#mindful lovingkindness

[salsa8486]

Mindfulness Meditation. 😘💕🙏🏻 🙏🏿 🙏🏽 🌈 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ #love #helpeachother #lovingkindness #anxiety #forgiveness #kindnessmatters #kindness #bekindalways #mindfulness #metta #meditation #mindful #bekindtoyourself #smallthingsmatter #kinder #smiling #beinginthemoment #mindfulpath #grateful #gratefulheart #gratitude #nonjudgemental #lovethyneighbor #selfcompassion #compassion #goodheart #liveinthemoment #selflove #daybyday. https://www.instagram.com/p/CqKo_yRNEci/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[unofficialchronicle]

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Complete Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

[labyrinth-magic]

The labyrinth supports us wherever we are in our lives and all we need to do is trust our unique journey! Enjoy reading my latest Patreon post about this liminal space (bardo) I have found myself in since the beginning of my divorce and how the labyrinth has supported me through it all!

[tmgujarat]

Meditation to improve relationships is a powerful tool that can transform how we connect with others. By practicing meditation, we can enhance our emotional regulation, reduce stress, and improve communication. Techniques like mindfulness meditation help us stay present and mindful in our interactions, while Loving-Kindness Meditation fosters feelings of love and compassion. Meditation also aids in conflict resolution by helping us stay calm and empathetic, and it builds trust through mindfulness and consistent actions. Whether practiced alone or with a partner, meditation brings long-term benefits such as improved emotional health and stronger relationship bonds. Creating a dedicated meditation space at home and incorporating regular meditation sessions into our daily routine can further reinforce these positive changes. Despite common obstacles like difficulty focusing or skepticism from partners, starting with short, consistent sessions can lead to significant improvements in relationship satisfaction.

[thespiritualparrot]

Effective Meditation Techniques for Inner Peace and Emotional Well-being

Discover powerful meditation techniques that can bring inner peace and enhance emotional well-being. Explore mindfulness, loving-kindness, breath awareness, and more.

Hey, Tumblr community! Are you ready to unlock the transformative power of meditation? In this blog post, we'll dive into effective meditation techniques that can help you achieve inner peace and nurture your emotional well-being. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced meditator, there's something here for everyone.

We'll start with mindfulness meditation, a practice that cultivates present-moment awareness and helps you deal with distractions. Dive deeper into loving-kindness meditation, where you'll learn to cultivate compassion and goodwill towards yourself and others. And let's not forget about breath awareness meditation, which brings a sense of calmness and emotional stability to your daily life.

But that's not all! We'll explore body scan meditation, walking meditation, chanting and mantra meditation, visualization meditation, and even sound meditation. Each technique offers its unique approach to mindfulness and emotional balance.

In this post, you'll find detailed instructions, step-by-step guides, and scientific evidence supporting the benefits of each technique. We want to provide you with the tools to incorporate these practices into your routine seamlessly.

Imagine the impact regular meditation can have on your life – reduced stress, increased self-awareness, improved emotional clarity, and a deeper sense of inner peace. It's time to prioritize your well-being and embark on this transformative journey.

So, are you ready to join us on this meditation adventure? Follow our blog for regular updates, tips, and guidance on meditation and holistic wellness. Let's discover the path to inner peace and emotional well-being together. Remember, the transformative potential lies within you.

[acaringcounselor]

Practice for today… plant, seeds of love and kindness in your hearts. It could be towards yourself, a loved one, a friend, a stranger, or all living beings. In your mind, picture that person, being in front of you and repeat the phrases of loving kindness. May you be well, may you be safe, and you be happy. Change the you to an I, if you’re sending it to yourself, incline your mind and heart towards kindness, and watch it grow. ❤️🙏 #lovingkindness #mindfulness #kindnessmatters #intentionalliving #peaceofmind #mindandheart #buddhadharmasangha https://www.instagram.com/p/CpIPi4HLXJ7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[rdnewhaven]

"Human nature has an inbuilt tendency toward addiction. For some people this tendency can lead to the destruction of their lives, through their addictive and obsessive–compulsive behaviors. However, we can all struggle with the nature of the mind that tends toward addiction. We could say that we are all in recovery. Thinking itself can have an addictive quality to it. Thinking that tells us stories, thinking that can make us angry, thinking that can literally intoxicate us and impair the mind. Accidents and even fatalities can be caused when we are under the influence of this type of thinking." - Eight Step Recovery by Valerie Mason-John and Dr. Paramabandhu Groves #RecoveryIsPossible #RecoveryDharma #TakeRefuge #Buddha #Dharma #Dhamma #Sangha #Recover #Recovery #Mindfulness #Satipațțhāna #Lovingkindness #Maitri #Metta #SympatheticJoy #Mudita #Equanimity #Upekkha #Impermanence #Anicca #Impersonal #Anatta (at New Haven Zen Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClqWGL8upnd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[transgenderer]

