Meditation, Mindfulness & Lovingkindness
Created in partnership with Trudy Goodman, founder of InsightLA
Thanks to Trudy Goodman— a meditation teacher for more than forty years—we have compiled this wonderful resource on meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness.
Trudy assures us, “Meditation and mindfulness are powerful practices that can help us stay clear, strong and open-hearted, soothe our fears, and help with the discomfort of being cooped up for so long.” Just as we strive to protect our physical bodies, we also need to carefully tend to our inner life so we can remain calm, flexible and resilient.
There is no time like the present to start a meditation practice!
Mindfulness means being present for this very moment, fully engaged with whatever we are experiencing.
Meditation is an effective form of mindfulness training—a focused time committed to grounding ourselves in the here and now. This helps us grow our capacity to be mindful in our daily lives, no matter what we are facing.
Why Should I Meditate?
There is a widespread tendency to consider mindfulness and meditation luxuries for the privileged, something to do in our imagined future—when our lives slow down and we finally have more time. “But,” Trudy explains, “mindfulness is not extra or an add-on. Rather, it is the foundation that keeps us strong and steady, helping us maintain the good health of body, mind, and heart.”
When we are mindful, we are less reactive because we have the ability to step back and bring a balanced and spacious perspective to whatever is happening, which is especially important during challenging times.
“Resilience,” Trudy says, “is a spiritual strength that can be cultivated with insight and tenderness. A gift of this practice is that it helps us develop the courage and strength to overcome our fears and be more available to love. We reinforce our ability to steady our hearts, quiet our minds, and be present for others amidst the immense uncertainty of life.”
Inner and outer strength are closely intertwined. Many studies have shown that practicing mindfulness and meditation can reduce stress, anxiety and depression; improve sleep and concentration; and help manage chronic pain, lower blood pressure, alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties, and fortify the immune system.
How Should I Meditate?
There are many forms of meditation from a variety of traditions. For Trudy, meditation is simply sitting still, establishing a feeling of connection to the earth so you feel grounded and present, and then tuning in the reality of NOW through the sensations in your body—your breathing, the sounds of life around you, observing your thoughts and feelings—instead of being lost in them.
Trudy explains, “With the simple act of choosing to bring attention to each in-breath and each out-breath, we are cultivating and strengthening our awareness of the current state of our body, heart, and mind.”
Trudy assures us that it’s normal for our minds to wander away as soon as we choose to rest our attention on a specific subject. Simply noticing when we’re no longer present is the most essential benefit of purposeful mindful awareness, because in that very moment of noticing, suddenly we are here again—we have brought our attention back to being in the now.
“Every time you notice your mind wandering into the future or past is a moment of pure mindfulness. We celebrate these moments of recognition. We’re not trying to empty our mind, stop thinking, achieve a deep state, or really anything at all. By simply opening to awareness of breathing in the present moment—by our willingness to come back to being here—we often experience a state relaxation and wellbeing, even in the midst of difficult experiences.”
Trudy explains that even though we notice thoughts and feelings coming and going, for the time period we have committed to meditation, we continue to choose to open our senses and steady our awareness with this very basic, simple activity of breathing.
“You kindly acknowledge how it is for you right in this moment—naming the feelings and activities: sorrow, joy, fear, planning, dreaming, remembering—but even as you do this, you let yourself become the loving witness who holds your experience, whatever it is, in a relaxed and gentle way, just as you might comfort a crying child.”
Offering your best attention to the moment is an act of deep self-respect and love. You’re expressing the intention to be a better friend to yourself, and committing to learn how to navigate the ups and downs of life with steadiness.
The ability to breathe and step back to witness our experience as it’s happening invites us into a spacious peace that is always available. “Just like the vast sky that can hold big storms, let your mindful awareness be spacious, wide open, and loving enough to allow thoughts and feelings to come and go while you sit still.”
Trudy assures us that this very moment—the one right here, right now—is always sacred because it’s the only moment we actually have in which to live our lives. It is the only time that change or love and connection can happen.
“The truth is, this very moment contains all the ingredients we need to be content, to be aware, to meet life as it’s unfolding with clarity, courage, and the deep kindness. Mindfulness is our commitment to showing up and being present in this life.”
What is Lovingkindness Meditation?
Loving-kindness meditation specifically focuses on developing feelings of goodwill, kindness, and warmth. “As we sit with steady, spacious awareness, we can cultivate love and understanding towards ourselves and others. We all share in the difficulties of our common humanity,” Trudy says, “So it’s important to hold ourselves—as well as everyone we meet—with a tender heart.”
After establishing a sense of mindful presence, you can literally or figuratively wrap your arms around yourself with kindness and love, acknowledging all that you’re going through and offering yourself acceptance and tenderness. Once this loving quality towards yourself begins to grow, you begin to imagine others whom you care about and invite them into your heart to be embraced with wishes and prayers for their wellbeing. Then you can radiate kindness and love to all those around you and all beings everywhere.”
Loving-kindness meditation has been documented to increases positive emotions and a sense of social connectedness, while diminishing negative emotions. It also makes us more compassionate and empathetic, and less critical of others and ourselves.
Trudy walks us through the process of generating loving-kindness in the third guided meditation below.
Guided Meditations with Trudy Goodman
Guided meditations are always a wonderful way to practice, but they are especially helpful when we are just beginning to meditate, or when our minds are particularly preoccupied or agitated. We have included three below, but you can find many more on Trudy’s website. Trudy has an especially lovely voice—gentle, happy and soothing. Enjoy!
Guided Lovingkindness Metta Meditation (36 minutes) A full-length meditation that includes a great overview of meditation, a guided meditation to relax our body and be fully present, and time to meditate on our own. It ends with a beautiful loving kindness guided meditation.
Breath Meditation (15 minutes) Join Trudy on a deep dive into using our breath as an anchor for presence, connection and relaxation.
Lovingkindness Meditation (30 minutes) A lovely heart-opening meditation that focuses on fostering loving kindness.
Additional resources:
If you are interested in a deeper dive into mindfulness and meditation, here is a list of books Trudy recommends:
1) Lovingkindness, the Revolutionary Art of Happiness, by Sharon Salzberg
2) Training in Compassion, by Norman Fischer
3) Mindfulness for Beginners, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
4) The Way of Tenderness: Awakening through Race, Sexuality and Gender, Earthlyn Manuel
5) The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, Christopher Germer
Read about Trudy Goodman’s Journey
Want more Tools for Healing?
💧 Try 2-minute micro-meditations with our Take a Moment series!