How Metta Makes You Better

I often write about how Meditation and Mindfulness have changed my life and how daily practices have helped me maintain agency over my actions and reactions. Metta Meditation is one practice that has been invaluable and profoundly effective in helping me fortify my ability to live with a sense of calm. Metta is a very specific meditation that originated in India over 2,500 years ago and was later incorporated into various Buddhist traditions. Metta in Pali, a language that is close to Sanskrit means positive energy and kindness towards others and self. It really is not hokey as you might think, and I do not want to loose those of you reading this blog who insist that you can not meditate because you can’t sit still in silence without wanting to implode. Please stay with me and continue reading about how Metta Can Make you feel Better.

The practice of Metta Meditation also know as Loving-kindness Meditation in a nut shell involves sitting in a comfortable position as this guided meditation asks you to invoke images of: yourself, someone you deeply care for, someone that you are ambivalent about, someone you find difficult and finally every being. You can call to mind pets and others as there are many different scripts, so please consider this an outline. Once you have the image in your mind, you then silently repeat the following three times: May I/you be happy, May I/you be well, May I/you be safe, May I/you be peaceful and at ease. Again, the wording can change and there are numerous scripts to follow and you should use words or phrases that you are comfortable with. for example: May I/you be be happy, May I/You be safe & strong, May I/You be from suffering repeated three times for each individual brought to mind. You will have different feeling move through you during this meditation and over time these feelings evolve.

You might be asking, so what will loving kindness meditation do for me? The answer to this question is obvious for those of us who practice because there are so many benefits to loving kindness meditation and personally it has changed my overall outlook in life and improved my sense of well being. Metta meditation promotes self-compassion and minimizes negative emotions towards yourself and others leading to a sense of inner peace, wellness and calm. In my experience, practicing Metta daily has reduced stress, anxiety and anger by promoting understanding and compassion for myself and others. Additionally, Metta Meditation has improved relationships by cultivating a connections with others and it helped me to appreciate feelings of self acceptance , compassion and self love. Metta effectively stimulates and activates the brain’s reward centers that release good feeling hormones like dopamine and oxytocin that increase and amplify our feelings of empathy, warmth and compassion toward others and ourselves.

You would not think that a simple daily Metta Meditation could have such a profound impact on ones well being, but I assure you that when you practice loving kindness you will become more resilient, compassionate, empathetic towards yourself and others. My practice of daily loving kindness meditation has helped me to handle life’s challenges with agency and calm, and I have found self acceptance and there have been profound changes in my ability to regulate my emotions.