This post is by Studio Owner/Director Leena.
One form of meditation that resonates the most with me is called metta practice. Metta is a Pali word that is often translated as “loving kindness.” In loving kindness meditation, you repeat simple thoughts or phrases of goodwill to various people. You might bring to mind someone you love easily, an acquaintance you feel neutral about, and even people who you find difficult to hear from or interact with. You might also direct these good thoughts toward yourself, or broaden your wishes to include a large group of people, or even to all beings.
There are lots of variations, but here’s the one that I often use, and that I’m gradually teaching my kiddos:
May you be happy
May you be healthy
May you be safe and free from danger
May you work for justice
May you have peace
It is so easy to repeat such a blessing to a child you love, and to feel your heart open and soften as you speak or think the words. To me, the transformative power of metta practice comes from taking that soft open heartedness and expanding the meditation to include those neutral people, the parts of yourself that are hard to accept, and even people you have conflict with. The energy of loving kindness slowly grows, and you can feel it soften your prickly perceptions or harsh judgements of others, and of yourself.
When it’s hard to feel loving kindness toward someone I strongly dislike (for example a certain past American president and business mogul 😉), I imagine sending metta to the inner child of the person I’m bringing to mind. This helps me soften and feel love and care when their adult self is hard to tolerate.
Metta practice has also enabled me to tend to my fear and anxiety. I mentioned that I’m beginning to teach my kids metta meditation, but I actually began practicing it with them when I was pregnant. At that time, I was having substantial levels of anxiety and fear around the unknowns that can come with welcoming new children into the world. I would sit and repeat metta again and again, for myself and for the little life I was carrying. Metta allowed me to feel more grounded and connected, surrender to the unknowns, and focus on my wishes of health, goodness, and support no matter what came next. In metta practice, you practice holding the wish, intent and feelings, while practicing letting go of attachment to the outcome.
Another time I really feel the potency of metta meditation is when I feel powerless in the face of war or suffering somewhere in the world. More than a hope or a prayer, Metta practice helps me remember to send loving kindness to all, even those I might perceive as aggressors, and even to the non-human beings like the forests and the animals that also are caught up in and harmed by human conflict.
At this time, many of us are grieving the terrible suffering on all sides of conflicts in Sudan, in Gaza and Israel, and in Ukraine. It can be hard not to shut down. So many people in our own community are struggling with homelessness, addiction, food insecurity, and isolation. I’m not suggesting metta is going to solve these complex problems. But, loving kindness can be a way to keep our tender hearts open and bolster ourselves with compassion so that we can hold it for others. In a world with so many needs and so many divisions, metta helps us open up to our shared humanity, and from there, we can heed the call to take loving actions that move us towards justice and peace.
The Branches 