The Importance of Kindness
An Introduction to the Loving Kindness Meditation
The most important attribute of any human, in my opinion, is kindness. If you can always be kind in your interaction with yourself and others, then your life is a great success.
Being kind may sound easy, but it can be very challenging at times. It requires constant practice. This is especially true when it comes to being kind to yourself. For some reason, we always seem to put ourselves last on the list and we can be very unkind in the way we treat ourselves. Just look at some of those nasty thoughts you continually have including, “I’m not good enough”, “I’m too fat”, or “I’m not as smart”, etc.
There’s a beautiful meditation called The Loving Kindness Meditation that, if practiced regularly, can help you in a big way. It helps you in being more loving towards yourself and towards others, even if they are challenging.
Benefits of practicing the loving kindness meditation regularly include:
Increased resilience
Mood boost
Increased sense of purpose
More empathy for others
As we go through the meditation, you’ll be invited to say the following words to yourself, first towards yourself, then towards someone/something you love, someone you feel neutral towards, someone you find challenging, and finally to all sentient beings in the world.
May I (he/she, they, all) be safe and protected from all harm
May I (he/she, they all) be free from emotional and physical pain and suffering
May I (he/she, they, all)be truly happy and deeply peaceful
May I (he/she, they all) live with ease and joy all of my days
You can listen to the meditation here:
Once you’ve finished the meditation, I invite you to get out your journal and write about your experience. What did you notice? What can you take with you as you move through your day?
I’d love to hear from you so please send any comments or questions to me at sharon@sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com. Feel free to share this email with anyone else who may be interested.
Are you interested in life change & mindset coaching? If you are interested in exploring new ways to bring joy into your world and live your best life, please email me to set up a complimentary 30 minute coaching session/discovery call at sharon@sharonashtonmindulyoga.com or visit my website coaching page.
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You can access your free Find Your Inner Coach Guide including a guided visualization and journal prompts here:
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"I felt at complete ease with Sharon from our first conversation. She has a wonderful, gentle but firm way that made me focus on my thoughts / feelings so I could remove / change to move forward with a completely different feeling to what felt like obstacles. It was great having regular coaching that gently kept me accountable to actioning and moving towards my goals. Sharon has vast experience in so many areas, I felt that makes her an amazing coach.”
— Michelle Carney, East Galway, Ireland