Day 25: Meditation Challenge ~ Why I Do Metta
Welcome, to my 28-Meditation Challenge.
Our teleconference went fabulously yesterday and I will post the MP3 tomorrow. Technical difficulties. :-) Thank you to those who participated!
Today is our 25th day of meditating and we are winding our way down. I'm noticing plenty of things about myself, are you?
Here's one of them.
My primary meditation form which I love, appreciate, and grow with is metta—lovingkindness meditation. I now know that for a fact. I hope it always will be. Throughout my life and especially here (through the Challenge), I've explored plenty of meditation forms. But metta holds my heart ... Here's why:
Metta softens me.
It opens me up like a many petaled flower.
When I say the 4 lines—first, for myself—
May I be happy.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I be safe.
May I be peaceful and at ease.**
—I remember that it is good to be kind to myself; to hold myself in loving embrace as I am; to be gentle, open, forgiving, accepting.
When I repeat the 4 lines again, it opens me up—flower that I am—to other flowers:
wise others, loved ones, friends, YOU, people I don't even know, everyone on the planet.
Metta helps me connect with YOUR essence, your inner beauty, your pain and suffering. Again, I am softened into compassion. I bloom.
I take metta mindset with me wherever I go. It is portable peace. I stand in the line at the grocery store, noticing someone's downcast face. "May you find ease and be happy today."
In American Eagle, music blaring, shopping with my teen daughter, I notice a young mother struggling with two babies in a stroller. She is trying to shop for herself, yet her children tug and pull. Her frustration grows. "May you be patient. May you be relaxed and happy."
This morning my husband awoke with his "ego blaring," as he puts it. I lay my hand on his heart center and offer metta silently, "My love, may you be at peace today. May your day unfold with ease."
This is why I do metta. It lets me lead with love.
Today ...
May YOU be happy.
May you be well, healthy, and strong for the day ahead.
May you be safe and secure.
May you be peaceful and at ease with the circumstances of your life ...
As always, I welcome your thoughts ...
Blessings,
Jan
* The 4-phrases of metta, (well-wishing/blessing) can be customized to suit your thoughts and feelings at the time. It is not a rigid practice...Though the lines traditionally focus on happiness, safety, mental and physical well-being, and peace. For a more thorough understanding of metta, click here.
Read on ...
From Where I Sit — Day 25, My Meditation Experience
I sat Zazen with Jundo, again! I really am loving this. Today was a different teacher who, oh so gently, taught about form. I appreciated his approach. Not rigid, full of flow and compassion for self. If you are sitting, and concerned about posture do's and don'ts, check this out. I also did metta ...Recommended Resources:
You may enjoy this short You Tube presentation of Sylvia Boorstein leading metta meditation from "My Path TV." It's so clear, very helpful. And you get to feel her peaceful energy. :-) Enjoy!Inspiration:
"Blessing is not a technique or a recipe to follow but a creative and loving act of standing in the blessing of your own life and configuring yourself to this moment."
"The art of blessing is any event that enables us to experience in any degree the unobstructed world. To embody the spirit of this world such that others may experience it as well is what the art of blessing is all about."
"Where two or more are gathered in the name of that which loves, that which is compassionate, that which liberates, there blessing is also."
~Excerpted from Blessing: The Art and the Practice by David Spangler (2001, Riverhead Books)
Check out David's blog: starshamansview.blogspot.com. He was one of the co-founders of the Findhorn Community and is a proponent of incarnational spirituality.
~~~~~
Congratulations! Winners to announce. Laura (Shine the Divine) is the winner of Joann's artwork from the post "Creativity as Meditation." Enjoy!
Carolynn (Glowing Ember) and Angela (Seeking Simplicity) are the winners from the post on "A Jewish Meditation Practice." They each won a creativity coaching session with Laura (Shine the Divine). Congratulations!
"Blessing is not a technique or a recipe to follow but a creative and loving act of standing in the blessing of your own life and configuring yourself to this moment."
"The art of blessing is any event that enables us to experience in any degree the unobstructed world. To embody the spirit of this world such that others may experience it as well is what the art of blessing is all about."