So there's an octavia butler short story, the book of Martha, where God gives an author (closely patterned on butler herself, but possibly intentionally less creative) infinite(?) power to remake the world, to fix humanity and/or its problems before we destroy ourselves. After considering a variety of options (it's possible she's only allowed to modify human nature? But the story never stares that. Maybe she's just not good at considering all her options) she just gives everyone extremely pleasurable dreams. So they're less ambitious I guess. And in general have nicer lives

Anyway this story has stuck with me in two ways. The first: so, assume you're not just gonna like. Give humanity infinite resources or whatever. How do you make a utopia? Well to me the answer seems obvious, based on my experience of my own psyche. The human mind needs more affection. It's too easy for annoyance or some petty issue to overwhelm affection. And then we are cruel and selfish and all this stuff. Like. Idk, I feel like I've experienced moments of clear-eyed saintlihood. My brain produces that...outlook/emotion/whatever. But it won't stick there, of course. But it feels like it wouldn't be too far a jump to just get the human brain to stick there more easily. Still let us access other states, for variety. Give us some sense of others freedom or whatver, so our care for each other doesn't make us all busy bodies. But like. It would only take the tugging of a few chemical strings to fix human nature. A little less rage, a little more philia.

This is of course an important piece of evidence that if there is a god he doesn't love us. He could have made us full of lovingkindness. He could have made us not want to hurt and humiliate each other. But he didn't. Because all that nastiness helps us succeed in the social games that increase our mating frequency, or selectiveness, or whatever, presumably, and so selective descent with modification doomed us all forever. Or, God is real but cares about something else. Maybe beauty. Maybe he feels the glory of war is worth it.

But the second thing, is noticing which parts of our world feel like a Martha has already been there. I was looking at the sky on the train home today (hmabhrg! There was a William Blake exhibition), admiring it, and I was struck again by how...excessive, superfluous, overflowing, decadent, additional it is. The sky could just be a simple blue, fading evenly to black. Clouds could always be blobby and indistinct. We could all be congenital shortsighted, so they were always blurry. But instead they're just this part of the world, detached from all the specifics of earthly life, that is achingly beautiful, most nights! Sunsets are so beautiful it's cliche, it's boring! That feels like a gift from a Martha. Someone a bit uncreative trying to fix the world in a way that doesn't shake it up too much

[talonabraxas]

Buddhist Meditation Techniques & Practices

You probably know that the increasingly popular practices of mindfulness and meditation share Buddhist roots. But did you know that there are many different schools of Buddhism, each with its own meditation techniques and methods? This is because after the time of the historic Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, in the 6th century BCE, Buddhism spread far and wide. As it spread, it adopted some of the characteristics and spiritual strengths of the lands where it became implanted.

All forms of Buddhism – and, by extension Buddhist meditation techniques – have arisen from the Buddha’s insights about the nature of existence, the causes of suffering, the causes of happiness, and guidelines for living a wholesome and constructive life. Buddhist meditation practices have now spread beyond the borders of the countries where they developed organically and are more widely available than ever before.

How do Buddhists Meditate?

Tibetan visualization practices, Zen, vipassana, Pure Land, Nichiren and a number of other Buddhist forms of meditation are now taught and practiced all over the western world. Below we present 3 inspiring methods; if you explore a bit, you’ll surely find many more!

1.Shamatha

Shamatha (mindfulness) is a well-known Buddhist practice that focuses on developing calmness, clarity and equanimity. With the proper guidance and commitment, the cultivation of these qualities can ultimately lead to deep inner peace. When combined with vipassana (awareness) practices, it can lead to profound insights and spiritual awakening. The initial stages of mindfulness meditation are essentially non-denominational and can be practiced by anyone, regardless of their faith tradition.

The basis of shamatha, or mindfulness meditation, is as follows:

Sit in a comfortable meditation posture: find a pose that doesn’t hurt your back or knees. Watch our Take Your Seat video or see our post to learn about the best Buddhist meditation postures. Keep your back straight and try to find a happy medium between too rigid and too relaxed.

