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A B M P m e m b e r s ea r n F R E E C E h o u r s by rea d i n g t h i s i s s u e ! 85 TAKEAWAY: A multitude of sacred writings demonstrate that kindness is not exclusive to any one religion or region; rather, practicing kindness is a way to heal and connect to our fundamental humanity. your ability to access and sustain kindness, love, and compassion for you and others. And it's not required to feel loving or even kind during your practice. Practice being with whatever feelings or thoughts come up without criticizing, judging, or arguing with yourself. With training, kindness can become a habitual default setting or natural state you return to, almost automatically, rather than forcing or having to toil for an experience. There is no trying, pushing, or striving required for loving- kindness training. Experiment and notice what happens. A MODERN PRACTICE OF METTA MEDITATION The following modern metta practice is inspired by a guided meditation created by Eve Ekman, PhD, at the Greater Good Science Center. First, find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down. Once you have a comfortable position, connect with your breath. Use your breath as a gateway to your present moment awareness. Feel the sensations of breathing in and breathing out. How do you experience yourself breathing? What do you notice as you breathe in? What do you feel when you breathe out? Receive Loving Kindness When you are ready, fill your reservoir of kindness by thinking of someone who has your best interests at heart, someone who has extended kindness, care, and support to you, or someone who loves and adores you. This could be someone you know now or someone from the past—a friend, family member, teacher, or colleague. Choose only one person and bring them to mind as though they were seated in front of you. Picture them smiling at you. Imagine them truly wishing for you to be successful, happy, and fulfilled, wishing for you to have a life that is f lourishing and filled with love. Imagine this person beaming all of this toward you with their smile and from their eyes. And with your next few inhales, draw in that intention of goodwill and well wishes from this person who cherishes you. Allow your body to receive, resonate, and relax into any feelings, thoughts, and sensations that come from receiving wishes of goodwill. Send Loving Kindness Now, let go of the image of that person and continue to gather and cultivate any emotional residue of kindness you just experienced. Harness and extend those feelings and sensations to someone in your life who could use an extra boost. Maybe it's the same person, a different friend, family member, or colleague. Again, bring them to mind vividly as though they were sitting in front of you. Without too many stories or details, wish for this person to be truly happy, fulfilled, joyful, and loved. As you inhale, draw in this intention. As you exhale, wish this person happiness, fulfillment, and f lourishing. Continue to extend well wishes for a few more breaths or a few more minutes. Bask in the receiving and giving of metta. Inhale and draw in this intention. Exhale to send it out. When you feel complete, release the image of this person. And once again, notice the sensations in your body that arise. How do you feel when you generate, embody, and extend kindness? Complete the practice with three letting-go breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling out your mouth with deep, reverberatory sighs. Regularly practicing metta will strengthen your ability to access and sustain kindness, love, and compassion for you and others.