Of all the different kinds of meditation out there, there is one that's especially powerful for cultivating compassion and extending the benefits of one's meditation practice to others. It's called loving-kindness meditation, metta meditation, or maitrī meditation in Sanskrit. Here is what this practice is all about, plus a guided loving-kindness meditation to try for yourself.
In these meditations, the object is to cultivate and send out compassion to the world and all living beings in it, including ourselves. According to Marci Quinn, spiritual author of A Teen's Spirit: Changing the World Through Love and Kindness, "A loving kindness meditation is a powerful tool to help you experience forgiveness and compassion for yourself, those you know, and even those you don't. By actively visualizing yourself extending love to people during your meditation, a deep sense of peace and calmness sets in."
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