Loving kindness…pass it on
You may be familiar with the Loving Kindness meditation, developed from the Buddhist concept of Metta:
May you be filled with loving kindness
May you be well
May you be peaceful and at ease
May you be happy
Stated simply, Metta is the wish that all beings (regardless of social, religious, racial, political, and economic status) have welfare and happiness. Developing Metta through loving-kindness meditation can make it easier to replace feelings of bitterness, resentment, and animosity with more positive feelings of benevolence, sympathy, and love. Sounds good, right? And it is.
Basically, here’s how it works: You start out by saying the meditation a few times to yourself, “May I be filled with loving kindness…”. After that, visualize your loved ones and say it to them. After that, visualize a mentor or someone who has influenced you in a positive way and say it to him/her. Then visualize someone who is challenging to you and say it to them (tough, I know, but bear with me here). Finally, branch out to saying the meditation to your community, country, and the world. Wish happiness for all beings.
Try it a few times, you’ll see that it really can make a bad day better! And if a visual way of thinking helps–or you just want to relax for a few minutes–check out this video (bonus: in addition the trippy music, there’s some really beautiful photography):
(Thanks to Betty for the submission!)
A Place Called Earth (great photos)
Scroll through, or let it play on its own:
(Thanks to Tina for the submission!)
Lake Pontchartrain sunset
Sunset over Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans, LA
Click on the image for the full version. This photo is royalty-free for personal use and may be saved to your computer as a desktop background, wallpaper, etc.
Hudson River sunset
Sunset over the Hudson River, New York, NY
Click on the image for the full version. This photo is royalty-free for personal use and may be saved to your computer as a desktop background, wallpaper, etc.
