Over the past year, we've witnessed and experienced difficult times. There have been numerous climate change related natural disasters; political and national division; racism, homophobia, misogyny, and sexism; a watershed of sexual harassment and sexual abuse; income and housing insecurity; and recent changes to our healthcare system that could leave many without the care they need. Some would say that we're living through a dark time.
When we experience dark times, in our own lives and in the world, what can we do?
Renowned storyteller, author and scholar, Michael Meade writes about the purpose and meaning of dark times in his book, Why the World Doesn't End. Meade tells a story of the old way when the wise ones welcomed the dark times because it meant existence was continuing and re-creating, for without darkness, there would be no light and life would cease. When things fall apart, they say, renewal is happening.
In the midst of the darkness, many of us feel paralyzed and overwhelmed, feeling that we have no control, agency or role in it's transformation. It's messy stuff. We might want positive change, even believe it's possible, and at the same time feel disillusioned, disheartened, and angry. A wave of emotions can come up that are seemingly contradictory and out of character; in the chaos we might be tested at our very core.
Meade says, “When the world becomes darker the inner light of the soul becomes more important; when even nature seems about to unravel the inner pattern, the thread of meaning can be the only way to feel woven into life and bound for some valuable purpose that can assist the world in distress.”
How do we touch the inner light and find the thread of meaning woven into life?
Within each of us is the source of limitless love, an energy that is infinite and powerful. One practice for cultivating love and opening to its healing power is Lovingkindness Meditation. This traditional practice, called Metta, an ancient Buddhist term that means “lovingkindness,” dates back 2,600 years and is practiced all over the world. Of Metta, Sharon Salzberg, well known author and meditation teacher, says, “Love exists in itself, not relying on owning or being owned. Like the pearl, love can only buy itself, because love is not a matter of currency or exchange. No one has enough to buy it but everyone has enough to cultivate it. Metta reunites us with what it means to be alive and unbound.”
Lovingkindness Meditation is an offering of self-love and peace to the inner spirit. We practice it to become more centered, more rooted, and more able to sustain life. We do it for others to recognize our interconnectedness, which can be freeing for us to experience that we're part of the whole. We also spread lovingkindness to experience the vastness of life and our place in it. It's not so much a particular action as it is a heart space and generosity of spirit.
Lovingkindness Meditation is directed to yourself and to others, repeating phrases several times for each. The basic sequence begins with giving lovingkindness to yourself and ends with lovingkindness for all beings/all existence. In between these two bookends, you may choose one or more of the following: 1) a benefactor (someone who has helped you, makes you smile, embodies a force of life for you, may or may not have even met), 2) a neutral person (someone you feel no liking or disliking toward), 3) a successful friend, 4) a struggling friend, and 5) a difficult person.
This is a basic script you can try for the Lovingkindness Meditation phrases, and repeat them several times for yourself, move on to another person and repeat, and so on until you end with “all beings.”
May (I/You) Be Happy; May (I/You) Be Healthy; May (I/You) Be Safe; May (I/You) Live with Ease.
You can change the phrases, like May You Have Peace in place of May You Be Safe, but decide before you begin the meditation and try to stick to it for yourself and others. Also, whoever you decide on (or whoever spontaneously pops up) for benefactor, neutral person, friend, etc., try to stick with that person as you repeat the phrasing. Try not to get distracted by choosing “the right person;” you don't have to like the person or feel a certain way in the meditation. If you get distracted, return to meditating on yourself (May I Be...).
Lovingkindness Meditation can be a tool for healing, especially during dark times when we're feeling paralyzed or overwhelmed. Allowing ourselves to be in a heart space, connected to ourselves and others reminds us that we are deeply rooted. It gives us a sense of the vastness and infinite nature of life. In it we can be reminded that there have always been dark times, and that shadow is made by the light.
We are also reminded that although it may be dark, we are here on purpose, living through a unique time and have within us a unique soul seed taking bloom in the here and now. This can be our opening and our expansion. “In the end,” Meade says, “humans don't have to save the whole world as much as become more able to imagine the wholeness of life and the renewal of the cosmos.”