A meditation for kindness is not a new thing. Metta bhavana is a Buddhist technique that can help to develop compassion.
Think of it as a muscle that can be exercised. When we are kids we might not have much of it, but as we age, it can become a part of our wisdom and our betterment.
Compassion is very different from pity. Pity puts us on a pedestal, but compassion assumes we are all the same. We all hit rough patches and those patches feel a little smoother when we have loving people in our corners.
There are many ways to do this meditation, but let’s start by having a seat.
Start to breathe in and around where you imagine your emotional heart to be.
Feel if there are any areas of blockage or numbness. This meditation will drop beneath that and make you feel more open.
Begin by recognizing and expressing goodwill to yourself. Start to give yourself an affirmation. It can be “May I be loving. May I be kind. May I be well and happy.” If you don’t believe this exact phrase, construct a sentence that holds true for you yet brings out lightness.
Start to expand. Bring into your heart a close friend. Think of them and repeat the same phrase in their honour.
Bring into your heart an acquaintance. Perhaps this is someone you have never thought of outside of the context of work. Give them a chance to reside in your heart and your awareness until you wholeheartedly wish the same things for them that you do for yourself.
The tough one is to bring into your heart someone who challenges you. This person may not give you much pleasure, but has the capability to teach you great lessons. Let yourself believe that they deserve what you deserve.
Finally, feel your love and your kindness expand to your whole town.
Your whole country.
The whole world.
Kindness and love can feel like depleting resources, so we need to find them in ourselves to bring them back.
This meditation will make you aware of how much your individual consciousness, and your kindness, matters.
