You always bring forth such wonderful contemplative messages. When I’m thinking in a contemplative state, I allow thoughts to just flow. At times I see a thought float by and like the shapes of clouds in the sky, I may focus and ponder for a while on those shapes, but they soon change and I move on to new sky shapes, pictures and cloud messages. It takes no practice to visualize the pictures, but sometimes it needs time and understanding to create a meaning.
Sometimes as I look and ponder, whether clouds in the sky, or follow my own imagination, it leads to other thoughts and ideas. They may pull me away from where I was, or change my emotional attachments.
I have a great imagination especially because my little girl inside loves to play, and love, and dance, and sing without any plan or practice. It just happens in the moment. I think that kindness, genuine kindness is the same. It’s not planned or studied or open to just those who are enlightened.
We learn behaviors, and are molded and conditioned in how to respond. Our true kindness has been thwarted, and confused by society’s standards. It’s like that saying, no good deed gets unpunished. Who then would want to do a good deed if you are going to get punished.
I listen to a great many spiritual teachings even though I was raised Catholic, I find now that since I’ve let go of the guilt of participation in other belief systems, my mind is open, alive and my heart embraces so much more love, kindness, compassion and freedom.
I love Quan Yin and her teachings of compassion, and looking at a likeness of her brings me joy and opens my heart. I see you also mention Metta and I have listened to Sharon Salzberg as well. The more I am open to it all the happier it makes my heart, soul and the very essence of my being.
As an OB nurse I was honored to see new life come into the world and the pure essence of the love of God shone out from those babies. Some were like old souls, looking deep inside me and sharing the touch of God.
I believe the reason I love your music so much is because it touches me the same. There is a genuine pureness and simple joy and compassion in your songs. I even listen to your music at night when I have a hard time getting to sleep because I’m all anxious etc. Your music and your voice are calming and I let go of all the spikes disturbing me.
In relation to practice, I don’t have to practice anything when I’m listening to music, whether it is yours or others. Music just seeps inside and brings me life, joy, strength and encouragement. I find Lauren Daigle, Sara Bareilles, Joan Baez to name only a few, help me be grounded, and give me the power to stand up again after I fall. These are the things that bring me joy, encouragement and stir my compassion, love and kindness in moving forward.
My Metta:
May there be joy and love in your heart to bring you peace
May you dance and sing to give you wings of happiness
May you embrace your own being with pride and acceptance
May you believe in the connection to a spiritual oneness, whatever you conceive it to be.
You always bring forth such wonderful contemplative messages. When I’m thinking in a contemplative state, I allow thoughts to just flow. At times I see a thought float by and like the shapes of clouds in the sky, I may focus and ponder for a while on those shapes, but they soon change and I move on to new sky shapes, pictures and cloud messages. It takes no practice to visualize the pictures, but sometimes it needs time and understanding to create a meaning.
Sometimes as I look and ponder, whether clouds in the sky, or follow my own imagination, it leads to other thoughts and ideas. They may pull me away from where I was, or change my emotional attachments.
I have a great imagination especially because my little girl inside loves to play, and love, and dance, and sing without any plan or practice. It just happens in the moment. I think that kindness, genuine kindness is the same. It’s not planned or studied or open to just those who are enlightened.
We learn behaviors, and are molded and conditioned in how to respond. Our true kindness has been thwarted, and confused by society’s standards. It’s like that saying, no good deed gets unpunished. Who then would want to do a good deed if you are going to get punished.
I listen to a great many spiritual teachings even though I was raised Catholic, I find now that since I’ve let go of the guilt of participation in other belief systems, my mind is open, alive and my heart embraces so much more love, kindness, compassion and freedom.
I love Quan Yin and her teachings of compassion, and looking at a likeness of her brings me joy and opens my heart. I see you also mention Metta and I have listened to Sharon Salzberg as well. The more I am open to it all the happier it makes my heart, soul and the very essence of my being.
As an OB nurse I was honored to see new life come into the world and the pure essence of the love of God shone out from those babies. Some were like old souls, looking deep inside me and sharing the touch of God.
I believe the reason I love your music so much is because it touches me the same. There is a genuine pureness and simple joy and compassion in your songs. I even listen to your music at night when I have a hard time getting to sleep because I’m all anxious etc. Your music and your voice are calming and I let go of all the spikes disturbing me.
