One of the things I really like about loving kindness meditation is its practice of compassion. You need compassion—for others and for yourself.
Sit in your usual meditation posture. Take three deep breaths, fully inhaling and exhaling. If you like, you can let out your exhales with a big sigh, an audible “aahhhhh!”
Allow your heart center to open. You can do this by visualizing warm white or pink light enveloping the area around your chest, seeping in and energizing your heart. Or you can think of a loved one or anything that makes your heart come alive: a pile of puppies with big eyes playing together, a child in a meadow of flowers, whatever works for you.
Visualize yourself. You can see yourself as a baby or young child or as you are today, however you’re able to hold an image of yourself with compassion.
Now say this mantra (in your head or aloud):
May I be filled with lovingkindness
May I be healthy and well
May I be safe in all ways
May I be happy and at ease
Hold the feeling of love and compassion for yourself for a few breaths. You can repeat the mantra several times if you want or you can move on.
Now picture someone you love and are close to. Bring the feeling of them into your heart and mind and hold them there.
Say the mantra with them in mind:
May you be filled with lovingkindness
May you be healthy and well
May you be safe in all ways
May you be happy and at ease
Now bring to mind someone you feel neutral about, perhaps someone you don’t know all that well, such as your mail carrier or the person who rings up your groceries at the store.
Visualize them and hold them in your heart and repeat the mantra again:
May you be filled with lovingkindness
May you be healthy and well
May you be safe in all ways
May you be happy and at ease
Next, bring to your mind and heart someone you dislike or have a difficult relationship with, either in the past or present. It’s OK if it feels difficult to hold them in a loving way and to repeat the mantra for them. Allow yourself to experience the feelings of discomfort you feel.
Repeat the mantra to them:
May you be filled with lovingkindness
May you be healthy and well
May you be safe in all ways
May you be happy and at ease
Now move your awareness to your whole family as well as your neighborhood and/or local community. Include yourself as well and say the mantra again:
May we be filled with lovingkindness
May we be healthy and well
May we be safe in all ways
May we be happy and at ease
Finally, zoom out in your consciousness and envelope the entire globe in your mind’s eye, holding the Earth in your heart and repeat the mantra one last time:
May we be filled with lovingkindness
May we be healthy and well
May we be safe in all ways
May we be happy and at ease
Here’s a shorthand version of who you picture in each mantra:
- Yourself
- An easy, loving relationship
- A neutral relationship
- A difficult relationship
- Your neighborhood/community
- The world
Excerpted from Led by Light: How to develop your mediumship abilities, Book 1, by Rev. Joanna Bartlett.
I have a son Giovanni whom is 4 and may have a gift of seeing spirit….since he was 2 and could tell me…now as he matures he is more descriptive…I seek guidance.reassurance for us all that what he sees is there….let me know if we could talk..
.are you apart of spiritual growth center…you look familiar.michelle
Hi Michelle,
I’d be glad to do a session with you to give you guidance on how to help your son, Giovanni. It’s quite common for kids to see Spirit and there are things you can do to make it easier on both of you.
Yes, I attend the Center for Spiritual Living Eugene. 🙂 Say hello the next time you see me.