“May I be vibrantly happy and healthy
May I be free from suffering
May I experience deep peace and joy
May I have the strength and wisdom to overcome challenges with grace and ease
May I be full of and sorrounded by love”
Week 1 : Love Thy Self
Metta is the culitvation of loving, friendliness toward all beings.
A sense of Oneness, Friendliness and Love for the world we live in and the beings we share it with.
This Oneness, this sense of universal love must include Oneself.
If you would wish that all beings be vibrantly happy and healthy, experience deep peace and joy, be free from suffering and have the strength and wisdom to live with grace and ease then it makes sense to start with the one whom you have most conrol.
Step 1 then is establishing a metta mantra, a meditation and mindfulness practice and taking steps toward knowing, honouring and loving yourself more wholeheartedly.
Cultivating your vital energy so you can share it with others.
Metta Mantra
A mantra is a tool of the mind. Something we repeat over and over again to train attention. Our Metta Mantra is designed for us to direct our attention toward the well wishes of ourselves and others. You could choose your own mantra, something loving and kind that you would wish upon those who you really love, or use the well worn mantra below.
“May I be vibrantly happy and healthy
May I be free from suffering
May I experience deep peace and joy
May I have the strength and wisdom to overcome challenges with grace and ease
May I be full of and sorrounded by love” **
”
“May all beings be vibrantly happy and healthy
May all beings be free from suffering
May all beings experience deep peace and joy
May all beings have the strength and wisdom to overcome challenges with grace and ease
May all beings be full of and sorrounded by love”
Once you’ve chosen you Metta Mantra you will be encouraged to write it (or at least read) it everyday (straight after meditation is a great time but whenever suits is great) for a month.
** If you have no trouble loving yourself, if you know and feel you are worthy of love, if you can feel yourself included in the phrase “all beings” when it comes to well wishes, then you can leave the first part of the mantra “May I…..” out and go straight into “May All Beings….”
Meditation
Choose one of the following Metta Meditations and practice daily.
There is an guided option for each of these
Metta Meditation with Mantra
Guided Mantra Metta Meditation
Energetic Metta Tutorial
Start by tuning into your breath and your body.
When you have achieved a certain level of concentration and feel as though you are tuned in start breathing awareness and the essence/energy of love and kindness into your feet.
With each breath feel awareness & love and kindness filling your body.
Continue to breath this awareness into and through your body until you feel completley full
Then with each out breath imagine that energy radiating from you
Each in breath cultivates more love, more kindness and each out breath spreads its around the world.
Keep this going for the duration of your meditation trying as best you can to keep your attention on the breath and the energy of love and kindness.
When you timer goes of to mark the end of your meditation take a moment to notice how you feel and as best you can take the loving kindness with you into the rest of your life.
Living Metta
Consider one thing you can do each day to love yourself more.
This could be getting more sleep, eating a really healthy meal, getting a massage, spending time with friends or family, doing a mini detox, meditating, reading something that inspires you.
What ever you choose know why you chose it, explore why it’s an act of love and really notice how it feels to experience it (pracice mindfulness).