Lovingkindness, The First Face of Love
How connected to you feel to yourself and others? Do feelings of friendliness and kindness arise in you often? Or do feelings of judgment or indifference take center stage? How do you feel after wishing someone well? Maybe someone with whom you have disagreements?
In this episode we explore Lovingkindness—the first Face of Love. Lovingkindness is simply the wishing well for ourselves and others. It anchors our connection with ourselves and others through heart-felt friendliness. It breaks through even when anger and conflict arise. It helps us to see the whole person—not just the parts or aspects that we don’t like.
Lovingkindness can be practiced anywhere—practice it walking down the street—with a smile or a hello that says, “I see you.”
Practice it formally in meditation. I’ll walk you through how to do the meditation. As always, start where you are. Start small. You might begin by sending well wishes to yourself and a friendly person. Or, you might start by wishing well a neutral person—someone you don’t know but whom you meet from time to time. This person could be a gardener, a passerby on the street, a clerk, or a mail carrier.
The lovingkindness meditation begins by extending well-wishes to yourself, followed by:
—a benefactor : Someone who has given you something important in your life—a teacher, mentor, boss, or other person
—a friendly person: Someone you love unconditionally and with whom you might ave occasional conflicts
—a neutral person: Someone you don’t know but have contact with from time to time
—a difficult person: Someone with whom you have ongoing conflicts
—all beings everywhere: Everyone, everywhere
To each person, we extend wishes of well-being by repeating phrases four, five or more times. Typical phrases are:
May I/you/all beings be safe.
May I/you/all beings be happy.
May I/you/all beings live life with ease.
May I/you/all beings be full of peace.
Use these phrases or others that resonate with you.
I hope you enjoy the show. Tell your friends and listen, subscribe, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
And, if you’d like to learn Mindfulness meditation or take a live online meditation class, check out the classes on my website. And while you are there sign up for the newsletter using the link in the footer.
As always I am grateful for you, my listeners, and I am grateful for the people behind the scenes that make this podcast possible. Allie Allen in San Francisco, for logo and podcast cover design; Gorgias Romero in Santiago Chile for original music, audio engineering, and production; Bill Rafferty in Sydney Australia for technical web support and Margaret Haas in Los Angeles California for announcing the show.
May your week flow with wishes of friendliness and kindness to all around you.
Be well. Be mindful.
DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the guidance and advice of your health professional.