Observe your breath: You don’t have to manipulate your breath, use abdominal breathing or have long, deep in-breaths and out-breaths. Just breathe normally and pay attention to your breathing process, one breath at a time. Keep your awareness focused but be gentle; you should have an attitude of discovering and making friends with yourself.

Acknowledge the thoughts that pop into your mind without engaging them. Simply observe them and let go. Come back to the breath. We call this “touch and go.” Let the thought arise, touch on it gently, and then let it go.

2.Metta or lovingkindness

Another popular method for how to practice Buddhist meditation is Metta, or lovingkindness, meditation. There are many different forms of this meditation as well. They begin with a period of śamatha to get the mind settled and receptive.

In one technique, we begin by directing wishes for well-being and lovingkindness toward ourselves. Then we open it out and direct lovingkindness towards a person or pet that we love. Then someone we feel neutral about, followed by somebody we have problems with or even an enemy. Ultimately our love flows equally towards all beings everywhere, regardless of how we feel about them. This form of meditation is about feeling the love and radiating out until the distinct edges that usually categorize us as “me, friend, enemy, etc.” fade away and what is left is benevolence, pure and simple.

We might repeat slogans or mantras that inspire our practice, such as “May my love for myself and others flow freely.” Or “May I and all living beings be safe, happy and peaceful.” A traditional Buddhist invocation called the four immeasurables starts with “May all beings find happiness and the cause of happiness. May they be free from suffering and the cause of suffering.” After a period of active metta practice, we sit in quiet awareness for a time. The full experience of this practice is highly transformative – take a course in the 4 immeasurables practice here.

3.Contemplative meditation

The Buddhist teachings share some fundamental beliefs. Practitioners are encouraged to reflect on them in a focused, contemplative manner. This contemplation may be integrated into a practice session. One of the best-known contemplations is called “The Four Thoughts that Transform the Mind.” Their purpose is to give us a good reason to sit down and practice rather than, for example, spend the next two hours on social media or in a shopping mall. These four thoughts, in brief, are:

-I can choose to devote my energy to developing wisdom, compassion and the power to benefit others. Many people in other situations, as well as other forms of life such as animals, don’t have this possibility. I recognize the preciousness of this opportunity and vow not to waste it.

-But who knows how long this precious life will last? Everything changes. My entire existence depends on an out-breath being followed by an in-breath. No time to waste!

-Everything that exists has a cause, and every action has consequences. This speaks to the truth of interdependence – and means that our actions have more of an impact than we might imagine.

-At one point or another, we will be separated from all of the material things we’re attached to. So much effort, so little lasting gain! Doesn’t it make more sense to focus our energy on being of benefit by developing the precious qualities of wisdom, compassion, and spiritual skills? May my meditation practice help me reach this goal!

Guided Buddhist Meditation

If you’re just starting your Buddhist meditation practice but aren’t quite sure how to go about it, try following a guided meditation. Mindworks Buddhist meditation courses offer a variety of guided meditations for meditators of all levels. Also check out our companion article What is Buddhist Meditation?

You might also join a local meditation class. It’s a great way to interact with other like-minded people and compare notes and tips. Now that we’ve answered the question “How do Buddhists Meditate?” it’s time to try it out for yourself. Have fun!

“Om mani padme hum”

[salsa8486]

Mindfulness Meditation. 😘💕🙏🏻 🙏🏿 🙏🏽 🌈 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦 #love #helpeachother #lovingkindness #anxiety #forgiveness #kindnessmatters #kindness #bekindalways #mindfulness #metta #meditation #mindful #bekindtoyourself #smallthingsmatter #mindfulmeditation #smiling #beinginthemoment #mindfulpath #grateful #gratefulheart #gratitude #nonjudgemental #dalailama #lovethyneighbor #selfcompassion #compassion #goodheart #liveinthemoment #selflove https://www.instagram.com/p/Cntnas-tKlT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[unofficialchronicle]

Sending Metta:

“Metta” comes to us from an ancient Indian language called Pali, and it translates as lovingkindness, benevolence, active good will. 

Metta is an active form of meditation where instead of focusing on the breath, we focus on sending benevolent thoughts and wishes out into the world, and we imagine that the people—or animals—in our minds are touched by our good will.

Metta meditation was taught by the Buddha 2600 years ago and is still practiced in many traditional Buddhist communities to this day, just as he taught it.

