Loving Kindness Meditation in the times of COVID-19
Loving Kindness Meditation or “Metta” is an ancient Buddhist practice of Meditation where the practitioners send loving wishes to themselves and others. The skeptics including rationalists and atheists might have a doubt on the practice as they would say it is just a temporary “feel good” arrangement. However the research has shown that it has a long term efficacy in contributing to our overall well-being. I have shared some of the research at the end of the article. Overall, my message to the skeptics is that it is not a religious practice at all, although it had origins in Buddhism. Usually in the current times, Loving Kindness is also aligned to Mindfulness practice, which indeed is very effective and popular as well.
Basically, you can start meditating by closing your eyes and making yourself comfortable by taking few deep breaths. Once you are settled and feel calmness within you, say to yourself, “May I be well. May I be healthy. May I be away from all the pains. May I be happy”. You can also create your own sentences, for example, “May I be calm and non reactive, may I get time for myself” etcetera. After saying to yourself, you can imagine that you are sending these wishes to your loved ones and also the strangers you encounter in your daily lives (like the local grocer, someone who washes your car and so on). You connect to people, as a fellow human. Buddhism says that we are all compounded beings, made out of two or more things and we are mortal, with temporary existence. It is through compassion for others that we can really achieve true happiness.
In the times of COVID-19, we can use loving kindness to send wishes to those strangers, who have lost their loved ones, in any part of the world. What this pandemic has given us is fear and most of the people have become immune to hear the news of deaths around them as they are worried (and rightly so), about their health, more than anything else. So, the news of death of others don’t bother us so much. So, if you are sending loving kindness to a cluster of strangers, just imagine wonderful people out there in the world, who have lost someone and then send them these kind of wishes, “May you be well, may you be able to bear the loss, may you feel loved and protected, may you stay healthy”. This audio will give you the steps in doing the loving kindness meditation. It would be great if you can do it for 4–5 minutes, twice a day. Writing a gratitude journal can compliment the practice.
If you want to know more about how Loving Kindness can help you and your community, please email at info@positivepsychologyindia.org and if you want to learn mindfulness meditation from an accredited school, you may visit the School of Positive Transformation’s Mindfulness teacher training here. We also have meditation programs for corporates.
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