Metta Bhavana meditation
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2003 20:52![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittiwakeMetta bhavana is a meditation to increase loving kindness towards ourselves and others. There are 5 steps and we learnt steps 1, 2 and 5 last night.
Step 1 - Cultivate loving kindness towards yourself. Be aware of your current emotional state, even if it is negative. You can either visualise a warm light around your heart or internally repeat positive statements such as 'may I be well, may I be happy, may I develop'.
Step 2 - Cultivate loving kindness towards a close friend. Decide in advance who to focus on, so that you aren't distracted by having to choose.
Step 3 - ?
Step 4 - ?
Step 5 - Extend loving kindness outwards to the room, then the building, the town, the country and the world. You can concentrate on people, animals, plants whatever you want.
NB: I've just googled and found out that Steps 3 & 4 involve cultivating loving kindness towards someone you have no strong feelings about and towards someone you dislike.
Step 1 - Cultivate loving kindness towards yourself. Be aware of your current emotional state, even if it is negative. You can either visualise a warm light around your heart or internally repeat positive statements such as 'may I be well, may I be happy, may I develop'.
Step 2 - Cultivate loving kindness towards a close friend. Decide in advance who to focus on, so that you aren't distracted by having to choose.
Step 3 - ?
Step 4 - ?
Step 5 - Extend loving kindness outwards to the room, then the building, the town, the country and the world. You can concentrate on people, animals, plants whatever you want.
NB: I've just googled and found out that Steps 3 & 4 involve cultivating loving kindness towards someone you have no strong feelings about and towards someone you dislike.