✸

When ready, imagine someone you care about, someone you’re grateful for, and simply wish them well with these words (you can adapt the phrases as you see fit), either spoken out loud or in your mind:

May you be safe

May you be happy

May you be healthy

May your mind be at ease.

Some teachers recommend that you begin with yourself:

May I be safe

May I be happy

May I be healthy

May my mind be at ease.

Take the time to visualize the object of your meditation and feel the outpouring of goodwill. Send Benevolence to folks who support you, who put a smile on your face, who you feel neutral about, who trouble or annoy you, who you do not know, and everyone else. Extend your well-wishes to the world.

✸

Science is confirming what meditators who fold metta into their practice have known for centuries: it increases well-being. From enhanced feelings of empathy to improved relationships to better resilience to helping with PTSD and other trauma-based conditions, regular lovingkindness meditation has been linked to a host of benefits, much like mindfulness and awareness practices. And hey, you may even develop compassion.

[saras-devotionals]

Quiet Time 9/6

What am I feeling today?

I wish I had been more productive today. Then again I was really tired and it was probably good for me to get that extra bit of sleep. Prayerfully all my plans can follow through today. Also, I’m trying so so hard to keep a level head. There’s a brother in the church who I’ve developed an interest in and I don’t want to spiral like I have the habit of doing in the past. I just need to trust in God and His timing and not fret and preoccupy myself with worrying about whether he likes me or will ask me out again or if he feels the same way about me etc.

Bible Plan: Rethinking Love and Romance

Finally, we turn to the New Testament’s Christmas story—wait, what? We associate angels, shepherds, and wise men with the Christmas story, but romance? Stick with us. There is something profound to learn about love from a character who does not have a single line in the story.

Matthew’s gospel tells us that Joseph was betrothed to Mary. In their world, betrothals were more serious than modern wedding engagements. The two were legally bound to one another, though they didn’t yet live together or consummate their relationship. During the betrothal time, Mary discovers that she is pregnant—and the baby is not Joseph’s (Matt. 1:18). Imagine being Joseph in this scenario. What is he supposed to do? In their culture, this would have been humiliating to both Mary and him.

Joseph shows lovingkindness to Mary by deciding to divorce her quietly (Matt. 1:19). That doesn’t seem very loving, but consider the cultural context. Joseph could have preserved his own reputation by publicly shaming Mary. He could have told everyone she was pregnant with a child that wasn’t his, leaving her to carry the burden alone. But Joseph won’t do it. He shows mercy toward Mary.

The authors say he wants to divorce her quietly because he is a “righteous” (Greek: dikaios) man. This word in Greek is deeply relational, describing someone doing right by another person and treating others as infinitely valuable creations of God. What could be more loving than treating someone with mutual respect and acknowledging that God built them for honor, blessing, and endless lovingkindness? Joseph wishes Mary no harm. He chooses to care for her.

Joseph is later awakened by a messenger, an angel, who instructs him to not divorce Mary. For Joseph, a quick and quiet divorce instinctively looked best for everyone involved. But Joseph chooses to trust the angel and, again, acts in a way that cares for and blesses (or gives life to) Mary—a picture of true love.

Most of us aren’t getting angelic instructions about who to stay romantically involved with. Wouldn’t that be nice? But we can still choose to act in love toward others in the way that Joseph did. Are we loving another person because of what they can do for us, or are we loving them so that they can be built up, cared for, and blessed with life? Are we choosing to do right by the other person regardless of what they can do for us?

In today’s video, learn more about the Hebrew word khesed that describes the relational and active love that God has for his people.

Matthew 1:18-25 NIV

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

I never thought about this too deeply but let’s take a moment to reflect on this situation. Joseph is a man betrothed to a woman who is now pregnant with a child that he knows it not his. Think for a moment how that would make you feel, betrayed? angry? bitter? disappointed? disgusted? hurt? I can’t imagine what it must have been like initially for Joseph but take some time again to reflect on how he responded to the situation.

It says he did not want to expose her to public disgrace. Think about what that says about him and his character especially during this time period and cultural context. He loved Mary in a way of respect and kindness, he was looking out for her even when it may have seemed she wasn’t doing the same for him.

This can lead us to a great practical:

Are we loving another person because of what they can do for us, or are we loving them so that they can be built up, cared for, and blessed with life? Are we choosing to do right by the other person regardless of what they can do for us?