"Where two or more are gathered in the name of that which loves, that which is compassionate, that which liberates, there blessing is also."
~Excerpted from Blessing: The Art and the Practice by David Spangler (2001, Riverhead Books)
Check out David's blog: starshamansview.blogspot.com. He was one of the co-founders of the Findhorn Community and is a proponent of incarnational spirituality.
~~~~~
Congratulations! Winners to announce. Laura (Shine the Divine) is the winner of Joann's artwork from the post "Creativity as Meditation." Enjoy!
Carolynn (Glowing Ember) and Angela (Seeking Simplicity) are the winners from the post on "A Jewish Meditation Practice." They each won a creativity coaching session with Laura (Shine the Divine). Congratulations!
Share This Post
Posts
23 comments:
Hello, dear friend,
I haven't commented here lately, but I have been following you quietly this month.
:0)
While I still struggle to remember to do Metta when things get tense, I have found that it really does do wonders for me when I do remember to do it.
Thank you so much for this series, for all you do to make our spiritual lives more meaningful, and for all your thoughtful and loving advice to me over the past year.
Hugs and love,
Angela
Dear Angela,
I love knowing that you are following "quietly." There is such grace in that.
As you say, the trick is to remember to drop down in and do it! Hopefully, with enough practice, metta BECOMES who we are....lovingkindness. Much love to you as always...May you be as happy in your heart today as you have made mine. xo
I'm thankful for Metta also - it helps me remember to love myself, and to stop "beating myself up", and to think more gently towards those I would normally grumble and complain about!
xoxo
I love Sylvia's version of metta, choosing it for my own. I set it to music and this helps me to remember it. I sing the metta often during meditation and throughout the day. Lovely.
Rochelle,
Love hearing how metta helps you stop beating yourself up. It does! We are so very hard on ourselves, even unkind, expecting so much of ourselves—perhaps even more than we expect of others. Metta does create inner kindness. It takes time to soften us up...but it does. :-)
Twila,
This is so great to hear! I know that putting metta to little tunes and singing them to yourself does help. I would love to do that. How did you do this process? I keep hoping a little tune will pop into my head and I can substitute the words but that's not quite happening. Any ideas?
Hi Jan! Oh I chastise myself (gently) for having missed so many of these! I've been trying to limit my time on line to get writing done and see what happens! Clearly I need to tune in here more!
Thank you for the Metta - how perfectly loving! You have made more than my day!!!
hugs
suZen
This series has given me some new possibilities. Thank you so much.
In answer to yesterdays question, the book I got is "A Guide to Walking Meditation" by Nhat Hanh.
Darla
suZen,
I perfectly understand about limiting blog/web time. It is hard to visit so many wonderful sites and still find time for all we need to do. :-) I am glad to have you here and know that this touched your heart. xo
Darla,
Aren't new possibilities grand? The book you got will be wonderful, I am sure. I particularly like his little pocket book about walking meditation: Long Road Turns to Joy. En-joy!
Jan, I repeat metta all day long.
In my car as I drive and in the night when I wake up. It has a very calming affect on me. You describe it so beautifully.
I jot it down on letters I write and sometimes even say it to someone before hanging up the phone.
They are usually suprised and will say "thank you".
I think this is the best description of Metta I've seen. I felt calm & at peace, just reading what you wrote in italics. I'm going to have to start incorporating that into my life in a more intentioned way.
Blessings,
Carolynn
Ernestine,
We are definitely kindred. How wonderful that you do metta wherever you find yourself. You inspire....
May your heart be happy wherever you find yourself. Hugs.
Carolynn,
Oh, I am glad this touched you and that perhaps you will lean into metta and give it a try. Let me know if you need any specific resources or help. The article I linked to in the post (Sharon Salzberg) is really good. :-) May you be at ease today...xo
I consciously decided not to post for a while. I went into a sort of silent retreat with Pema's book Taking the Leap and working with shenpa, the places I get hooked.
I've noticed many stories I have been telling myself, and am trying to create new stories of the truth and beauty of what really is. It has been liberating thus far.
I am so glad you practice so deeply with metta. It is truly healing and liberating.
