This guided meditation uses an AI-generated voice. It is a tool I use to make the practice available anytime. What matters is the intention you bring. Human-voiced loving-kindness meditations are also available on YouTube.
Read the transcriptTry shorter weekly meditations in a progression(opens in a new tab)A practice
Loving-kindness meditation
Loving-kindness, or metta in Pali, is the practice of deliberately wishing well: first to someone easy to love, then to yourself, and slowly to everyone. It is not a mood you have to summon. It is a habit of the heart you can train, a few minutes at a time.
It sits close to everything I care about, from meeting myself and others with compassion to my doctoral research on loving-kindness and burnout in healthcare. Press play above and follow along, or use the steps below on your own.
How to practice
Settle in
Sit or lie down in whatever way lets you be both relaxed and awake. Let your hands rest. Close your eyes or let your gaze go soft.
Arrive with the breath
Take a few slow breaths. Let each exhale loosen whatever you have been carrying. There is nothing to fix right now.
Start with someone easy to love
Picture a person, or an animal, whose face makes you smile. Starting here is gentler than starting with yourself, and it gives the heart something to lean on.
Offer the phrases
Silently repeat a few kind wishes for them. Go slowly. You are planting an intention, not trying to produce a feeling.
Turn the wishes toward yourself
Offer yourself the same phrases. If it feels awkward or stirs something up, that is normal. Notice it kindly and keep going.
Widen the circle
Include someone neutral, then, when you are ready, someone difficult. Finally, let the wishes reach all beings, everywhere.
Rest
Let the words go. Stay for a minute with whatever warmth or quiet is here before you open your eyes and return to your day.
The phrases
- May you be well.
- May you be happy.
- May you be healthy.
- May you be free from suffering and its causes.
There are many variations of these phrases, all on the same theme: a sincere wish for someone's wellbeing. Offer them to yourself (“May I be well”), to someone you love, to someone neutral or difficult, and to all beings. You may see other forms elsewhere, and that's OK. Use the words that you can actually mean.
An expanded version
- May you be well.
- May you be happy.
- May you be healthy.
- May you be free from suffering and its causes.
- May your heart be filled with joy and laughter.
- May you experience love and acceptance.
- May you experience kindness and compassion.
- May you experience calm and contentment.
- May you abide in equanimity free from bias and attachment.
- May you be at peace.
- May you be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
- May you feel safe and protected.
- May you be at ease.
- May your heart be filled with understanding and acceptance.
- May you freely give and receive forgiveness and gratitude.
Common questions
- How long should I practice?
- Five or ten minutes a day is a fine start. A short practice you actually do beats a long one you put off.Try shorter weekly meditations in a progression(opens in a new tab)
- What if I don't feel anything?
- Very common, and not a problem. The practice is the intention. The warmth often shows up later, off the cushion, in a moment you didn't expect.
- Do I have to be Buddhist?
- No. Metta comes from the Buddhist tradition, but wishing yourself and others well is a human thing. People of every faith, and those of no particular faith, practice it.
- What about someone who hurt me?
- Save that for later, and go gently. Wishing someone well does not excuse what they did. It loosens the grip resentment has on you.