September 11th meditation: a Buddhist practice for healing pain and anger in the heart

September 11, 7:55 PMSF Mind and Body ExaminerAna Poirier

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Peace in the heart: Stock.xchng

The events of September 11th, 2001 will most likely be forever etched in the minds of most Americans. Even 8 years later, there is still so much hatred and pain associated with this date and everything that came with it.
In the Buddhist tradition, and many other spiritual traditions, to hold hatred in the heart is harmful to both the person feeling it as well as the target of hate. There is a beautiful and simple meditation that can be done to begin to create compassion and purify the damaging hatred and pain.
This meditation is called Meta (or Metta), also called “loving kindness”.

The practice is simple and can be done anywhere. The effects for the practitioner are generally a sense of calm and peace and a feeling of connectedness to all beings.

Because this can be practiced in just a few minutes, it is ideal to try to incorporate it as a part of your daily life.

Come into a comfortable seated position on the floor or in a chair. Sit with the back flat, back of the neck long, shoulders relaxed away from the ears and the chest open. Rest the hands in the lap or on the knees. Close the eyes, deepen the breath and clear the mind. Repeat the following softly out loud or in your mind:

“May I be safe from all harm,
May I be happy and peaceful of heart,
May my body be healthy and strong,
May my life be filled with ease.”

After a couple of minutes, move on and replace the “I”s with “you”s, thinking of a loved one, a group of people or the whole planet. The last step is to direct the “you” towards a person or group that you have had conflict with or have felt anger towards

Finish with a few slow, deep breaths, feeling compassion, love and kindness flowing through your body. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day or evening.

The events surrounding September 11th will not be forgotten, but the pain around these events can be released and transformed.

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