The Loving-Kindness Meditation
Sometimes the person we're the hardest on is ourselves. But most of us can remember someone who has, even one time, allowed us to experience unconditional love. Perhaps it's your loyal pet who always senses when you're having a bad day and responds by curling up into your arms. Maybe it's the memory of your grandmother who always welcomed you as a child into her kitchen with the smell of her warm apple pie and a big hug. Or the feeling you had the first time you gazed into your newborn's eyes. It could even be a religious figure or spiritual leader, central to your sense of faith and belonging.
The Loving-Kindness Meditation starts right there: with your utmost, purest experience of unconditional love and is a powerful tool to cultivate self-acceptance, compassion, and happiness.
Versions of the Loving-Kindness Meditation can be found in Buddhism, in mindfulness meditation, and across contemplative and wisdom traditions. It's also an evidence-based, research-backed tool that can help reduce stress, burnout, depression, and anxiety. (see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2695992/).
You can practice the Loving-Kindness Meditation anytime you need to – even in the midst of your busiest, hardest days by simply saying to yourself:
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you know love.
