“The loving-kindness meditation is one of my absolute favorite practices because in ten minutes, you’ve done your soul work for the day.” I explained to my Reiki 2 class recently.
As I shared this practice with my students and we felt the loving connection grow between us, I wondered… “What would our world be like if more people practiced and shared this daily?”
And so, I decided to share my daily loving-kindness intentions with you during the month of December.
What is the Loving-Kindness Meditation?
It’s a very simple meditation that anyone can do. The Loving-Kindness meditation been researched and shown to foster more kindness and equanimity within a person that ripples out into the community. If you want to read the research studies, check out this earlier post 3 Ways that Loving-Kindness Can Make You a Better Person. Here’s how to try it for yourself:
Take a few moments to check in with yourself and ask the question “What do I need today?” Listen for the answer. This becomes your loving intentions. I like to focus on three intentions, phrased in the positive. For example, today I felt I needed more curiosity, clarity and kindness.
For two minutes, give your well-wishes or intentions to yourself. You might say to yourself “Just for today, may I be curious, clear, and kind.” Repeat the intentions as you feel your way into receiving and embodying them.
For the next two minutes, give the same well-wishes to someone who is easy to love. Notice who pops up in your mind. One day it might be your partner, another day it might be your grandchild, best friend, or beloved pet. Picture that person and say, “Just for today, may you be curious, clear, and kind.” Feel your heart open as you share this blessing.
Next, think of someone you feel neutral about. It may be someone you don’t really know, like the Amazon driver who just dropped off your package or the barista who made your coffee. For the next two minutes, send that person your well-wishes.
This step is where insights and healing often happen. Imagine someone you are struggling with in some way. It might be someone who frustrates or hurt you or is someone you want to help but don’t know how. Give this person your well-wishes for the next two minutes.
Finally, for the last two minutes, give your blessing out to the world, “Just for today, may we all be curious, clear and kind.”
Notice how you feel. In ten minutes, you truly have done your soul work for the day - you’ve taken care of yourself and offered love and kindness to all who are able and willing to receive. You’ve also begun to heal challenging relationships and deepen your empathy and compassion for others.
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. ”
I use the free phone app Insight Timer. It’s easy to create a timer that lasts for 10 minutes and chimes a bell every two minutes to let you know when to move to another person. If you use Insight Timer, check out my free guided meditation apps.
How to Share 30 Days of Loving-Kindess
The days are short, and the nights are long as we bring 2022, a challenging year for most of us, to a close. I thought it would be fun to share my daily blessings with all of you. They are already carried to you on the wind, but you may be too busy to feel them knocking at your door. I hope you’ll be inspired to tune in and receive them with an open heart and mind. Share them with your community. They have extra Reiki energy powering them. Maybe you’ll also want to add your own loving-kindness intentions out into the world. I would love to consciously receive them.
You can find my daily intentions on my Inner Balance Facebook page. Please comment and share.
You can also follow me on Twitter: @paula_energy. I’m a brand-new user. I want to support Elon Musk and his vision of a free speech public square. I’d love for you to reply and retweet.
We can make a difference.
