LOVING KINDNESS MEDITATION Archives

March 28, 2015 By Admin

Meditations Beyond Mindfulness:

Concentration, Contentment, and Loving Kindness

I have written various entries on concentration meditations in prior posts. Yes, concentration meditation is beyond pure mindfulness meditation. Here I will present briefly two other forms of meditation that are quite intentional and also beyond mindfulness: contentment and loving kindness meditations. Let’s begin with intentional meditation of contentment.

Contentment implies you will NOT live a life of greed and passionate materialism; instead, you will be satisfied by meeting the basic requirements for living a reasonable life. Although the actual meaning of a “reasonable life” may vary among different individuals, it generally means meeting the basic necessities of life. Even that goal may vary considerably among various people and groups. However, it also means that you will NOT live a life of craving materialism and competitive wealth-hording. You may work hard to get ahead within your own definition of a reasonable life, but you will not cling to rampant materialism or harm others in the process. Remember that liberation from craving and avoiding will end much of your personal suffering. Discontentment often leads to thoughts, words and deeds that harm others for the personal goal of self-interest. Desiring and craving for something to be different sets up your mind to be discontented. Now into the meditation on contentment.

Contentment Meditation:

In a sitting or lying down position take a few calm, deep, slow breaths with intention to relax your body and mind. Find your physical comfort on the pillow or mat. Be that comfort, and allow your mind to slow and calm. Concentrate deeply on the following steps. One way to concentrate is to contemplate in a single-pointed manner and go deeper and deeper in concentration as time moves on.

1) Look deeply into your personal meaning for contentment. What does it include, and what feelings are generated by this process?

2) Work on withdrawing your consciousness away from things, possessions, money, etc. Just rest, breathe, and allow the mind to withdraw.

3) Sit with the proposition that personal contentment is simply being satisfied with whatever the present moments brings to you – even in this meditation.

4) Focus deeply – really concentrate – on the possibility that you need NOTHING more than your experience in the present moment, here NOW.

5) Consider the wholesomeness of being content. As you contemplate this, what thoughts, words and actions come to mind? Focus on these.

6) Consider what The Buddha said – “Contentment is the highest wealth.” Cut your craving energies, and let go – let go into total satisfaction right here, right now. Notice!

7) Now reflect mindfully on this experience for the next 5 to 10 minutes. Just be. Just contemplate. Gently return if/when your mind wonders.

Loving Kindness Meditation:

Another way to meditate beyond mindfulness is to concentrate deeply on your spiritual attributes and loving kindness. Sometimes people include spiritual attributes as part of “right concentration.” So concentrate deeply (contemplate in a deeper and deeper manner) on your spiritualiity: what does this mean to you? Certain spiritual attributes guide the way toward wholesomeness in life, and wholesomeness allows more loving kindness.

1) Settle yourself for another meditation period. Prepare yourself for meditating on the spiritual aspects of mindfulness, wisdom, energy, faith, and concentration.

2) Meditate in deeper concentration on the personal experience of mindfulness. What is this experience like for you? Be in it now.

3) Meditate in deep concentration on what wisdom means to you. What is wisdom like as an experience?

4) Now move your meditation to the experience of energy. Get yourself into the inner experience of energy; do deeply inside yourself to connect with that spiritual energy. Concentrate deeply on this.

5) At this point move your meditation object to your personal meaning of faith. Concentrate deeply on what your experience of faith is.

6) Now we will end with a deep contemplation on what your experience of concentration is. Yes, concentrate deeply in your meditation on the experience of concentration.

7) Lastly, we will end our meditation with loving kindness – this time just for yourself. Since this meditation practice has already been taught many times in prior posts, here I will simply offer you some choices regarding what words you may use. Of course, you can make up your own words based on your needs.

The most common themes is – may I be safe, healthy, free from suffering, happy and live with ease.

Or you could say – may I be free from fear, doubt, anger, resentment, restlessness, boredom and other afflictions.

Or you could say – may I be at peace, with compassion, feeling secure, with understanding, and determined.

Or you could say – may I be happy, happy, happy, happy, happy. Hope this improves your sense of wholesomeness and inner peace.

For more information refer to Gunaratana, B. H. (2009). Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English: An Introductory Guide to Deeper States of Meditation. Boston, MA.: Wisdom Publications, pp. 23-57.

By Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont

Author of Mindful Happiness

CLICK HERE to Order!

