The lovingkindness meditation

The limits of our goodwill form the ultimate boundaries of our peace of mind, for we cannot achieve peace while aversion is present. –Josh Korda

The lovingkindness meditation is a beautiful–and challenging–practice in which you offer lovingkindness first to yourself, and then to others … those who love you unconditionally, your loved ones, beloved pets, acquaintances, strangers, all sentient beings, relatives, and those who annoy you greatly. (These last two categories can overlap. OK, these last two categories do overlap.) I find it especially easy to offer lovingkindness to those who are now on the other side, as they are now even more purely loving than they were when they were here.

I’ve found in the past that serious resistance can arise to offering lovingkindness to those who seem to be doing their utmost to make my life difficult, or to those who’ve seemed to do so in the past. That’s why I’ve really enjoyed following Beth Terrence’s May is for Metta, which really eases into the lovingkindness practice, and helps build a strong foundation for it–to get in touch with your loving heart energy before you begin.

These are my favorite phrases to use during the meditation …

May I be safe.

May I be happy.

May I be at ease.

May I be peaceful.

May I be healthy and strong.

May I have a calm, clear mind, and a peaceful, loving heart.

May I experience love, joy, and wonder in this life just as it is.

And today may you experience love, joy, and wonder in this life–just as it is.

This post is illustrated with the SoulCollage card I made to represent my 4th chakra companion, a joyful bird, and also to celebrate Hope, that thing with feathers.

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Be of good courage

This week, I am called upon to stand up for myself at work, as well as for a number of people who work with me. This is a fight I didn’t choose, but it is one I am now engaged in–that I know for sure.

Today I made this SoulCollage card to represent myself and my attitude as I do what needs to be done this week. As I selected images for the card, my usual totem animals just didn’t seem right. A fiercer animal, the tiger, is the right totem for the situation I find myself in now.

I wasn’t sure at first what the card was going to mean, and then it came to me–Courage.

Below is my reading of the card. Please note that I am taking the tiger’s words metaphorically, not literally–and so should you!

Whatever your week may hold–be of good courage. If you need him, call the tiger to your side.

The tiger says:

I am one who is strong and fearless. I am one who walks beside you, giving you strength and courage.

I am one who stalks my prey, circling, moving in for the kill. I am with you because this is necessary. Be of good courage. I have done this before. You have all that you need.

The woman with the fiery eye says:

I am your anger. It will serve you well–a fire burning within, well under control. You are right to be angry–you’ve been treated unjustly–very. You are well strong enough to do this.

The tiger speaks again:

I wait for the moment–and then I strike. It is time to strike. I am powerful–hear me roar. I can tear my prey limb from limb. It is natural. It is my way. It is what I was put here to do.

I too am threatened. We will both live to fight another day.

The jewel says:

I am your guiding light, with you always, sustaining you.

You are fierce, you can do it.

My personal totem pole

As promised, here’s the SoulCollage card I made to represent my personal totem pole. Last spring, as part of a SoulCollage workshop, I listened to a guided meditation to identify companion animals for each of my chakras. I’ve made individual cards for a couple of these animals so far–the owl and the leopard. (I plan to make cards for all of them, but haven’t found all the images I need yet.) I wanted to see how the different animals fit together and perhaps support each other–and after all, the whole idea was originally inspired by the totem pole.

The animals are collaged on the card in chakra order.

My first chakra companion is the elephant, the largest mammal on land. The elephant is grounded, harmless, and moves slowly and deliberately–as should I. The elephant flicks away annoyances with its tail. The elephant offers the wisdom of many years, and has legendarily thick skin. (I’m not there yet on the tough hide.)

My second chakra companion is the leopard. Powerful, strong, and sinuous, a force to be reckoned with. Wild and sensual. Can a leopard change its spots?

My third chakra companion is the monkey. Powerful, effective, confident, certain, fights when necessary … and with its tail, always has another way to balance.

My fourth chakra companion is a joyful bird. Come fly with me!

My fifth chakra companion is a fawn. Sweet, gentle, innocent, harmless, loving. The fawn is frisky and playful.

My sixth chakra companion is an owl with a white face, like a British barn owl or a snow owl, an owl whose face features its eyes and not much else. The owl is wise and knowing, and sees clearly in darkness. The owl soars and sees everything.

My seventh chakra companion is a toad. This is the crown chakra, and there are many images of frogs wearing crowns! The toad lives in a dark, cave-like space, very yin, and we also usually turn inward to connect with our spirituality. I read that “the appearance of a Toad heralds a successful time of drawing upon and using our inner resources. People with a Toad totem can see things and people more clearly.”

I’ve found identifying totem animals to be a fun and useful process. I hope you’ll try it too!