Exploring Mindfulness Further 117affective (or “heart”) dimension of mindfulness. The five “heart” qualities they name are: gratitude,
gentleness, generosity, empathy, and lovingkindness (Shapiro & Schwartz, 2000, pp. 253–273).
Lovingkindness deserves special mention. It has been popularized by the meditation teacher
Sharon Salzberg (1995; 1997; 2005). As health-care professionals learn more about lovingkindness,
this form of meditation is gaining popularity in a variety of health-care settings as a meditation
practice that supports mindfulness and also carries healing potential of its own.
Lovingkindness is variously described as deep friendliness and welcoming or as a quality
embodying compassion and cherishing, filled with forgiveness and unconditional love. It is a deep
human capacity, always present, at least potentially. It can be seen when one observes a mother
tenderly caring for her child.
Lovingkindness can be a powerful aid to your mindfulness practice. All you need to do is to
admit and allow feelings of kindness and compassion into your way of paying attention mindfully.
Resting in kindness this way, with compassion and affection embedded in your attention, can protect
you from the deep habits of judging and criticism and support you in the “how” dialectical behavior
therapy skill of being truly nonjudgmental.
Exercise: Meditation Practice for the Lovingkindness
of Yourself and Others
The following is a brief meditation practice to cultivate lovingkindness for yourself and for others.
Practice it whenever and for as long as you like. Try it as a “lead-in” to any of your formal mind-
fulness practices.
Instructions
Take a comfortable position. Bring your focus mindfully to your breath or body for a few breaths.
Open and soften as much as feels safe to you as you allow yourself to connect with your natural inner
feelings of kindness and compassion for others.
Now shift your attention to yourself. It could be a sense of your whole self or some part that needs
care and attention, such as a physical injury or the site of an illness or a feeling of emotional pain.
Imagine speaking gently and quietly to yourself, as a mother speaks to her frightened or injured child.
Use a phrase like “May I be safe and protected” or “May I be happy” or “May I be healthy and well” or
“May I live with ease” or make up one of your own. Let the phrase you pick be something anyone would
want (safety, ease, joy, and so on). Pick one that works for you. It can be a single phrase. Then put all
your heart into it each time you speak to yourself. Let kindness and compassion come through you.
Practice by repeating your phrase to yourself silently as if singing a lullaby to a baby. Practice for
as long as you like. It may help to practice for just a few minutes at a time at first and later build up to
a longer practice.