Metta is the Philosophy and practice of Universal love. It means loving-kindness, friendliness, goodwill, inoffensiveness and non-violence. True metta is devoid of self-interest. It creates a warm-hearted feeling of sympathy and love, which grows boundless with practice and overcomes all social, religious, racial, political and economic barriers. Metta is a universal, unselfish and all-embracing love.
(Start by laying or sitting in a comfortable position with eyes closed)
1. Begin to invite loving kindness in and let it fill your whole body. Imagine it as a soft pink light entering in through the crown of the head and touching every cell of your being. Feel it’s warmth. See it filling every single inch of your body. Be loving and kind to yourself first.
2. Then, Begin to imagine a creature—a person or animal—who is easy to extend warm and kind feelings towards. Radiate this loving kindness towards them.
3. Then, bring to mind a friends or family member. Visual their faces. Send metta towards them. Imagine it surrounding them and flowing through their entire body.
4. Bring to mind those beings you feel neutral about. Radiate metta towards them.
5. Bring to mind those who are challenging and whom you find difficult to deal with. Radiate this metta towards them. If this is an edge for you and negative feelings arise, go back to bringing loving kindness towards yourself.
6. Finally, bring to mind anyone whom you dislike, find threatening or repulsive. Radiate metta towards them. Again if negative feelings come up bring compassion and loving kindness back to yourself.
7. Bring to mind anyone who is especially in need of this metta and radiate it towards them. Send them this loving kindness. See this metta embracing them, surrounding them.
8. Bring this metta back to yourself as you imagine it flowing through your entire body. With your being filled with metta, radiating towards all beings, sit back and relax into the experience. Imagine the entire planet before you, the whole universe. Radiate this metta towards the entire universe and all beings in it.
9. End with a few moments of gratitude.