Loving-Kindness Meditation

Every morning, I practice a loving-kindness, or Buhddist mettā meditation. The words are always evolving in order to maintain their meaning for me. Here is a shortened version of my current mettā meditation. Note that it starts with love for oneself, often the most difficult part to get through. But, just as you can’t make a meal for a friend if you haven’t cultivated any food to have in your own kitchen, you need to cultivate self-love in order to authentically project love to others.

This version incorporates thoughts of loving-kindness for the people in the Bahamas who are suffering from the effects of Hurricane Dorian. It’s important to back up your thoughts of love with actions of love, so I have included links to ways for you to send material aid to the Bahamas.

a wall, a prayer & some advice

Wall

I open my eyes and I am just standing here

And once again, maybe always, I am pushing against a wall

There have been walls before

A series of walls

I can’t go back because the path disappeared behind me

So I have to push ahead past this wall or I’ll die here

Prayer

May I give and receive only loving-kindness today, in harmony with the Universe.

How to Deal with Difficult People

Love them. People are like dogs. Even the ones who bark you want to pet and rub their bellies.

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Here’s something:

Sh’ma

The central prayer in Judaism is the Shema, or Sh’ma. The Sh’ma proclaims the singular nature of God. It translates to: “Hear, o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” The first word, and the name of the prayer, Sh’ma, means hear, or listen. In order to really listen, one must quiet oneself. It’s interesting, then, that “Sh’ma” starts with the sound of “Shhhhhh!”