The Buddha suggests that the practice of mettā and the other brahmavihāras can serve as a basis for refined perceptions, in which the solidity of “self” and “other” begins to dissolve. In this sequence of reflections and guided meditations, we begin to explore and experiment with such possibilities.

In this guided practice, we integrate mettā with practices of letting go through sensitivity to change and the direct relaxation of reactivity.

In the insight teachings, the Buddha offers radical ways of reducing suffering by relaxing the perceptions that give rise to and sustain it. Bringing these perspectives together with mettā practice offers a powerful complementarity, allowing both insight and loving-kindness to deepen and support one another.

For the sake of our well-being and happiness, we are invited to soften ill will in ways that feel helpful and attuned to our experience.

The Buddhist path invites us to cultivate a profound and empowering aspiration: to dedicate our hearts and bodies to the benefit of all beings. Following a reflection on this aspiration, we open our sensitivity to space and invite mettă to radiate through it, in all directions.

One of the tendencies that my teacher, Rob Burbea, would point to again and again, encouraging us to soften or even overcome it completely, is the movement of the inner critic. A negative regard towards ourselves is a very common habit of mind. And, as a habit of mind, it is something we can come to understand, relax, and eventually overcome. In this talk, we take time to look the inner critic “in the eye,” exploring how the mind sustains it, and how very different ways of relating to ourselves can be cultivated.

Cultivating kindness towards people we don’t know allows our mettā to become more all-encompassing, so that it can become a genuine foundation for our hearts and lives. Along the way, we reflect on what we all share as human beings, allowing this understanding to shape our perception and soften some of the fabricated and often unhelpful lines of separation between ourselves and others.

It is possible to cultivate a sense of being lovingly watched over and cared for. This guided practice offers some suggestions for opening to and deepening that sense of loving care.

Mettā practice involves and supports our whole being, including the full range of what may be alive in our hearts. In this talk, we explore ways of relating skilfully and wholeheartedly to our emotional life, developing greater sensitivity, understanding, and capacity to work with the movements of the heart. Like the retreat as a whole, this talk draws on suggestions offered by Rob Burbea in his 2011 retreat, “The Lovingkindness Retreat”.

Practising mettā is a skill and an art that involves and develops many aspects of the heart and mind. In these instructions, we explore how to work skilfully with common mental difficulties, such as restlessness and tiredness, and how to gradually nourish and deepen mettā.