If you can sneak away to Seattle Center at 12:30pm on Monday you might just have your life (further!) changed by a Seeds of Compassion workshop lead by Sharon Salzberg. It's on the power of metta meditation to open your heart.
All these amazing events, classes and workshops are inspiring us, uplifting us and setting us on a path to welcome the idea of compassion into our lives -- Sharon's workshop will give you a simple tool to sustain your insights.
Metta is sometimes called lovingkindness meditation. It's a quiet, peaceful practice of repetitive phrases designed to open your heart to your fellow human beings. It's about breaking down the idea of "me" and "other" in favor of the understanding that we are more alike than different, more deserving of kindness than not.
The evening I was introduced to metta something clicked for me. An a-ha moment, an epiphany. Metta seemed to be the antidote to bittnerness, strife and unrest. It was acceptance and hope in an easy to digest idea and practice.
Sharon Salzberg describes metta like this:
"...we reflect on that fundamental wish to be happy that underlies all action. 'Just as I want to be happy, all beings want to be happy.' This reflection gives rise to openness, awareness, and love. As we commit to these values, we become embodiments of a lineage that stretches back through beginningless time. All good people of all time have wanted to express openness, awareness, and love. With every phrase of metta, we are declaring our alignment with these values."
Her workshop details are here.
To read more about this powerful practice and the simple ways to incorporate it into your life here are some links:
- More from Sharon on metta
- Wikepedia on metta
- How-To guide for the practice
- Metta for children
