Loving Kindness Meditation

This loving kindness meditation comes from the Buddhist practice called Tonglen known as “taking and sending” which combines deep slow breathing and the use of a mantra or repeated sentences. On the inhale we are breathing in the difficulties and suffering we and others are experiencing in relation to some specific issue and exhaling out relief from the difficulty and suffering by sending out thoughts and feelings of loving kindness and compassion.

To begin, we start with one of our own difficulties, because the practice is more effective if we are working with conditions we have a strong relationship with and know about first-hand. Then from that perspective we focus on the difficulty and suffering of others.

You might be asking: “Why would we want to take in the suffering of others in the world? That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. But we do not keep or hold onto the suffering on any level. We allow the difficulty to be transformed through the heart chakra and sent back out as wisdom, relief, loving kindness and compassion.

People also ask, “How can a breathing activity alleviate suffering?” People who understand energy-work know that breath-work has a lot of powerful and positive effects, it works to balance out the negativity and suffering. The scientists at HeartMath Institute study this and say that increasing heart coherence definitely adds more heart energy to the planet, that it “feeds the field” of positivity in the world. Research confirms that when the heart is coherent it radiates a more coherent electromagnetic signal into the environment that can be detected by the nervous systems of other people and animals. We are all inter-connected and the electromagnetic field of the earth has the same frequency of coherence as humans. So, this meditation feeds the field with good energy that people can tap into.

There will be periods of silence in this guided loving kindness meditation where we contemplate the words. Let us dedicate this meditation activity for the benefit of all beings.

Length: 19 Minutes
Facilitator: Laurie Ferreri
Categories: Buddhist, Compassion, Forgiveness, Happiness & Joy, Love & Loving Kindness

Like this meditation? Attend a live meditation class or listen to another guided meditation by Laurie Ferreri.