Metta Meditation: Holding the Infant
I'd like to invite you into a Metta practice. Traditionally metta is a Buddhist practice of offering loving kindness. In this practice we will offer loving kindness to someone we love, ourselves, and eventually to someone we are having trouble finding love for.
I invite you on this loving journey.
Let's Begin
Find a comfortable seat. Let your spine rise gently, your shoulders soften, and your breath flow naturally. Notice your heartbeat.
Now, bring your arms into a cradling position, as if holding a newborn baby. You might let your hands cup one another, or rest in your lap in a soft curve. Let your body remember what it’s like to hold something small and precious.
Feel the weight of the baby in your arms. Imagine the gentle warmth of their body against yours. Maybe there’s a soft scent—milk, skin, warmth. Their breath, slow and even. Their face, small and trusting.
1. Someone You Love
Now picture someone you love or care for deeply. Let their image arise naturally.
Imagine them now… as a newborn. A tiny, sleeping infant, resting in your arms.
Look at their little face. Imagine their fingers curling. Maybe they squirm a little, make a sound. Notice how lovable they are.
Breathe in, and offer them lovingkindness:
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May you be safe.
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May you be happy.
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May you be healthy.
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May you live with ease.
Feel the sincerity of the offering. Feel your arms around this beloved one, so small, so worthy of care.
2. Yourself
Now imagine the infant in your arms becomes you.
You, as a newborn. Soft cheeks. Tiny hands. Fragile. Complete.
Take a moment to look at your own face—your infant face. This is you. You too were once this new, this open to love.
Feel the weight of your infant self in your arms. Your breath mingling. Your warmth surrounding them.
Offer yourself lovingkindness:
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May I be safe.
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May I be happy.
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May I be healthy.
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May I live with ease.
Let it be okay if that feels tender. Or unfamiliar. Notice that you keep breathing, your heart keeps beating.
3. A Stranger
Now the baby in your arms shifts again. This time, you are holding a stranger—someone you don’t know personally.
Maybe someone you passed on the street. Someone from the news. Someone you barely noticed.
Now see them as a newborn. Their eyes closed. Their body curled up in your arms.
Feel the weight of them. The softness. The warmth. The shared humanity.
Even if you know nothing about them, you know this:
They were once a baby. And they are lovable.
Offer them lovingkindness:
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May you be safe.
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May you be happy.
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May you be healthy.
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May you live with ease.
Let yourself feel the connection, simple and real.
4. Someone You Struggle With
Now imagine someone you struggle to appreciate. Someone who has hurt you. Or someone who brings up frustration, sadness, or anger.
And now, imagine them as an infant in your arms.
This might feel strange. That’s okay. Just see if it’s possible.
They are very small. They haven’t yet learned what life will teach them. They haven’t yet done what they will do.
They are just a baby, breathing in your arms.
You feel their weight. Their fragility. Their humanness.
And if you are able, gently, offer them lovingkindness:
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May you be safe.
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May you be happy.
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May you be healthy.
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May you live with ease.
You’re not excusing anything. You’re just witnessing their early humanity, their potential, their vulnerability.
Closing
Now, let all of these infants rest in your awareness—your beloved, yourself, the stranger, and the difficult person.
All once newborns. All lovable. All worthy of care.
Let your cradle arms release gently now. Place your hands over your heart, or let them rest naturally.
Feel yourself expand into heart space. Feel the warmth you’ve cultivated. Notice if there is a shift in your body tension or felt sense of your completeness.
And as you move through the rest of your day, may this tenderness stay close.
A reminder that lovingkindness begins in the arms of compassion—and that we all began this way.
Beloved, you are whole, holy, and worthy,
Rev. Amy
For Further Exploration
This post is a good companion to this one: https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/04/kindness-in-time-of-claws.html
- Grounding practice of holding on to what sustains you: https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/03/holding-on-to-what-is-good.html
- Wisdom from Oppressed Peoples: https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/03/sacred-resistance-wisdom-from-oppressed.html
- What it means to offer Spiritual Companioning in politically stressful times: https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/03/supporting-souls-in-shadows-spiritual.html
- Supporting people who are in or trying to leave 'high-control' groups: https://abeltaine.blogspot.com/2025/04/cults-and-high-control-groups.html
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