neighbourhood, in your country, in the whole world. Bringing them to mind in this compassionate, forgiving way, bring to mind the phrase: "May we be well. May we be happy."
7. End the meditation by gently broadening out your attention to the whole of your body, then opening your eyes.
Things to watch for
- You will find that your mind sometimes wanders away from the breath. When it does, don't be hard on yourself - this is normal - just gently bring the mind back to its task with kindness, as if it were a small child.
- Sometimes you may find that difficult, negative or painful emotions arise. Don't fight them. Just respond to those emotions with acceptance and kindness. As the Buddha said: Hatred cannot be conquered by hatred - only by love.
- If you find that your body becomes full of excited joyful energy, just relax (and enjoy it!)
Photo by freefoto.com
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