Expectation and Hurdles
Table of Contents
A message from your coach - Uma
This meditation is a powerful technique for delving deeper into yourself than you may have realised.
It can unlock suppressed emotions or parts of you that you have not yet fully come to terms with, opening yourself up to aspects of that of which you were unaware.
You have a choice: you can choose to investigate further what comes up for you or you can put the lid back on it (temporarily or not).
Loving-kindness is already present in each of us
Generally speaking, the giving and withholding of kindness are linked to ideas of approval and disapproval of a person’s actions and behaviours.
This work creates an unselfish and selfless spirit and an equanimous move towards the people with whom we interact.
In doing so, it harnesses a more profound relationship that we share with all beings and our non-separate nature.
You will experience highs and lows
There are lots of reasons why metta may seem difficult. Very often, it is because the individual doesn’t feel that they deserve loving-kindness.
If that is the case for you, you will probably feel like skipping quickly over the first section of the meditation and want to start radiating loving-kindness to others instead.
For other people, this meditation is more difficult because of blocked negative emotions like anger, sadness, fear, hurt or guilt; any of those emotions can feel like a heavy burden at times.
Let one radiate boundless love towards the entire world above, below, and across, unobstructed, without ill will, without enmity.
Not falling into wrong views, being virtuous, endowed with insight, lust in the senses discarded.
Tap into the good in you during every aspect of this work
Accept all beings, including yourself, because you are worthy, you deserve happiness and freedom from suffering, as do all other people. We are all imperfect and flawed.
Determination is crucial on a spiritual pathway; if you experience difficulties in giving loving-kindness equally to yourself and others, then it is an aspect of your practice that requires work. If you feel it is easier for you to take on or hold onto suffering than to recognise the value of happiness, then that also needs work.
It is a great skill to cultivate in becoming aware of the pull towards what we prefer and the push away from what we see as problematic.
May you be peaceful-May you be happy
May you be well-May you be safe
May you be free from suffering