In relation to practice, I don’t have to practice anything when I’m listening to music, whether it is yours or others. Music just seeps inside and brings me life, joy, strength and encouragement. I find Lauren Daigle, Sara Bareilles, Joan Baez to name only a few, help me be grounded, and give me the power to stand up again after I fall. These are the things that bring me joy, encouragement and stir my compassion, love and kindness in moving forward.
My Metta:
May there be joy and love in your heart to bring you peace
May you dance and sing to give you wings of happiness
May you embrace your own being with pride and acceptance
May you believe in the connection to a spiritual oneness, whatever you conceive it to be.
First, I really like this post. Thanks for drawing on other faith practices to talk about this myth. I think the more I stretch myself to learn from other faith practices, my idea of a higher being expands.
Second, I have moments that I can be kind to myself. I listened to your podcast with Parker and I recall you talking about putting your hand on your heart and saying "Oh honey...". I don't do that often enough. For me, being kind to myself also ties with forgiving myself.
As for a mantra...what comes to my mind this evening is one word....Listen.
So often I am intent on speaking my own truth that I fail to hear the other. So my mantra will be "Listen".
I will have to think about a Metta but I do want to share that the Quaker beliefs you write about are so universal - in my opinion. Years ago, I attended a small solo concert of yours in a church in Angola, IN. It was Mother's Day if I remember correctly and the night before you performed in the Detroit area. Anyway, we spoke briefly as you were signing a book of poetry for me and I shared that my Spiritual path is called the Path of Sound and Light and we meditate on the inner sound and inner light of God. You shared there was a similarity in the Quaker belief.
As the years passed, I find this belief to be a quite universal Spiritual belief. There is a story about a great Kaballist who spoke of us all being Sparks of the Divine. This is only a one line synopsis of the creation story he told, but it is the central theme of my Spiritual belief. If we are all Sparks of the Divine and recognize the Divine in each and every soul in front of us, the Kindness has to be a given!
And now a Metta:
May I (you) recognize the Divine in each person
May I (you) treat each encounter as a Divine encounter
One one word for this year was actually two. Begin Again, a gift of kindness to myself so I would know that I could always start over. I am taking a course on Celtic Spiritualism and I love their prayers that they say for ordinary things, like walk out the door and asking for safety and protection. This the daily prayer I wrote for myself.
I am beloved
You are beloved
We are beloved
May Creator circle us with hope near, and despair afar
May Creator circle us with light near and darkness afar
May Creator circle us with peace and keep fear afar
May Creator circle us with love within and keep hatred afar
May we have abundant joy grounded in gratitude
And when we fail may Creator’s grace be a blessing upon us
Knowing that each step is an ability to begin again.
I love doing the Metta or Loving Kindness meditation. It's been very helpful to me for developing empathy for myself and others. Here are my lines, which can vary depending on the situation.
May I (you) have an open heart to myself (yourself) and to others.
May I (you) be safe.
May I (you) be healthy.
May I (you) sense underlying peace and joy in my (your) daily life.
Also, I'm so glad you emphasized that spiritual development and transformation does not have to do with being perfect or trying to be perfect. For me, it has to do with trying your best and developing wholeness, which is very different than perfect. Perfection implies without flaw. But a person can be pretty whole and still make mistakes. In other words, a person who has developed some wholeness is still human, perhaps even more human, and thus senses a connection to the humanness in other people.
Thank you so much Carrie, Metta is such a good practice and I love that you shared this. I practiced Despacho a few days ago. This time it was a snow and fire Despacho. For me it represented the many contrasts in life, and it also represented the essence of coming from a place of love for that which seems unlovable. I painted concentric hearts in the snow with a spray bottle of water and various food dye colors. I offered fresh flowers, framing and placing them in the heart, and sprinkled lavender all around it. The birds chirped all around me and the scent of sage filled the cold air. And I burned a prayer written on paper in the center. I asked how I could release into spirit in a safe peaceful practice. And the answer was simply to do it with love. And so I sought to find how within my heart that I could release love into spirit for someone who had passed that had caused suffering. And it was clear that I could love through praying for the end of suffering, even for those who cause suffering. And so I prayed within my heart for this person, and my Metta was “May you rest in peace and that “I release all”. What was extraordinary was that while I looked over at the Despacho heart as the prayer burned from my screen door, a morning dove landed at my feet, walked in circles and back and forth and kept looking up at me for the longest time. It felt so wondrous, peaceful, natural, and freeing. It was clear the dove felt very safe in the peaceful closeness between us. And I do believe it was a message and visitation with grace and peace. May you, all, (I) know that peace is possible within, behind, and all around.