Meditation on Gratitude – Why it is so Important The daily rapid vibrations from our fast-paced and sometimes dangerous world may impact us in ways that make unhealthy norms of being. The struggle to feel good enough, to have enough, to be somebody, to keep up with the raging ads about what you need NOW and […]

Crisis Resilience Skills – Mindful Happiness Below I will list various interventions that have proven effective in reducing the level of personal crisis. The sources for many of these skills came from Burns (1980), Ellis (1995), Seligman (1988), Linehan (1993, 2015)), Hayes (2018), and Thich Nhat Hanh (various publications). The skills noted are for immediate […]

Consciousness, Emptiness, and Well Being This is an advanced post on the complex relationship among consciousness (awareness), emptiness, and well being. Readers with advanced understanding of Buddhist Psychology will recognize the inherent relationships among consciousness, emptiness, and well being and interactions with core Buddhist concepts and experiences such as happiness and suffering, impermanence, non-dual nature, […]

Tantric Meditation on Emptiness of Self Mind training on emptiness of self requires single-pointed attention and concentration on space, empty space. Emptiness awareness in equipoise of meditation appears as the empty of space. When we practice this repeatedly with calm abiding we can attain direct experience of non-conceptual realization – true emptiness. Awareness of emptiness […]

Interpersonal Mindfulness Various forms of mindfulness-based compassion training help us to care more about the needs, happiness, and health of other people. However, direct applications of interpersonal mindfulness activates these influences into direct action on behalf of others. Thus, if lucky, we learn to care more about others and less about ourselves. The self-centered ego […]

Overcoming the Hindrances of Ill-Will and Aversion Although regular daily practice and sincerely following of The Eight-Fold Path in one’s life may be the best ways to overcome various hindrances, there may be some additional practical suggestions to consider on the path. We will begin our discussion with common human pain and suffering; we will […]

Advanced Buddhist Practices Abiding in Emptiness The various impediments (enemies) to abiding in emptiness are noted below. We have strong attachment to objects of mind and our sense door pleasures. We experience strong desire and cravings as our norms. We over-attach to forms of affection. We may become stuck in grief related to our experienced […]

Happiness Path – The 14th Dalai Lama His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama has suggested, among many other important things, that humans may experience true inner happiness by regular practice on the path to enlightenment. In his 2012 book, From Here to Enlightenment, he noted that personal happiness may be attained via specific behaviors and ways of […]

Concentration Vs Mindfulness? Many people new to meditation often confuse the differences between mindfulness or accepted bare attention to whatever arises in the moment and concentration or strong penetrating awareness on one thing without distraction. Concentration is a more intensely focused and engaged form of mindful attention. Concentration is sustained, powerfully focused, one-pointed attentional awareness. […]

Wise Mind and the Neuroscience of Mindfulness Practice What is wise mind? Marsha M. Linehan developed this clinical process in her work on dialectical behavior therapy. Wise mind is the middle way between rational/reasonable mind and emotional mind; it allows us to live with balanced reason and emotion in daily interactions. When practiced regularly, it […]

Retreats and Therapy: The Power of Silence E. Kubler-Ross once noted that people need to more often revisit silence within themselves and realize all of life’s purposes include learning from our despairing experiences. Suffering may be a hidden source of being blessed with new inner knowledge. Personal suffering if not too, too great may also […]

Gurdjieff’s The Fourth Way Meditations: A way of Being and Knowing Although Gurdjieff developed a whole way of being and knowing, including attentional practices, dance/body movements, group processes, and meditations here I will focus only on some of the suggested meditations. In particular, I include the meditations noted by his primary student (J. DeSalzmann, 2011). […]

Many Benefits of Mindfulness and Vipassana Meditation The Dalai Lama (Gyatso, Tenzin), the world leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and Paul Ekman, the world famous Psychologist of human emotions, have teamed up to discuss how to use mindful emotional awareness skills to become more emotionally balanced and compassionate. These two highly skilled practitioners have listed 21 […]

Showing Deep Love & Respect Loved Ones Lost This is a very brief post about love and respect for “lost loved ones” – those special people who have left their human body and mind behind. Two Rituals 1) Loving Kindness Meditation for Lost Loved Ones After breathing slowly and deeply for a few minutes in silence, […]

A Dark Night with Saint John of the Cross The writings of Saint John of the Cross offer a special viewpoint about the suffering of souls, suffering souls on their way to unity with the divine. What follows stands in contrast to the Buddha’s views in The Dhammapada about ultimate happiness without any form of union […]

Self-Care to Reduce Compassion Fatigue First let’s begin with what some people do to counteract the stressors of living in a hurried,“over-technologized” world. Technically, “technologize” is not a popularly accepted word, but it is a sad reality. We live in a time when texting while driving may become the new addiction-based cause for many, many […]

Facing Addiction in America On November 17, 2016 The Surgeon General of The United States (Dr. Vivik Murthy) issued THE FIRST Surgeon General Report on our addictions problems. Since addictions in America may well be the single most threatening condition facing the nation’s health and economy, as well as casting strong doubt about a good […]

Mindfulness Training From The Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton,Vermont The Problem: Many people become stuck in the suffering of their past, and they continue to re-experience an event in the futile hope to better understand it, or to find an escape from it. Many of the same people become fixated fearfully […]

My blog site mindfulhappiness.org has many posts on meditation, Buddhism, education, clinical practices and self-activated emotional health practices. Perhaps you may wish to initiate a Reflective Journal practice after you do practices presented on the site. There are many benefits from maintaining a written journal about personal experiences and practices. Not only does a […]

Trauma Therapy: Basics from Some Expert Clinicians For many years trauma therapist have used many approaches in their psychotherapy. Most of these approaches lack strong empirical support for outcomes, and are often the “favorites” of these therapists. One might wonder what benefits therapists derive from using approaches that are not evidence-based. If an intervention fails […]