Loving-Kindness
In Loving-Kindness meditation, you direct unconditional love towards others and towards yourself by repeating positive affirmations in the mind.
It is typical to begin the practice by directing the positive affirmations towards yourself. So, as an example, you could repeat the following phrases in your mind:
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"May I be happy."
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"May I be healthy."
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"May I be safe."
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"May I be well."
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Next, the phrases are directed towards someone else, someone whom you love. So, the "I" in the previous statements is replaced by "he", "she", or "they".
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Finally, these well-wishes are directed towards all human beings, or, even broader, all living beings.
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At first, repeating these phrases can feel contrived and a little silly, but through the practice, your ability to extend kindness, compassion, and goodwill towards yourself and others is strengthened.
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One study found that participants of a 7-week Loving-Kindness meditation reported greater positive emotions, including contentment, joy, and love, as well as greater life satisfaction and reduced depressive symptoms, than participants of a control meditation group (Fredrickson et al., 2008).
Call to Practice: Try this Loving-Kindness guided meditation.
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In the guided meditation above, you explored three different stages within one session, directing the positive affirmations first towards yourself, then towards a loved one, and finally towards all human beings. For future practices, it may be helpful to devote one guided meditation solely to one of these three stages. For example, you could spend five minutes on one day directing the statements towards yourself, and then spend five minutes the next day directing the statements towards a loved one.​
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Click here to continue to the next meditation: Mountain Meditation.