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Loving kindness
What is it?
Loving kindness and gratitude mapping is a form of meditation, that originated from Buddhism. It was recognised to generate loving-kindness towards human beings in order for individuals to be “free from enmity, affliction and anxiety and live happily”. It has also been incorporated and adapted into modern Western context as a form of health promotion, separated and connected to its religious origins. When practising Loving kindness meditation, an individual will gently repeat phrases to generate positive feelings, this will lead to selflessness and unconditional kindness towards others and themselves.
What are the benefits?
Loving kindness has demonstrated an improvement with individuals who are experiencing depression. Scientific evidence has shown strong decreases of depressive symptoms and an increasement of regulating emotions, self-worth and views of others, acceptance and factors of emotional intelligence.
Loving kindness has displayed evidence of increased well-being and life satisfaction. Well-being is a subjective multidisciplinary concept, it integrates psychological and physical health, is associated with employment, family, financial benefits, and more, however, overall, it has been described as the ability to feel good and function well. Loving Kindness has been found to enhance positive emotions in daily life, such as “love, joy, gratitude, contentment, hope, pride, interest, amusement and awe”.
It has also been demonstrated that loving kindness can assist with physical pain; a study of loving kindness and lower back pain was conducted, theorising that anger and resentment increased the pain severity and loving kindness could reduce the intensity. The participants involved in the study commented that the more they meditated, “the less pain they felt that same day and the less anger they experienced the following day.” Another study demonstrated the link between loving kindness and a reduction of migraine pain, with participants reporting 33% less pain and 43% deduction of emotional tension.
Relationships have been positively impacted, with the ability to improve difficult relationships and an increased capacity to connect with others. There was a self-growth for individuals, learning how to evade adopting other people’s negative behaviours, which in turn lead to “decreased feelings of helplessness, judgemental attitudes, and anger” further preventing burnout.
How does it work?
Loving kindness has been translated from the word Metta, a Pali word native to the Indian subcontinent. The word has been described as an multi significant term, “goodwill, loving-kindness, universal love; a feeling of friendliness and heartfelt concern for all living beings, human or non-human, in all situations”. Loving Kindness/Metta works by having a benevolent attitude, and the aspiration to support the prosperity of others. To practice loving kindness, you utilise a positive thought or phrase through different stages;
“(1) focus on self;
(2) focus on a good friend (i.e., a person who is still alive and who does not invoke sexual desires);
(3) focus on a neutral person (i.e., a person who typically does not elicit either particularly positive or negative feelings but who is commonly encountered during a normal day);
(4) focus on a “difficult” person (i.e., a person who is typically associated with negative feelings);
(5) focus on the self, good friend, neutral person, and difficult person (with attention being equally divided between them); and eventually
(6) focus on the entire universe.
How to do it?
The process can take a few minutes, and each time you engage in your practice you can choose to extend the time you devote to your loving kindness meditation.
Step 1: Find a quiet place and take a seat
Step 2: Direct all kindness towards yourself, think of a phrase to repeat, such as “May I be safe”
Step 3: Think of a friend, and repeat phrase, such as “may my friend be happy”
Step 4: Direct your intentions to a neutral person, repeat a phrase, such as “may they be happy”
Step 5: Direct your intention to a difficult person, repeat a phase, such as “may they find happiness”
Step 6: Think of yourself and everyone you’ve just focused on and repeat a similar phrase, “may they all be happy”
Step 7: Lastly, direct all your kindness and intentions to the entire universe, repeating a similar phrase, “may everyone everywhere be happy.”
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