Metta is a form of meditation intended to cultivate loving kindness. The practice consists of a wish for something positive for yourself, for someone you love, for someone you know casually, for someone with whom you are having difficulty, and finally, for all sentient beings. What you wish can be simply “loving kindness,” but I find it’s more effective if I am very specific about what I wish for whom.

Metta is particularly helpful for changing how we feel, and then act, toward people with whom we are having difficulty, but the whole process is helpful. It’s not a quick cure, but with each repetition of metta, the seeds of loving kindness toward the objects of the practice, including yourself, will be watered.

David