Your Guide to Self-Empowerment and Positive Change

Back in the late 1970’s I practiced Vipassana meditation  with Dr. Rina Sircar, a Buddhist nun who teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). At that time CIIS had not been established yet and the school was called the California Institute of Asian Studies.

Every morning, five days a week, a group of us gathered with Rina to meditate for an hour. Vipassana meditation, also called Mindfulness or Insight Meditation, consists mainly of focusing on your breath.

We would focus our attention on the in and out movement of the breath and sometimes on the rising and falling of our abdomen as we breathed… breathing in and breathing out.

If thoughts arose we silently noted, “thinking thinking thinking” and brought our attention back to the focus of our meditation, our breath.

Towards the end of the meditation we had built up a lot of positive energy. We would then focus that energy into a prayer on loving kindness for the sake of all sentient beings.

When I learned this prayer the wording was such that we asked to be free from suffering and to be happy, peaceful and liberated. Because of my understanding of the Law of Attraction I have adapted some of the wording. For example, instead of focusing on freedom from suffering,  the focus is on feeling free to flow with wellness and ease.

Here then is the Loving Kindness prayer. Notice that you start with your self first. This is because you have to love yourself first before you can love others.

Loving Kindness Prayer (called Metta in Pali)

May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be liberated.
May I find happiness and the causes of happiness.
May I live in peace and harmony with life. .
May I feel free to flow with wellness and ease.

May my family be happy.
May my family be peaceful.
May my family be liberated.
May my family find happiness and the causes of happiness.
May my family live in peace and harmony with life.
May my family feel free to flow with wellness and ease.

May my friends be happy.
May my friends be peaceful.
May my friends be liberated.
May my friends find happiness and the causes of happiness.
May my friends live in peace and harmony with life.
May my friends feel free to flow with wellness and ease.

May all beings be happy.
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be liberated.
May all beings find happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings live in peace and harmony with life.
May all beings feel free to flow with wellness and ease.
May all beings be happy, peaceful and liberated.

I have always loved this prayer. It is a wonderful way to send positive, loving energy to yourself and others. And, of course, you can say this prayer mentioning a specific person or group. You can also offer it as a blessing at any time and to any one.

You might want to try this Loving Kindness prayer yourself. Simply focus on your breathing a few minutes then repeat the Loving Kindness meditation either out loud or silently to yourself. Spread some loving kindness to yourself and others and see how it makes you feel. I’d love to hear your experiences here.

In what way do you practice mindfulness and loving kindness? I welcome your comments.

Namaste,

Susan

Susan Eller
www.healingfromwithin.com

For any of you interested in planetary meditations there are three major spiritual festivals that occur annually at the time of the full moons of spring. They are the Festival of Love, the Festival of Wesak and Festival of Good Will.

Each of these meditations provides a period of increased accessibility to the highest spiritual energies available to humanity. Their purpose is to restore peace, cooperation and balance on our planet.

By participating in these meditations you will be joining millions of others around the world at the same time. You can also make contact with great spiritual beings called the Ascended Masters or the Great Ones. These beings through the process of evolution have triumphed over matter to achieve the level of self-mastery. They now work to carry out the Divine plan. By tuning into their powerful emanations you can receive as well as transmit their special blessings for the benefit of all lives on earth.

The following is a brief explanation of each of these festivals.

The Festival of Love

During this full moon meditation you can tune into the vibration of Divine Love. During your meditation open your mind and heart to receive divine emanations of love, then ask for love to be sent into the hearts of humanity. This festival occurs at the time of the Aries full moon.

The Festival of Wesak

This is the festival of the Buddha also called the Festival of Light. During this time it is as if a door is opened wide allowing you to contact energies which are otherwise not easily accessible. At this time a great expansion of consciousness is available.

During this full moon when the sun is in Taurus it is said that a great ceremony takes place in the Himalayas involving the Ascended Masters. During this ceremony the Buddha makes an appearance in order to bestow special blessings on the world. He joins with the World Teacher of Love to transmit Divine Light and Divine Love. See below for this year’s date and time.

The Festival of Goodwill

During this full moon people from every spiritual path call upon those who guide humanity to send the light, love and spiritual direction needed to create a world of unity, peace and cooperation.  This festival occurs at the time of the Gemini full moon.

Although this year’s Festival of Love has passed you can still tune into the other festivals. This year’s Wesak festival is on April 28th at 12:20 PM GMT and the Festival of Goodwill is on May 27th at 11:08 PM GMT.

Thanks to the work of Alice Bailey along with Lucis Trust Publishing and the Orin and Daben site for spreading the word on these festivals.  If you would like further information on them let me know. Also, feel free to add your comments.

May all beings be happy, peaceful and liberated.

Susan

www.healingfromwithin.com