Hmm ... metta at daybreak, examen at dusk. Thoughtful reflections on the mindful radical presence in between ... thanks and love to you for putting this all together!
Like the saying "The longest journey begins with a single step", being kind can begin at home, allowing the perfectionist to have maneuvering room for herself/himself. "If I can just make this perfect, then all will be well..." ... helping 10 people with kindness and compassion is better than perfection with 1. There are many beautiful things like sunsets, flowers, birds in flight, dogs rolling happily in grass, snow, or mud... and they all are fleeting. Savor those sparks to flavor our day. Be not afraid to embarrass thyself, if it has the potential to start an avalanche of smiles. Offer love.
I absolutely love this essay and especially everything it says about practice. Perfectionism is impossible. Improvement is always possible and that is where the discipline of practice comes in. Love your work Carrie.
Every year I pick a word for the year and try to focus on it through the year. My word this year was joy. So at the beginning of the year I wrote this:
Wake up to joy of a new day
Bring joy to others and yourself throughout the day
Relive the joy of the day before sleep
I did not think of it as being a metta but you have shown me the way to use it as one. Thank you so very much. I love too, thanks to you, how I can change the word joy to peace or kindness or love.
Dear Carrie
You always bring forth such wonderful contemplative messages. When I’m thinking in a contemplative state, I allow thoughts to just flow. At times I see a thought float by and like the shapes of clouds in the sky, I may focus and ponder for a while on those shapes, but they soon change and I move on to new sky shapes, pictures and cloud messages. It takes no practice to visualize the pictures, but sometimes it needs time and understanding to create a meaning.
Sometimes as I look and ponder, whether clouds in the sky, or follow my own imagination, it leads to other thoughts and ideas. They may pull me away from where I was, or change my emotional attachments.
I have a great imagination especially because my little girl inside loves to play, and love, and dance, and sing without any plan or practice. It just happens in the moment. I think that kindness, genuine kindness is the same. It’s not planned or studied or open to just those who are enlightened.
We learn behaviors, and are molded and conditioned in how to respond. Our true kindness has been thwarted, and confused by society’s standards. It’s like that saying, no good deed gets unpunished. Who then would want to do a good deed if you are going to get punished.
I listen to a great many spiritual teachings even though I was raised Catholic, I find now that since I’ve let go of the guilt of participation in other belief systems, my mind is open, alive and my heart embraces so much more love, kindness, compassion and freedom.
I love Quan Yin and her teachings of compassion, and looking at a likeness of her brings me joy and opens my heart. I see you also mention Metta and I have listened to Sharon Salzberg as well. The more I am open to it all the happier it makes my heart, soul and the very essence of my being.
As an OB nurse I was honored to see new life come into the world and the pure essence of the love of God shone out from those babies. Some were like old souls, looking deep inside me and sharing the touch of God.
I believe the reason I love your music so much is because it touches me the same. There is a genuine pureness and simple joy and compassion in your songs. I even listen to your music at night when I have a hard time getting to sleep because I’m all anxious etc. Your music and your voice are calming and I let go of all the spikes disturbing me.
In relation to practice, I don’t have to practice anything when I’m listening to music, whether it is yours or others. Music just seeps inside and brings me life, joy, strength and encouragement. I find Lauren Daigle, Sara Bareilles, Joan Baez to name only a few, help me be grounded, and give me the power to stand up again after I fall. These are the things that bring me joy, encouragement and stir my compassion, love and kindness in moving forward.
My Metta:
May there be joy and love in your heart to bring you peace
May you dance and sing to give you wings of happiness
May you embrace your own being with pride and acceptance
May you believe in the connection to a spiritual oneness, whatever you conceive it to be.
Thanks again, love you. Hugs and blessings
Dear Carrie
You always bring forth such wonderful contemplative messages. When I’m thinking in a contemplative state, I allow thoughts to just flow. At times I see a thought float by and like the shapes of clouds in the sky, I may focus and ponder for a while on those shapes, but they soon change and I move on to new sky shapes, pictures and cloud messages. It takes no practice to visualize the pictures, but sometimes it needs time and understanding to create a meaning.
Sometimes as I look and ponder, whether clouds in the sky, or follow my own imagination, it leads to other thoughts and ideas. They may pull me away from where I was, or change my emotional attachments.
