Loving Kindness (Metta) Meditation
Purpose of this meditation
Loving-kindness meditation is a proven beginner meditation designed to increase benevolence to yourself and those around you. It is a 30-minute guided meditation that includes visualization practices to open your heart and increase your connectivity with others. The purpose of this meditation is to increase benevolence (a sense of friendliness) increasing the compassion element but has many aspects of wisdom in it too. For more information, please do the Loving-Kindness course to get present to the source of the Buddha’s teaching. Check out the latest research on this meditation.
Who is this meditation for?
The Loving-Kindness meditation is ideal for beginners. However, to start practicing it is useful to join a group as it is an insight meditation relating to your emotions and can be challenging to give love to those who have upset us. When practicing in a group, there is an opportunity to share at the end what comes up which can be useful to yourself and others to listen to. It is ideal for anyone struggling with anger and frustration with yourself and those around you as is the recommended antidote meditation for hindrance aversion.
What this meditation can help with
The benefits of this meditation are that you start to increase your empathy skills for yourself and those around you. After practicing this meditation every day for just 2 weeks it can actually change the grey matter in your brain. It has been suggested that it promotes positive emotions and sets the intention for kindness when you have finished the meditation. Please review the studies and the benefits of this meditation to give you the motivation to practice. Here is also a link to 18 science based facts on why this meditation works.
Check out this ted talk about the happiest monk in the world.
How to practice this meditation
This meditation can be practiced in the morning or the evening before going to bed. There is a recorded version that you can access below or join a group guided meditation every week day at 8am (UK time) which is free of charge.
“The morning Meditation really helps us start our day on a positive note and helps us to calm our body and mind from all worries or anxiety. After each meditation there is a discussion where everyone discusses about all the thoughts that came to their mind or the problems they face during the meditation and the teacher tries to resolve the issues.”
