Loving-Kindness Meditation Script Overview
Loving-kindness meditation is a practice of silently sending kind wishes to yourself and then to other people, one person at a time. It comes from the Buddhist practice of metta, and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg helped bring it to the West. It can suit anyone who wants to feel warmer toward themselves or more connected to others.
This script walks you through a practice of about ten minutes, with a shorter six-minute version for busy days. It also gives you space to choose the people you will picture and to write your own wishes afterward.
In this worksheet, we’ll:
- Explain how to get ready and choose the people you will picture
- Share what research has found about loving-kindness meditation
- Walk you through a guided practice of about ten minutes, step by step
- Give you a shorter six-minute version for busy days
- Provide space to write your wishes in your own words and reflect on how it went
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Salzberg, S. (1995). Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Shambhala.
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Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1045-1062.
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Hutcherson, C. A., Seppala, E. M., & Gross, J. J. (2008). Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. Emotion, 8(5), 720-724.
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