Extending Loving Kindness to Yourself and Those Around You
- Tara Brach
Yesterday morning, Joe Biden was chosen as the President-Elect of the United States, with the first female, Black, and Asian-American VP-Elect at his side. After days of waiting following the election on Tuesday due to the mass amounts of mail-in voting because of the pandemic, some of the first good news of 2020 is here! This morning, I'm feeling grateful that our nation can take the first steps in healing and unifying everything that divides us, as well as addressing the deep systemic racism, bigotry, and wealth gaps. That is why loving kindness is this month's mindfulness meditation practice, it allows us to begin this process within ourselves first as we also extend loving kindness to those around us.
Out of all of the mindfulness meditation practices you can do, loving kindness is the one that is proven to have the most benefits. First, it lessens the stress response, and leads to a reduced inflammatory response in those who participated in loving kindness meditation almost daily. Second, it is linked to increases in a variety of personal resources, including mindful attention, self-acceptance, positive relationships, and good physical health. Finally, loving kindness meditation lights up the insula and temporal pariental juncture part of the brain, which is responsible for our ability to empathize with others and to make yourself aware of emotional and physical present moment experiences.
As is proven from this research, loving kindness meditation will be a useful tool as we begin to navigate a nation and world post-Trump administration. It will allow us to be patient with our fellow Americans, empathize with their lived experiences and life journeys that led them to their beliefs and values, and be kind with ourselves, realizing when this work isn't benefitting us and know when to take a step back. I am hopeful that we can embrace loving kindness and extend its energy to all beings in this world.
Comments
Post a Comment