May I be safe and protected
May I be peaceful and happy
May I be healthy and strong
May I have ease of wellbeing
Metta meditation is beautiful, and there is so much wisdom on the internet: just Google for it. I think I got this text from Yale, but am not sure. You start by praying for yourself, then for someone you have benefitted and who has always been on your side, then a loved one, then a close friend, then a neutral person, then a difficult person,
and then Everyone. Possibly by categories, people in your city, your country, your planet. I tried making this my spiritual practice, and setting aside fifteen minutes each day to do it, and I gave up.
So this time, rather than fixing a time for my Spiritual Practice, I just decided to do it when I felt like it, or when I picked up my transcription of that text. Very quickly, up pops the Inner Critic, and reminds me that I am supposed to be praying for Other People. Yes, Johanna, but that may be easier if I can do it for myself. And- first I do it for myself, and enjoy that, so I may enjoy doing it for other people. Just enjoy it.
The Yale text adds to the last line “(and accept all the conditions of the World)”. Well, yes, that ease comes from accepting the World as it is, and my ability to change it only by concentrated, clear-sighted effort. I may add that line, or I may not. I also want to meditate on what I mean by “safe” or “healthy” or “happy”, words so simple and so rich.
Clare Flourish 