3570: My Wish For You by Eric Teplitz on A Guide to the Practice of Lovingkindness

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01] Before we start, I want to share a super powerful practice I use called NSDR or Non-Sleep Deep Rest. In just about 10 minutes or so, this Yoga Nidra practice leaves you feeling as refreshed as after a nap without actually sleeping. Experience it for yourself on our guided podcast. Search NSDR and look for the one from Optimal Living Daily.

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_01] Before we start, please check out our new podcast, Good Sleep. Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_01] So, press play on Good Sleep tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Living Daily, My Wish For You by Eric Teplitz of ericteplitz.com and I'm Justin Malik. And we get right into today's post and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_01] My Wish For You by Eric Teplitz of ericteplitz.com. The following is my wish for you wherever and whenever you happen to be listening to this. May you be filled with loving kindness toward yourself and toward others. May you be healthy in body and mind. May you live with ease as much and as often as possible.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_01] May you be and feel fully supported and deeply loved, valued, cherished, and cared for. May you be truly happy, peaceful, content, and fulfilled. Loving kindness. The practice of metta or loving kindness is simple but profound. It essentially consists of silently and heartfully wishing yourself and others well.

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_01] It can be done as part of a formal sitting meditation practice or it can be done as you move about it in the world in your everyday life. Formal practice. It can be very powerful to take time out of your day, even a short amount, and devote it to nothing but the cultivation of compassion toward yourself and others or loving kindness. If you're brand new to this practice, or even if you're not, I highly recommend being guided through it.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_01] Probably the easiest and most inexpensive way to find a guide is to use an audio program such as one by Jack Kornfield, which I've recommended before and highly recommend once again. Guided meditation, six essential practices to cultivate love, awareness, and wisdom. The practice goes like this. Once you are in a calm and relaxed state, after sitting still for a few moments and perhaps taking several deep breaths,

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_01] you focus your attention on simple phrases that you repeat silently to yourself. May I be happy. May I be well. May I be peaceful. May I be free from suffering. Use whatever words resonate best with you. Feel free to experiment and change them up from time to time as you find useful or helpful. You can use some or all of the ones I wrote for you if you like, or modify them in any way that suits you.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_01] It is typical to begin formal practice with yourself as the object of these wishes. This can be more difficult than it sounds, especially if you have a tendency to be hard on yourself. Stick with it as best you can. Things change from day to day. Some days the words might seem utterly hollow to you. Other days they might move you to tears. Whatever happens and whatever you feel or don't feel, it's okay. After you spend some time doing this, you move on to extending the same wishes to others.

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_01] You think of someone who has been kind and nurturing to you in some way, and silently extend the same wishes to her or him. May you be happy. May you be well. May you be peaceful. May you be free from harm or suffering. You then move on to someone you care about, perhaps a significant other or close friend, and silently repeat the mentioned phrases or your own variation of them, holding this person in your mind and your heart.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_01] You can repeat this with another friend and another if you want to. Perhaps you want to direct your loving kindness to someone you know is going through a particularly difficult time. Then try extending the same wishes to someone you know, but not very well. Perhaps only as an acquaintance, or perhaps someone you've only ever seen, but never actually spoken to. Then, eventually, you try extending these wishes to a difficult person. Someone who really gets on your nerves and pushes your buttons. Do the best you can.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_01] If this proves to be too much of a challenge, then redirect your loving kindness toward yourself, since you are the one, at the moment, having a difficult time. Then extend the same benevolent wishes to all of those people around you, say, in your neighborhood, community, or workplace. Keep branching out further and further to include more and more people, known and unknown, and even beings other than people, because it turns out there are many. And finally, extend loving kindness to all beings, everywhere.

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_01] The mentioned is just a guideline. You, of course, can alter this practice in any way you choose. Just know this. Hearing about doing this and actually doing it are two very, very different experiences. I encourage you to try it out for yourself. Experiment with it. Starting your day with a practice like this can set the tone for your day before you get caught up in the relentless pull of things to do. You can think of it as a means of calibrating or recalibrating your heart,

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_01] of centering yourself, of setting a loving intention before you get distracted and then swept away by the activities of everyday life. Informal practice. During the course of your day, as you pass a stranger on the street, for example, you can silently wish him well. May you be happy. May you be peaceful. Use whatever language or word choice feels right, and to whatever degree possible, make it not just lip service, but make it from your heart.

