09 Sep Loving kindness – what if we all … ???
You’d be hard pressed to find any expert in health and wellbeing, in psychology or any discipline related to mental health, who DIDN’T advocate for some form of meditation (for most of us).
And that’s not just because it’s popular; but more so, because it’s been proven to work.
Research clearly shows that those who mediate regularly enjoy more health and wellness, more happiness and resilience and … well so much more, including better relationships and usually better performance at work (and that’s just to name a few).
But within the field of meditation there are several options; all of which have pros and cons. One, however, seems to have even more support from the research for its efficacy and that is …
… loving kindness (sometimes referred to as metta) meditation.
You can easily search for and find instructions for how to practise loving kindness but in short it goes something like this:
- begin by focusing on yourself, and repeating quietly to yourself … I wish to be safe, I wish to be healthy, I wish to be happy, and I wish to live a peaceful and meaningful life
- then, focus on a loved one, and similarly repeat … I wish them to be safe, I wish them to be healthy, I wish them to be happy, and I wish them to live a peaceful and meaningful life
- following this, repeat for someone you know but have a strained or difficult relationship with
- and finally, repeat this for everyone, for the whole world!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting the widespread practice of metta would immediately or automatically lead to world peace, or end world hunger etcetera.
But it’s not hard to imagine that if we set these types of intentions for ourselves, and for others, and if we went into the world with a goal or desire to be loving and caring of ourselves and others, that this would not have some positive impact. At the very least, it would do no harm. Very possibly, it might foster and develop a happier and more caring world. And is there anyone who wouldn’t want that?