February is the month of love! What better way to keep love in our heart than by engaging the practice of Loving Kindness for the entire month?

So, what is the practice of Loving Kindness?

The practice of Loving Kindness is another name for the Buddhist meditation called Metta Bhavana or the cultivation of unconditional love and friendliness. This is done through connecting in to the body through the breath, feeling the feet on the ground, touching in with the heart and imagining a dear friend, maybe even a pet or simply someone you know who is going through a difficult time, or even celebrating something in their life.

Once you have brought someone to mind, silently say the phrases ‘May you be happy, May you be well, May you be free from suffering’. Then, imagining these well wishes being sent out to this person- a direct link from your heart to theirs. How does this feel in your body? Noticing any sense of warmth or maybe even some resistance. If this feels awkward, this is OK. This can be normal and quite common. If we feel resistance, we can try to find our own way into the practice. Maybe try changing the phrases to something that feels more appropriate for you- May you be healthy, May you be safe, May you live with ease. Whatever feels right- find your own phrases! The most important thing is to touch in with the feeling of friendliness and love beneath the words.

If this whole process feels overwhelming or no person comes to mind, no worries at all. Just dropping the practice and resting with the breath.

Once we get the hang of it, we can try saying these phrases for ourselves. Again, sometimes this feels OK, and sometimes we can experience blocks. There is no right way or wrong way to experience the practice. We might start by imaging we are with our dear friend- May we be happy, May we be well, May we be free from suffering. If this feels OK, we can go further and say them just for ourselves. Bringing yourself to mind- you may imagine a picture of yourself, or a younger version of yourself, or you might like to place a hand on your heart and get a felt sense of yourself, as you say the phrases, May I be happy, May I be well, May I be free from suffering.

Ultimately, we can silently widen the practice out to saying these phrases for our loved ones, our communities, our countries and even all beings everywhere.

This month, we have created Loving Kindnesses phrases for each day of February. We invite you to give it a go!

Please let us know how you get along. DOWNLOAD CALENDAR HERE: FEBRUARY MINDFULNESS CALENDAR

COMING UP IN FEBRUARY:

2-4 February: Mindfulness for Stress Weekend at samye Ling and Online

3-4 February: Developing Inquiry Skills for Teaching Compassion

24 February: PRACTICE DAY: Mystical Poetry and Mindfulness for Peace

MEMBERS SPRING PRACTICE WEEKEND & RETREATS COMING UP IN EARLY MARCH!

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