Meditation and Mettā (loving-kindness)
One practice I've begun to add to my life is meditation. I use an app called InsightTimer for a daily 10-15 minute meditations, where I try to clear my mind of thoughts and focus on the sensations associated with breathing or on an aspect of the light background sounds from the app. I've found great peace in observing my thoughts as they inevitably still arise and then letting them go as I refocus on the object of my meditation. I have noticed a greater sense of calmness and peace from this small daily practice. Not only during the meditation but throughout my day, I've noticed a quieting of the mind - the "narrative voice" or "story teller" in my head seems to have less to say. This has allowed me to focus more on the present moment than the worries of my past or future. I don't claim to be anything but a novice meditator and do not feel like I have "achieved" enlightenment, nirvana, or complete ego-death. But I do feel like even these short meditation sessions have added to my overall fundamental sense of well-being.
While this has been a largely gradual process and not a sudden epiphany or awakening, there is one moment that stands out for me from the last few weeks. At the end of each meditation, the InsightTimer app shows you individuals that are or were meditating at the same time as you in your local area. My honest first impression of this feature was that it was weird. But on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago, after finishing my daily meditation session, I remember pausing on the thumbnail profile image of a man from Farmington, Utah, smiling and genuinely thinking "I hope your day goes well today." I have never met this man and likely never will. I don't know who he is or the circumstances that led to him meditating this morning, but I felt a profound sense of love for him and a deep desire for his well-being that day. I thought about this man on my drive to a conference that morning. Perhaps he was very different than me - he seemed older than me, I don't know his socioeconomic status, his religion, or political views. But regardless of our potential differences, we were both "together" that morning, both using meditation to try to add value to our lives in some way.
This experience reminded me of a guided meditation I discovered recently called Mettā. Mettā is a Pali word for loving-kindness, goodwill, or benevolence. It is one of the "Brahmavihara," a set of Buddhist virtues seen as four immeasurable or sublime states. The typical mettā meditation consists of repeating and striving to internalize brief mantras of extending loving-kindness to ourselves and those around us. Here is an example of a guided mettā meditation for anyone interested in applying this practice.
There are a number of variations on wording, but this meditation starts out with extending loving-kindness toward ourselves:
"May I be well. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be free from suffering." (As a side note, the term "suffering" or "duhkha" connotes not only physical pain but also stress, discontentment, or other emotional ails that are a part of the human experience)
This mantra is then repeated as we think of someone for whom we have deep affection - a close friend, a family member, someone who has cared for us.
"May you be well. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be free from suffering."
This then may continue as we think of someone we are neutral toward (an acquaintance, someone we routinely pass by at school, work, or the grocery store), then toward an individual for whom we may hold negative feelings. Finally, this mantra is extended to the whole world, to everyone and everything around you.
"May all be well. May all be happy. May all be healthy. May all be free from suffering."
This type of meditation may at first glance seem strange, odd, or uncomfortable for those of us, like myself, who are not used to such practices. Some would argue that thoughts and words have no impact on the real world - just as extending "thoughts and prayers" is often dismissed as literally the least you could do to actually help someone in need. Likely the man in Farmington, Utah remains completely unaware of my goodwill extended toward him that Sunday morning. It probably did not impact his day in the slightest.
But as we are able to, individually and collectively, cultivate a mindset of mettā, this will extend to all those with whom we do come into physical contact that day. Perhaps we will be kinder in our daily interactions, more aware of other's needs, and will have the mindset to seek out ways to provide meaningful service to our fellow travelers on this mortal journey.
While this has been a largely gradual process and not a sudden epiphany or awakening, there is one moment that stands out for me from the last few weeks. At the end of each meditation, the InsightTimer app shows you individuals that are or were meditating at the same time as you in your local area. My honest first impression of this feature was that it was weird. But on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago, after finishing my daily meditation session, I remember pausing on the thumbnail profile image of a man from Farmington, Utah, smiling and genuinely thinking "I hope your day goes well today." I have never met this man and likely never will. I don't know who he is or the circumstances that led to him meditating this morning, but I felt a profound sense of love for him and a deep desire for his well-being that day. I thought about this man on my drive to a conference that morning. Perhaps he was very different than me - he seemed older than me, I don't know his socioeconomic status, his religion, or political views. But regardless of our potential differences, we were both "together" that morning, both using meditation to try to add value to our lives in some way.
This experience reminded me of a guided meditation I discovered recently called Mettā. Mettā is a Pali word for loving-kindness, goodwill, or benevolence. It is one of the "Brahmavihara," a set of Buddhist virtues seen as four immeasurable or sublime states. The typical mettā meditation consists of repeating and striving to internalize brief mantras of extending loving-kindness to ourselves and those around us. Here is an example of a guided mettā meditation for anyone interested in applying this practice.
There are a number of variations on wording, but this meditation starts out with extending loving-kindness toward ourselves:
"May I be well. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be free from suffering." (As a side note, the term "suffering" or "duhkha" connotes not only physical pain but also stress, discontentment, or other emotional ails that are a part of the human experience)
This mantra is then repeated as we think of someone for whom we have deep affection - a close friend, a family member, someone who has cared for us.
"May you be well. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be free from suffering."
This then may continue as we think of someone we are neutral toward (an acquaintance, someone we routinely pass by at school, work, or the grocery store), then toward an individual for whom we may hold negative feelings. Finally, this mantra is extended to the whole world, to everyone and everything around you.
"May all be well. May all be happy. May all be healthy. May all be free from suffering."
This type of meditation may at first glance seem strange, odd, or uncomfortable for those of us, like myself, who are not used to such practices. Some would argue that thoughts and words have no impact on the real world - just as extending "thoughts and prayers" is often dismissed as literally the least you could do to actually help someone in need. Likely the man in Farmington, Utah remains completely unaware of my goodwill extended toward him that Sunday morning. It probably did not impact his day in the slightest.
But as we are able to, individually and collectively, cultivate a mindset of mettā, this will extend to all those with whom we do come into physical contact that day. Perhaps we will be kinder in our daily interactions, more aware of other's needs, and will have the mindset to seek out ways to provide meaningful service to our fellow travelers on this mortal journey.
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