May you write to heal and inspire.
May you continue to journey deeper into your truth.
May you metta be sent your way today and always.
Metta is one of my all time favorite practices too Jan. When I was first diagnosed with MS this is THE practice along with gratitude awareness that really held me. When ever I am feeling overwhelmed, angry, worried...metta changes everything. I do it with Hebrew words...but it is the same practice.
May I be blessed with:
Chesed-Kindness
Rachamim-Compassion
Simcha-Joy
Shalom-Peace
sometimes I add Refuah-Healing
always starting with myself and expanding the circle to include loved ones, acquaintances, enemies (that's a strong word, but people who I find challenging) and then all beings.
My sweet teacher Rabbi Sheila Peltz-Weinberg taught me this practice. I imagine it is an adaptation from Buddhism. Anyway... it is a wonderful healing practice.
gentle steps,
Laura
Jan,
I love it as well. Thanks for sharing your experience with it. I love Brad's description "my ego blaring."
Of course it's because I can relate!
I also love that you have it next to the comment box. It's a happy little message from you I see each time I comment. :)
I still have some difficulty sitting doing metta. My mind wonders even more. However, I am very aware of it, which I do believe is a start. I will continue to work on this.
I have been doing meditation at least once everyday now. It has brought such a keen awareness to my life. When things go wrong, as they do in life, I have learned to be aware of what I am feeling. Not to tell myself what I am feeling is right or wrong, just be aware of what I am feeling. And I can see the small, subtle changes in the way I react to things. When my kids are having a fit or someone does something thoughtless. I have an initial reaction, but after a few moments I tell myself to be aware of it. And most times I am able see the situation for what it really is, instead of getting caught up in the way I feel about it. It is amazing. Truely amazing. And the most exciting part is, I have barely even touched the surface of learning to mediate.
Thank you Jan. From the bottom of my heart. ~Marie
Hi Jan!
I love, love, love how you refer to your metta prayer as portable peace--that is really special. Several methods you shared over the last 25-days have appealed to me, but so for metta is my favorite, too.
I too love giving blessings and it is something I will do forever, I have also learned how to be silent in my mind, at least for a few minutes and will keep at it.
I can't believe that it has almost been a month! Time flies :-).
xoxo ♥
Since I learned about Metta here, it has become part of my daily meditation practice. It has made a difference in my life. It was a pleasure to hear your voice during the conference call yesterday.
Mermaid,
Oh, I understand completely. A "retreat" to focus on your journey sounds like a very good thing. I haven't purchased the Chodron book yet. I hope to soon and dive into it in Florida. As you know, I am at a place in my journey of noticing all those stories. Sigh...
And thank you for your kind thoughts on metta. It does support, expand, stabilize, reveal and so much more. Truly, I am often baffled how such a simple practice can enlighten us so. Hugs! And may you be breathing easy today.
Laura,
Metta seems like a perfect choice for you for "handling" MS. How important it can be for anyone who has a chronic illness (food for thought there...). Anyway, the Hebrew translation of the phrases are beautiful! I wish I knew how to say them with the correct inflection. Another MP3 from you perhaps?! May all good things come your way today.
Tess,
That ego is a fog horn sometimes, isn't it? Whatever we can do to lessen its roar. Metta is very good for that. Just concentrating, focusing on the phrases one by one, does bring relief. May joy be yours today.
Maria,
This is wonderful news. What an opening you have had! To hear new spaciousness in you is so heartening. Parenting can certainly exhaust and test us so the fact that you can apply breath and space and metta to an upset is a very good thing for everyone involved, eh?
May you be at peace today.
Jodi,
Glad to know that some of the meditation techniques opened up new doors for you. It's always good to explore because we never know what might be awaiting our heart. :-) May your heart be happy today.
Annie,
Silent blessing is a truly powerful act. And it does create a deep silence, stillness, in us that keeps us firmly rooted in the Spirit. Are you familiar with the Spangler book on "Blessing." I think you'd really like it. :-) May creativity flow for you today.
Sharon,
May Metta continue to enrich your life. It was great to hear YOUR voice on the call too. Blessings!
Post a Comment