Day 4: 28 Day Happiness Challenge

Loving kindness mediation.  This simple meditation takes just a few minutes yet can change your perspective instantly. This can be done anytime and anywhere.  While sitting at breakfast, while out for a walk, at work, while dropping your children off at daycare, or while standing in line at the grocery store.  You don’t have to close your eyes or sit up straight.  All you have to do is think.  If your mind is like mine, you think out of habit anyway, this meditation is a way to focus your attention and send loving energy out into the world.  Although it is a simple concept, some of what I will be asking you to do may be quite difficult at first.  It does get easier the more often you repeat this meditation.

First you start with yourself and repeat with your thoughts the following:

May I be happy and may I bring happiness to others

May I be joyful and may I bring joy to others

May I be at peace and may I bring peace to others

May I be free from fear and doubt

May I be healthy and strong

May I be free from financial burden

May I see abundance in my world

Then think of someone you love, someone near and dear to you.  A friend, your spouse, a child etc and repeat the above except with the pronoun He/She

Now think of someone in your community, someone you see everyday that you don’t really know much about.  A cashier, bus driver, toll booth operator, garbage man, teacher, librarian etc and repeat the above except with the pronoun He/She

Now think of someone that really pissed you off today or got under your skin.  Someone you’ve held a long standing grudge with.  Repeat the above meditation for them, again using he/she while you think of them.  This is generally the toughest one to stay focused, this is because your ego will try and get you to remember all the reasons why this person doesn’t deserve love and kindness.  Over time it will get easier.

Last repeat the meditation for all beings of the planet.  This will be for all of the humans, animals, and planets, for the insects and the ocean.  Just use the pronoun They or All Beings.

Note how you feel before the meditation and how you feel after.  Also take note of the ease or difficultly you had with each one.  Was it difficult to think loving kindness toward yourself?  If it was, this is a strong indication that you need to do some internal work.  Was it easy to wish a loved one good will, how about the stranger?  How often did your thoughts interrupt you when sending love to the person you were mad at?  What did you feel when you sent love and kindness out to the world?

Again this can be done anywhere, just be safe.  I wouldn’t do the whole meditation while driving, that can be distracting when trying to focus on the road, but I do recommend send out a few loving kindness thoughts to the person who just cut you off in traffic.

Peace, Love and Gratitude

Did you miss day 3?  Click here to read.