I have a great imagination especially because my little girl inside loves to play, and love, and dance, and sing without any plan or practice. It just happens in the moment. I think that kindness, genuine kindness is the same. It’s not planned or studied or open to just those who are enlightened.
We learn behaviors, and are molded and conditioned in how to respond. Our true kindness has been thwarted, and confused by society’s standards. It’s like that saying, no good deed gets unpunished. Who then would want to do a good deed if you are going to get punished.
I listen to a great many spiritual teachings even though I was raised Catholic, I find now that since I’ve let go of the guilt of participation in other belief systems, my mind is open, alive and my heart embraces so much more love, kindness, compassion and freedom.
I love Quan Yin and her teachings of compassion, and looking at a likeness of her brings me joy and opens my heart. I see you also mention Metta and I have listened to Sharon Salzberg as well. The more I am open to it all the happier it makes my heart, soul and the very essence of my being.
As an OB nurse I was honored to see new life come into the world and the pure essence of the love of God shone out from those babies. Some were like old souls, looking deep inside me and sharing the touch of God.
I believe the reason I love your music so much is because it touches me the same. There is a genuine pureness and simple joy and compassion in your songs. I even listen to your music at night when I have a hard time getting to sleep because I’m all anxious etc. Your music and your voice are calming and I let go of all the spikes disturbing me.
In relation to practice, I don’t have to practice anything when I’m listening to music, whether it is yours or others. Music just seeps inside and brings me life, joy, strength and encouragement. I find Lauren Daigle, Sara Bareilles, Joan Baez to name only a few, help me be grounded, and give me the power to stand up again after I fall. These are the things that bring me joy, encouragement and stir my compassion, love and kindness in moving forward.
My Metta:
May there be joy and love in your heart to bring you peace
May you dance and sing to give you wings of happiness
May you embrace your own being with pride and acceptance
May you believe in the connection to a spiritual oneness, whatever you conceive it to be.
Thanks again, love you. Hugs and blessings
First, I really like this post. Thanks for drawing on other faith practices to talk about this myth. I think the more I stretch myself to learn from other faith practices, my idea of a higher being expands.
Second, I have moments that I can be kind to myself. I listened to your podcast with Parker and I recall you talking about putting your hand on your heart and saying "Oh honey...". I don't do that often enough. For me, being kind to myself also ties with forgiving myself.
As for a mantra...what comes to my mind this evening is one word....Listen.
So often I am intent on speaking my own truth that I fail to hear the other. So my mantra will be "Listen".
I will have to think about a Metta but I do want to share that the Quaker beliefs you write about are so universal - in my opinion. Years ago, I attended a small solo concert of yours in a church in Angola, IN. It was Mother's Day if I remember correctly and the night before you performed in the Detroit area. Anyway, we spoke briefly as you were signing a book of poetry for me and I shared that my Spiritual path is called the Path of Sound and Light and we meditate on the inner sound and inner light of God. You shared there was a similarity in the Quaker belief.
As the years passed, I find this belief to be a quite universal Spiritual belief. There is a story about a great Kaballist who spoke of us all being Sparks of the Divine. This is only a one line synopsis of the creation story he told, but it is the central theme of my Spiritual belief. If we are all Sparks of the Divine and recognize the Divine in each and every soul in front of us, the Kindness has to be a given!
And now a Metta:
May I (you) recognize the Divine in each person
May I (you) treat each encounter as a Divine encounter
May I (you) experience each day as a blessing
May I (you) live life to the fullest
May I (you) experience Loving Kindness
Namaste!
One one word for this year was actually two. Begin Again, a gift of kindness to myself so I would know that I could always start over. I am taking a course on Celtic Spiritualism and I love their prayers that they say for ordinary things, like walk out the door and asking for safety and protection. This the daily prayer I wrote for myself.
I am beloved
You are beloved
We are beloved
May Creator circle us with hope near, and despair afar
May Creator circle us with light near and darkness afar
May Creator circle us with peace and keep fear afar
May Creator circle us with love within and keep hatred afar
May we have abundant joy grounded in gratitude
And when we fail may Creator’s grace be a blessing upon us
Knowing that each step is an ability to begin again.
I love doing the Metta or Loving Kindness meditation. It's been very helpful to me for developing empathy for myself and others. Here are my lines, which can vary depending on the situation.
May I (you) have an open heart to myself (yourself) and to others.
May I (you) be safe.
May I (you) be healthy.
May I (you) sense underlying peace and joy in my (your) daily life.