No matter what happens or how how people treat us today (and any other day for that matter) - we should show the same love that God has shown us. Let’s not grumble when asked to do something. Let’s build up other people with our words. Let’s take the time to encourage one another.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Sharon Salzberg

+

I’m mostly in denial that I’m about to turn 70 years old. I often find myself saying, “Let’s just not think about it. I’ll pretend it isn’t going to happen.”

But of course, as I contemplate my upcoming birthday with disbelief, I remember that I’ve spent all these years in a Buddhist tradition that encourages reflecting on your own death every day. So maybe it’s not something I should put off anymore!

When I do this reflection, I think about letting go. During the pandemic, I let go of many things: travel, seeing friends, and much more. And so I ponder what it would mean to let go of everything.

Of course, aging is a mixed bag. Wisdom, perspective, gratitude—so many things grow stronger as we get older. But there are also distressing, growing incapacities from one’s body; the fear of what a moment of forgetfulness might mean; the sheer indignity of being treated as unimportant by some; even the frustration of having to scroll down for a long, long, long time on some websites to get to the year of your birth (my personal pet peeve).

And then there is the painful fact, so relevant recently, that one’s body tends not to mount as strong an immune response to illness.

I do also feel the joy of aging. For example, I don’t feel ambitious. If someone asks me what I’d like my legacy to be, I think, “I’ve done it.” Hopefully I can still accomplish things and make things happen, but I don’t feel competitive. I don’t feel haunted by the folly of youth as I might have been at one time.

I once attended a retreat focused on aging led by the Tibetan master Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Although he was still a fairly young man at that point, Rinpoche had noticed that many of his students were confronting the challenges of growing older. One afternoon, someone in the retreat was waxing on about the tremendous joys and delights of growing older. Exhilarating insights, followed by a litany of pleasures, followed by impressive triumphs, all spoken faster and faster (“What is she running from?” I thought darkly), until Rinpoche interrupted her.

“Don’t just make a poem out of aging,” he said. “It can be really hard sometimes.”

He wasn’t encouraging cynicism or despair—more an invitation to see and openly acknowledge all aspects of our experience. We don’t want to deny the difficult, of course, but we also don’t need to be completely defined by it. Being enveloped in and defined by what’s difficult is relatively easy to do, so it takes some intentionality to recognize all aspects of our experience and remember the positive forces in our lives.

So how might that work in practice?

First, while the difficult parts of aging are unavoidable, we can try not to add to them. For example, I have seen, throughout my life, the tendency to rehearse some catastrophe and thereby live it several times. So I think the first question is always, “What are we adding onto a situation which is already hard enough?”

Not being able to do something I used to be able to do, or being in physical pain, or losing people we love – these are already very hard. But we often add more suffering onto them, like thinking it shouldn’t be this way, or feeling shame or fear. One possibility of mindfulness is to notice where we’re adding to the suffering that’s already there, and try not to fall so much into it.

Second, I learned an interesting form of lovingkindness meditation from Ananda Matteya, then an energetic, 94-year-old Sri Lankan monk visiting the Insight Meditation Society in 1993. He taught us what he described as his favorite meditation: combining loving-kindness meditation and a body scan. He would go through the body, part by part, wishing each part well: may my head be happy, may my eyes be happy, and so on through the whole body. Even “may my liver be happy!”

I’ve taught that meditation to people with injuries, scars, diseases, difficult diagnoses, and all kinds of things, and it makes a difference. It can help counteract our tendency to add bits of shame or resentment, even subconsciously, to whatever is already there.

Finally, there’s the perspective of wisdom.

I first met Joseph Goldstein at my first meditation retreat, in India, in January, 1971. Just before lunch, I was in a madly frustrated state, because I couldn’t keep my attention on the breath. I said to myself, “If your mind wanders one more time, you should just bang your head against the wall!”

Fortunately, the lunch bell rang just then, saving me from that fate. This retreat was not silent, so waiting in line for lunch, there was a conversation going on between two people behind me. One asked, “How was your morning?” And the other replied, “I couldn’t concentrate at all, but maybe this afternoon will be better.”

He was so casual about it that I was horrified. I thought “This guy doesn’t understand how extraordinary these teachings are – he’s being so glib!”

Of course, ‘this guy’ was Joseph Goldstein. The difference, of course, was that I had been meditating for four days, while he had been meditating for four years and had a kind of perspective on change, on the inevitable ups and downs of meditation, that I was nowhere near having.

Now I feel that way about life in general. Things change, there are ups and downs, and with practice, we can learn to let go, again and again.