A loving Kindness Meditation Script
A loving kindness meditation script – and 7 reasons to use it!
Kindness with Love Meditation, also known as Metta meditation, is a centuries-old practise that originated in the Buddhist tradition. It entails repeating a set of sentences while expressing your intention for happiness, peace, and health for yourself and all beings.
What is Meditation of Loving Kindness?
Loving Kindness Meditation, also known as Metta meditation, is a centuries-old Buddhist practise. It entails repeating a set of sentences while expressing your intention for happiness, peace, and health for yourself and all beings.
The phrases are usually along the lines of:
May I (you/we) be content
May I (you/we) be at ease.
May I (you / us) be in good health.
You begin by speaking these phrases to yourself, then to a larger group, beginning with someone you love or feel close to, then someone neutral, someone with whom you have some unfavourable feelings, and eventually all beings.
On paper, it may seem a little straightforward and sugary to those of us who err on the side of cynicism. However, as Sharon Salzberg, a well-known meditation instructor and the author of Lovingkindness, puts it:
in actuality, practising loving-kindness as a strength, a muscle, a tool challenges our predisposition to regard people (including ourselves) as separate, statically and rigidly isolated from one another. Opening oneself up to people with compassion and serenity is a difficult practise that requires us to push back against assumptions, prejudices, and labels that most of us have internalised.
And, like with so many parts of yoga, the only way to truly understand what it's all about is to go on your mat and practise with focus and attention!
In this post, I'll go over some of the evidence-based advantages of Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM), as well as a script to follow and customise.
7 Reasons to Practice Loving Kindness Meditation
LKM is increasingly being recognised by modern research as a strong technique that has a variety of emotional, social, neurological, and physical health advantages. LKM has been linked to the following in certain studies:
Increased positive feelings such as love, joy, amazement, and hope, which improved life satisfaction, social support, and purpose (Fredrickson, and colleagues, 2008)
Self-criticism and depression symptoms are reduced in self-critical people (Shahar et al). (2014)
Empathy (Klimecki et al.) has increased (2013)
Improved vagal tone (Kok et al.) — the vagus nerve is linked to our rest and digest systems (2013)
Pain, anger, and psychological discomfort associated with chronic lower back pain are reduced (Carson et al., 2005).
Slower biological ageing - Telomeres are genetic materials that shrink as we get older. When compared to a matched control group, women who had had LKM exhibited greater telomere length. Hoge and colleagues (2013)
While most of these studies focused on 6- to 7-week programmes, just 10 minutes of loving-kindness meditation had an immediate demonstrable relaxing impact, as seen by parasympathetic nervous system activity and slower breathing (Law, 2011)
Script for Loving Kindness
If you're conducting the meditation alone, take some time to consider the terms you'll use. Traditional phrases include "May I be safe," "be happy," and "be well," but you can get creative and add phrases that speak to you to personalise the statements. Keep it to a small number and keep it basic so you can easily repeat it. Following are some ideas:
May I be content
May I be at ease.
I hope you are well.
May I live comfortably.
May I be filled with delight.
May I be pain-free.
Please keep me safe.
May I be free from pain.
May I be secure?
To begin
Sitting on a cushion or in a chair, find a comfortable position. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing rhythm. Imagine sitting with someone or something who exemplifies loving kindness to you, such as a spiritual teacher, a pet, a warm light, or even a favourite tree, according to George Langenberg.
only to yourself
Bring your focus inwards. Visualize yourself in your imagination. Become acutely aware of who you are. "Saturate yourself with mindfulness," Tashi Dawa says in her lesson.
Repeat your chosen phrases two to five times silently to yourself, depending on how much time you have. (Keep track of how many repetitions you do and make sure everyone does the same number.)
May I be content
May I be at ease.
I hope you're doing well.
Take your time with the repetitions. Say them slowly and thoughtfully, as if you're feeling them!
If other thoughts begin to enter your mind, gently return your attention back to the words.
If sending this love to yourself is tough, think of a small act of kindness you've performed and speak the words from this place of goodwill. You can also imagine yourself as a child and wish them luck.
You or someone you know
Consider a close friend, partner, or child with whom you share your life - someone you care about. Imagine them seated in front of you, and let your imagination run wild. Speak your chosen phrases to this individual as if they are present with you wherever they are:
I wish you happiness.
May you be at ease.
May you be in good health.
Allow that person to stand up and go away after you have uttered these sentences a few times.
Someone impartial
Next, consider someone with whom you share neutral feelings. This could be someone you run across in your neighbourhood on occasion, or someone who works in your neighbourhood store. Place them in front of you. Speak the following phrases to them:
I wish you happiness.
May you be at ease.
May you be in good health.
Allow that person to rise up and go away once you've finished. Return your attention to your breathing.
Someone with whom you have unfavourable feelings
Imagine a person with whom you have terrible sentiments or memories. Someone with whom you've had a long-standing feud, or perhaps a brief act of contempt. It might be a former or current lover, a sibling, or a coworker. If the sentiments are too raw or strong, choose someone you don't know well or envision yourself as a youngster.
Speak as if they are sitting immediately in front of you and you are speaking to them. Repeat the following phrases:
I wish you happiness.
May you be at ease.
May you be in good health.
As that individual stands up and walks away, reconnect with yourself by placing your hands on your heart and belly, if it helps you reconnect.
To all living things
Expand your horizons. Consider your family, followed by all of their friends, and finally all of their friends' families. Consider who you could meet in the future and who you may never meet. Repeating your words and sending them out into the universe:
May we all be content.
May we all live in harmony.
May we be in good health.
Take a few more moments in calm meditation as you reach the end, focusing on your breath and any feelings in your body.