Also, I'm so glad you emphasized that spiritual development and transformation does not have to do with being perfect or trying to be perfect. For me, it has to do with trying your best and developing wholeness, which is very different than perfect. Perfection implies without flaw. But a person can be pretty whole and still make mistakes. In other words, a person who has developed some wholeness is still human, perhaps even more human, and thus senses a connection to the humanness in other people.
Thank you so much Carrie, Metta is such a good practice and I love that you shared this. I practiced Despacho a few days ago. This time it was a snow and fire Despacho. For me it represented the many contrasts in life, and it also represented the essence of coming from a place of love for that which seems unlovable. I painted concentric hearts in the snow with a spray bottle of water and various food dye colors. I offered fresh flowers, framing and placing them in the heart, and sprinkled lavender all around it. The birds chirped all around me and the scent of sage filled the cold air. And I burned a prayer written on paper in the center. I asked how I could release into spirit in a safe peaceful practice. And the answer was simply to do it with love. And so I sought to find how within my heart that I could release love into spirit for someone who had passed that had caused suffering. And it was clear that I could love through praying for the end of suffering, even for those who cause suffering. And so I prayed within my heart for this person, and my Metta was “May you rest in peace and that “I release all”. What was extraordinary was that while I looked over at the Despacho heart as the prayer burned from my screen door, a morning dove landed at my feet, walked in circles and back and forth and kept looking up at me for the longest time. It felt so wondrous, peaceful, natural, and freeing. It was clear the dove felt very safe in the peaceful closeness between us. And I do believe it was a message and visitation with grace and peace. May you, all, (I) know that peace is possible within, behind, and all around.
Wow I love this Carrie! I spent most of the day meditating on my own Metta waiting for it to reach the surface. I came up with:
May I be happy and healthy
May I be strong and confident
May I have the power to accept and forgive
May I love and appreciate others boundlessly
You also gave me a wonderful idea for a sermon I have to prepare and deliver in a couple of weeks. I thought about a Lenten Metta.
May I be at peace
May my heart remain open
May I be filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit
May I be healed and may I be a source of healing for others.
Thank you so much for sharing this Carrie. This is something I will put into daily practice!
Bless you!! 🥰
May you be free of suffering
May joy and ease fill you
May your heart open
May you hold yourself with deep compassion
May all beings everywhere be filled with everlasting peace, joy and compassion.
Hmm ... metta at daybreak, examen at dusk. Thoughtful reflections on the mindful radical presence in between ... thanks and love to you for putting this all together!
Carrie ... I have combined my spiritual journey into the words of a metta. It is only fitting that I offer these to you.
May your heart be open and filled with love and the Sprit's grace
May you be safe, and protect others
May you be healthy and care for others
May you be happy and bring joy to others
May you be peaceful and calm
And ... may you know God's presence and the Spirit's grace
Thank you for your offerings!
May _ be safe
May_ be healthy and strong
May_ be happy
May_ be peaceful and at ease.
and once I heard this and of course copied it and tacked it to my wall as well:
You are enough
You are needed
You are here
And we are grateful (w/o permission, Rev. Erika Hewitt...I hope that's ok)
Thank you, Carrie!
Like the saying "The longest journey begins with a single step", being kind can begin at home, allowing the perfectionist to have maneuvering room for herself/himself. "If I can just make this perfect, then all will be well..." ... helping 10 people with kindness and compassion is better than perfection with 1. There are many beautiful things like sunsets, flowers, birds in flight, dogs rolling happily in grass, snow, or mud... and they all are fleeting. Savor those sparks to flavor our day. Be not afraid to embarrass thyself, if it has the potential to start an avalanche of smiles. Offer love.
I absolutely love this essay and especially everything it says about practice. Perfectionism is impossible. Improvement is always possible and that is where the discipline of practice comes in. Love your work Carrie.
Every year I pick a word for the year and try to focus on it through the year. My word this year was joy. So at the beginning of the year I wrote this:
Wake up to joy of a new day
Bring joy to others and yourself throughout the day
Relive the joy of the day before sleep
I did not think of it as being a metta but you have shown me the way to use it as one. Thank you so very much. I love too, thanks to you, how I can change the word joy to peace or kindness or love.
I love the idea of recounting the days joys...Carrie has mentioned doing something like this in one of her musings. Thanks for the reminder!💜
FYI
Old Town School of Music is publishing your concert on May 21 not May 20th.