The mind needs to resonate many times with something that gives it confidence, assurance, clarity. Buddha represents that. Guidance given to recollect qualities of Buddha, feeling the effects as resonances in the body, lingering to encourage the effects to pervade.
This heart meditation guides us in how to cultivate a deep quality of friendliness in relating to our inner life and each other. The gift of this practice is a direct sense of belonging – knowing that we can never be alone (retreat meditation).