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_01] You can practice this anywhere and at any time. It's easy to do. It just has to occur to you to do it. Why do this? Why do this at all? Isn't it pointless? What impact does it have? Is it anything other than quite literally wishful thinking? Isn't the road to hell paved with good intentions such as these? It is impossible for me to say with any degree of certainty whether or not silent wishes,

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_01] whomever or wherever they are directed and however well-meaning, have any direct effect on the objects of these wishes. However, I will say this. In a world in which we are bombarded with stories of violence, turmoil, and suffering, can it really do any harm to wish others well, even privately? Imagine if everyone silently and sincerely wished each other well throughout the day as they passed one another in the halls, on the streets, or even in traffic.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_01] I'd like to live in a world like that. Even if wishing others well has no direct effect whatsoever on them, it certainly is bound to have an effect on us. At the very least, it awakens us in that moment to the reality that all beings everywhere have this in common. We all want to be happy, and we all want to be free from suffering. As we go through our days, it's all too easy to lose sight of this as we get caught up in our own goals, needs, and desires.

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_01] Perhaps practicing loving-kindness makes us treat others a bit more gently as a result. Perhaps it can be the difference that gets us to extend ourselves to someone else in a way we otherwise wouldn't have out of the slightest bit of added concern for that person's well-being, in recognition of the fact that she seeks exactly the same basic things that we do. Such a gesture is bound to have some ripple effects. And again, imagine if everyone did this, even just once in a while.

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_01] How many heinous acts might be prevented if someone took the time to show a potential perpetrator that he was loved and valued, for instance? That someone cared about him? If practicing loving-kindness prevented one such tragedy, think of all the needless suffering that would be avoided. While the practice of metta stems from the Buddhist tradition, it can be done by any person from any religious tradition, or from none at all. It is a way to feel more connected to yourself and to others around you.

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_01] To be a bit more sensitive to your own suffering and the suffering of others. To open up your heart and access the kindness and love within it. To become a happier person. May you be filled with loving-kindness toward yourself and toward others. May you be healthy in body and mind. May you live with ease as much and as often as possible. May you be and feel fully supported and deeply loved, valued, cherished, and cared for.

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_01] May you be truly happy, peaceful, content, and fulfilled. You just listened to the post titled, My Wish for You by Eric Teplitz of ericteplitz.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:09:57] [SPEAKER_01] Remember those childhood dreams? As we grow, our aspirations evolve. Instead of fantasizing about space travel, perhaps you're now dreaming of launching your own business around your passion for minimalism or sustainable living. But doubt creeps in. Do I have the skills? Can I build a website? How will I find customers? Enter Shopify. The commerce platform empowering millions of businesses worldwide and handling 10% of all US e-commerce from household names to fresh startups. Worried about design?

[00:10:26] [SPEAKER_01] Well, Shopify offers beautiful templates that align with your brand's aesthetic. Need assistance? Their AI tools help with everything from enhancing product images to crafting descriptions that resonate with conscious consumers. Concerned about reaching your audience? Shopify simplifies customer connection through streamlined email and social campaigns. And if you get stuck, their award-winning support team is available 24-7. Turn those dreams into... And give them the best shot at success with Shopify.

[00:10:55] [SPEAKER_01] Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash old. Go to shopify.com slash old. Shopify.com slash old.

[00:11:07] Okay.

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_01] Thank you, Eric. He's had a lifelong fascination with human motivation, creativity, personal development, and living an inspired, rewarding, and positively impactful life. Perfect for this show. He has recorded an album of original songs and started his own record label, acted on stage in community theater productions, backpacked over 500 miles of the Appalachian Trail, completed numerous marathons, completed numerous marathons,

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_01] completed numerous marathons, triathlons, and more, volunteered hundreds of hours playing music for hospital patients, and a lot more. Come by Eric.

[00:12:12] [SPEAKER_01] When I'm done, I usually feel like I did something really positive. Whereas with regular meditation, I kind of come out feeling neutral, but I do feel long-term effects. So let me know how it works for you. Everyone has different results. Have a great day, and I'll see you tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits. Any signs.

[00:12:30] All right.