![]() TARGET GROUP
Is participant experience relevant?It's okay if participants haven't seen the inside of a classroom in years. Physical trust needed
Mental trust neededREQUIREMENTSDuration10 minutes – 60 minutes Experience level of the facilitatorroutine as participant OR professional facilitator Number of facilitators1 CHARACTER OF THE METHODLevel of activationcalmingWoo-Woo Level – How touchy-feely is this method?From 1.Rationalist-Materialist “No feelings here, folks.” to 5.Esoteric-Shamanic Bleeding Heart: Innovation Phases:• 2 Creating an Innovation-Friendly Culture Method Category:• Appreciative / Community building |
SHORT DESCRIPTIONThis flexible non-religious guided meditation can be a powerful attitude changer, sending well wishes to all beings. ALTERNATIVE NAME OF THE METHODLovingkindness meditation BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND AND PURPOSE"Metta" is a Pali word (or "maitri" in Sanskrit) meaning lovingkindness, benevolence, friendliness, goodwill, close mental union (on same mental wavelength), and active interest in others. The practice of Metta is one of the ten paramitas (perfections) of the Theravada school of Buddhism. The cultivation of benevolence is a popular form of meditation in Buddhism. In the Theravadan Buddhist tradition, this practice begins with the meditator cultivating benevolence towards themselves, then one's loved ones, friends, teachers, strangers, enemies, and finally towards all sentient beings. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, this practice is associated with tonglen, whereby one breathes in (receiving) suffering, transforms it in their heart, and breathes out (radiating) happiness. In the practice shared here, we practice Metta on ourselves after all the individuals, just before we extend our well wishes to all beings. Tonglen is also described in this database. ORIGINAL SOURCEThis is an ancient practice originally from Theravadan Buddhism. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDEPREPARATION (excluding materials)Preparation Come to a comfortable seated position. Let your spine be erect and free. You can sit on the edge of a chair (not leaning on the back) or sit on a cushion on the floor such that your hips are higher than your knees. The most important thing is to take a position that is comfortable, relaxed, and active. Let your exhale fall out of you, sighing. Sink into your seat, feeling your weight on your sitting surface. Bring your attention down into your heart area. Tune in. Can you feel your physical heart beating? Take a few breaths here. Bring your awareness to your own being. Feel what it is like to occupy your body right now. Connecting with all the different parts of you, all of your different emotions and ways of being, the vastness that is you, silently repeat these phrases. Really occupy each wish. Imagine, with all the vibrant specificity and concrete detail you can muster, that each of these is true. Wish this with your whole heart. Visualize that this is already true, right now. 1 Someone you feel grateful toAllow someone to arise in your mind to whom you feel grateful. Traditionally, this would be your teacher, or the person who brought you to your spiritual path. For our purposes, this could be a mentor or a dear friend, someone who has helped you. Because of the complicated nature of romantic relationships, it is best not to begin with a romantic partner. *May you be peaceful and happy. (May you be centered and joyous.) Imagining that person in all their fullness and each of these wishes being true, let them go. Breathe in and out of your heart. 2 Neutral personAllow a new person to come to mind. This time let it be someone about whom you feel neutral. It could be the bus driver, the cashier from the grocery store, someone you saw on the street. Let it be a specific person you saw but don't know all that well. The first person that comes to mind who fits this description is the one to go with. Imagining that person in all their fullness and each of these wishes being true, let them go. Breathe in and out of your heart. 3 Challenging personSending the neutral person off with all these heartfelt well wishes, now let someone come to mind who is more challenging for you. This could be the person you had the biggest conflict with yesterday, it could be someone you've had a longstanding beef with, it could be a world leader with whom you disagree. *May you be peaceful and happy. (May you be centered and joyous.) Imagining that person in all their fullness and each of these wishes being true, let them go. Breathe in and out of your heart. 4 YourselfNow allow another person to come to mind. This is a specific person. This is you! Once again, bring your awareness to your own being. Feel what it is like to occupy your body right now. Connecting with all the different parts of you, all of your different emotions and ways of being, the vastness that is you, silently repeat these phrases, really visualizing in technicolor that each of these is already true. *May you be peaceful and happy. (May you be centered and joyous.) Breathe into these well wishes and feeling them reverberate through you. Allow them to permeate you. 5 All BeingsContinuing to hold this lovingkindness wish for yourself, feeling these vibrations in your body and in the area around you, expand your awareness to include the other people in the room. As you wish the other people in this room that they may be well and happy and peaceful, let it also be in your awareness that they are wishing you the same. Let this super charge your intention. With this concentrated group intention, expand your awareness to include all of the people in the building. Expand again to include all of the people in the neighborhood. Allowing your awareness to continue to span outward, incorporate everyone in the city, and continuing out, zooming in a expanding wave of well wishes, to include everyone in the region. Expanding, expanding, include the entire country, and the neighboring countries, and the continent. As your awareness continues to grow and cross the oceans, reach down along the bottoms of the oceans and up into the stratosphere and include all sentient beings, all animals, all plants. Encircling the entire planet and ever expanding to incorporate the galaxy and finally universe and the multiverse, your awareness connects all living things everywhere, visible and not visible, human and non-human. *May you be peaceful and happy. (May you be centered and joyous.) Take a few minutes in silence, breathing into the reverberations of this experience. Slowly, when you are ready, come back into your body and into this room. Take some deeper breaths. Let your fingers and toes start to move. When you are ready, open your eyes. FURTHER INFORMATION |