The Power of Metta: A Daily Practice for Inner Peace

Gratitude

• I am safe

• I am happy

• I am healthy

• I am at peace

Even just writing these opening sentences, I feel the energy of this practice activated within me.

I first heard these affirmations from one of my mentors, Deborah King.

They are part of a Buddhist practice called Metta that has become, for me, a daily appointment.

It is a simple yet powerful practice. I usually do it after meditation, but on “gray” days, while hanging out laundry, walking with Noah, my dog, in line at the grocery store, or when I need it the most.

Perhaps it is also this accessibility that makes me love it and the deep feeling of loving kindness toward all my relationships that I can increasingly sense in myself by practicing it every day.

Although I always aspire to be able to forgive and be in a vibration of love, often frustration and stress get the better of me, and then Metta is the balm that calms my breath and brings me back to my center.

The whole practice is straightforward.

First, you extend loving-kindness to yourself, next to someone you love, after to a stranger, and finally, to someone you dislike.

You start with yourself trying to feel the words you are saying:

I am safe

I am happy

I am healthy

I am at peace

Next, thinking about someone you love, a human being or a pet, you repeat:

You are safe

You are happy

You are healthy

You are at peace

Next, you pick someone you neither like nor dislike:

You are safe

You are happy

You are healthy

You are at peace

And, finally, someone you actively dislike, whether you know them or not:

You are safe

You are happy

You are healthy

You are at peace

At first, the first and last parts were challenging for me. Feeling safe and at peace or loving and wishing daily well-being to the people who hurt me and made me feel unworthy was difficult. However, the vibration of these affirmations opened the door to a new awareness and serenity.

May you find your center.

 

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