What is the Metta Prayer? May all beings in my hemisphere be happy. As you deeply breathe in and out, imagine filling your heart with pink or green light on the in-breath, and then imagine sending that same light out to the world from your heart on the out-breath, as you repeat these words to yourself: “May all beings be free, may all beings find peace and may all beings be blessed with good health as this pandemic passes like the seasons.”. May they be peaceful. The... 2. Be gentle with yourself, right from the beginning. I’ve adapted the words of the sutta to formulate them as an aspiration that can be repeated in a prayer-like way. CHOICELESSLY CHOOSING CHOICELESSNESS: Is free will really just an illusion? May they be peaceful. If anyone has hurt me, knowingly or unknowingly in thought, word or deed, I extend my forgiveness. Metta is Loving-Kindness, is one of the cornerstones of Buddhist Practice and a companion of Mindfulness. The metta prayer of loving kindness is a prayer or mantra used as part of a loving-kindness meditation, or metta bhavana. May they be peaceful. May they be well. This video is a guided Metta Prayer. We have various lovingkindness meditations available in our online store. In all our relationships, such as our relationship with ourselves, with our family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers and our intimate-other, metta can help us gain more patience and insight into our interactions, as … Feel free to reach out to Forrest through email: forrestrivers4@gmail.com or leave a message on his website: forrestrivers.com. It can take time to cultivate, and at first it may feel forced. I love myself. Thank you, And you guide us to the liberating path. They are filled with infinite wisdom and love. The compassion and universal loving-kindness concept of Metta is discussed in the Metta Sutta of Buddhism, and is also found in the ancient and medieval texts of … May all beings on planet Earth be happy. May I live with a heart and mind that is always in balan… May they be peaceful. -Forrest-. We hope and pray you stay sound, calm and connected during this ongoing global crisis. May all beings on my continent be happy. Slowly close your eyes and bring your awareness to the centre of your heart, as you begin to inhale and exhale long, deep breaths. If you don’t have the time or the patience to do all the stages, do as many as you feel comfortable with. May they be free. May they be free. It was indeed! If I have hurt anyone, knowingly or unknowingly in thought, word or deed, I ask for their forgiveness. Smith, who has made it his life’s work to aid in the recovery of those with substance abuse issues, led us through a 20-minute Metta practice. Article on Metta Metta Sutta. This practice will work even if you have no personal spiritual belief. May I be free from suffering and at ease with pain. You can practice loving-kindness in a seated […] Remarkably, too, it could also heal the whole world, at a time when we are in desperate need of healing. When you go to bed feeling loving-friendliness toward yourself and others, you will … Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site. Here is a portion of “Maylie’s Metta Prayer” (quoted by Robert Meikyo Rosenbaum in “Walking the Way” ): May I be at ease in my body, feeling the ground beneath my seat and feet … May I be attentive and gentle toward my own discomfort and suffering … May I … Metta meditation doesn’t work like that. This guided meditation so moved my spirit and opened my heart that I began attending Dave’s Sunday evening session each week. In one of his many thoughtful articles, Reif relates how he has learned to tap into online spiritual communities through Zoom (the interactive web interface program that has soared in popularity during the crisis) to cultivate feelings of loving-kindness: “I rise, as often as possible, at 5 a.m. At 6:30, I attend ‘Virtual Morning Arti,’ an international Zoom gathering of Meher Baba devotees. I guess those were the early days of the Vipassana movement in America, and Barre was one of the only places for it. The Metta prayer of loving-kindness is a prayer used as part of a loving-kindness meditation. May all beings in my vicinity be happy. In both studies, scientific researchers found overwhelming evidence of a powerful link between the practice of mass Metta (loving-kindness) meditation circles and lower incidences of war. Praise to Buddha Shakyamuni. May they be well. Is it really a stretch for our imaginations to envision meditation circles popping up all over the world, through virtual connections? With each recitation of the phrases, we are expressing an intention, planting the seeds of loving wishes over and over in our heart. On those days of intention-filled Metta practice, crime and traffic tickets in the near vicinity went down as well. The Metta Prayer The Buddha gave a beautiful teaching on the development of lovingkindness called the Metta Sutta (also known as the Karaniya Metta Sutta). One recites specific words and phrases evoking a "boundless warm-hearted feeling." The idea is to wish the good things we all naturally desire; first for oneself, then for a close loved one, then radiating out by degrees until one … Two of the primary purposes of meditation are to learn to let go and to recognize one’s interconnection to all things. This kind of meditation and use of a mantra is popular in the Buddhist tradition. This is a Buddhist Loving Kindness Meditation. I invite you to breath in, soften, marinate, consume, those prayers that feel right for you. was so eye-opening that some memory or other of it still comes to mind frequently, so many years later. Prayers sent to:1) Yourself, 2) benefactor/mentor, 3) neutral person, 4) difficult person 5) all beings, the earth & universe. Loving-Kindness Meditation for Others. With each recitation of the phrases, we are expressing an intention, planting the seeds of loving wishes over and over in our heart. Weekly Articles, Giveaways & Inspirations!Â. My heart fills with with loving kindness. If Metta meditation practice can bring peace to a war-torn people, imagine what it could accomplish in terms of alleviating all suffering related to COVID-19! Metta is the Pali word for … May they be well. Metta roughly translates to ‘benevolence’ or ‘loving-kindness’ in Pali, and comes to us from the Buddhist tradition. Looking back now on that fateful day in early 2013, I am amazed at how completely this simple yet meaningful practice touched my soul. Maybe, we can all follow Reif’s example. I had the good fortune to have Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfeld, and Sharon Salzberg leading the retreat, and the whole thing (I stayed 3 weeks, many people were staying much longer.) During this period of mass sickness and poverty, Metta is a profound meditation technique that at once achieves both goals. May all beings in the Universe be happy. A HAPPY PERSON IS A HEALTHY PERSON: How happiness promotes good physical health, A SELF-ESTEEM JOURNAL: 6 reasons to start writing to boost your quality of life, COMPASSION AND SURVIVAL: Moving on from treating others with disregard, WORLD KINDNESS: Kindness is a gift everyone can afford to give, THE POWER OF PERSPECTIVE DURING COVID-19: Coping with change and achieving your goals, LIVING ABROAD FOR LOVE: 3 truths we’ve learned about international relationships, FAMILY LEAVE: It’s vital to carve out time for ourselves, METTA MEDITATION: Learn to practice loving-kindness to all beings», The Hippie Revival and Collected Writings, Forrest Rivers image courtesy of John MacLean, MASQUERADE: Remove the masks to be free and embrace our light, TIME AND THE WRITER: A meditation on the transcendence experienced through writing, DREAM INTERPRETATION: A message from the Superconscious mind [symbols: angels, battle]. May they be well. My heart fills with with loving kindness. 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