“If we practice 
good will, 
we become loving.”
Charlotte Bell

I learn something new every day. Yesterday morning, I received an email from someone I met at a dinner party a few weeks ago. Sandy was responding to one of my recent blog posts. At the end of her message, where one might normally write Take care, All the best, or Love before writing their name, she wrote the word Metta. I had never seen the word before, so I Googled it to see what might come up.

I learned that Metta is a form of meditation rooted in an ancient Buddhist tradition. The practice involves silently directing well-wishes and good will toward yourself and others. Modern psychological science and neuroscience validate its effectiveness. 

The four classic phrases used in Metta meditation are safe, happy, healthy, and at ease. When I read this, I recalled a conversation Sandy and I had at the dinner party. She was explaining a simple meditation she used to help her find peace in her life and to nourish her soul. She was introducing me to Metta meditation, but I don’t recall if she identified it as such at that time.

Metta is not sentimentality, and it’s not affection. It’s not about turning someone we don’t like into someone we do like. Metta is simply an attitude of benevolence or good will toward all beings. Can you imagine what our world might be like if we could permeate the world with good will toward all?

After centering ourselves and focusing on our breathing, we can begin our meditation by thinking of one person. It may be someone with whom we have an excellent relationship, or it could be someone with whom we are at odds. Focusing on this person, we have the opportunity to say these simple phrases:

May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.

Repeating these words, with a specific person in mind, can be a powerful exercise. After doing this with a few people specifically in mind, we can say these words again while focusing on ourselves:

May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I live with ease.

So simple, and yet so powerful. I am tremendously grateful to Sandy for sharing this practice with me. Now it’s up to me to have the self-discipline and determination to do this every day.