What is a Loving Kindness Meditation?

Practicing meditation creates time and space for relaxation and helps us improve the quality of our own minds.

Sounds fantastic, right?

But, actually starting a meditation practice can feel overwhelming.

There are so many different styles, names, techniques, teachers; it’s a lot to take in.

To make things a little easier for you, we’ve decided to break down some of the more popular and accessible techniques. That way, you can try them out individually and find the right place to start for yourself.

We are not meditation masters or spiritual gurus. We are just regular humans, like you, who found some amazing benefits in a beginner’s meditation practice.

So far, we have covered focused awareness and open awareness techniques.

Let’s dive into loving-kindness.

Put a little love in your heart

A loving-kindness meditation, formally known as a Metta meditation in the Buddhist tradition, is a powerful practice.

This is one of the few meditations (in our experience) where you tend to feel the benefits starting after just a single session. And it’s something we need now more than ever.

The way we interact with each other digitally can take its toll on us.

When we are not face-to-face with someone, there are no emotional consequences for being hurtful.

Think about it; if you were to call someone ugly to their face (not that you would, of course) they would react in a way that would cause a normal person emotional stress. It straight up does not feel good to be mean to people.

This emotional consequence doesn’t exist online.

If you have a presence anywhere on the internet, then you are probably aware of the judgment, divisiveness, fear, and anger that overflow the comments section of any platform. It’s basically a dumpster fire.

Loving Kindness works to put out the fire; starting with ourselves.

This exercise works to change our default response from one of judgment and anger to a deep sense of compassion and connection.

Metta is especially helpful for folks who have a hard time with a “standard” mindfulness practice.

This type of visualization or creative meditation gives the mind something deep to focus on instead of simply trying to follow your breath.

At its root, this meditation is about cultivating love; for both yourself and everyone around you.

We highly recommend you try it. Click here for a free guided exercise.

Originally published at https://bluedoormedia.co on February 4, 2021.