Dessert Practice: Loving-Kindness Meditation (Mettā)

What is Metta?
Loving-kindness (Pali: metta) is a classical Buddhist meditation that trains the heart in benevolence and goodwill. Rather than forcing a feeling, we plant seeds of intention with simple phrases like:
May you be safe. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live with ease.

How this practice is structured
We’ll move through time-tested categories, pausing with each:

1. Benefactor (someone who’s been kind to you)
2. Yourself
3. A friend
4. A neutral person (someone you don’t know well)
5. A difficult person (choose someone only mildly difficult if you’re new)
6. All beings

You can keep the phrases exactly as offered or adjust them to language that feels authentic (e.g., “May you feel safe and at home in your body,” “May you know peace”). What matters is sincerity.

How to practice

• Sit comfortably, allow the breath to be natural.
• Bring an image or felt sense of the chosen recipient to mind.
• Offer the phrases slowly, silently or out loud.
• If emotion doesn’t arise, that’s okay—Metta is an intention practice, not a performance.
• When the mind wanders, gently return to the phrases and recipient.

Helpful notes

• Start with recipients who are easiest. Save “difficult person” for later, and only if it feels resourced.
• A few minutes daily is enough. Consistency matters more than length.
• If strong emotion surfaces, pause, breathe, or shift to a more neutral category.

Why people practice
Research suggests loving-kindness can increase positive emotions, reduce negative affect, support physiological regulation, and even soften biases over time. Many practitioners report a growing sense of warmth, connectedness, and ease in daily life.

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Links & Resources:

• Metta Meditation: A Complete Guide to Loving-Kindness https://www.lionsroar.com/metta-meditation-guide/