Mindfulness is deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you– in your body, heart, and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgment.

Practicing loving kindness helps to increase compassion towards the subject of your practice, whether that person be yourself, a loved one, an enemy, someone you don’t know well, or any other living being. It is similar to prayer and is known to bring an overwhelming feeling of peace to the person practicing. 

1.  Choose the subject of your practice. You can begin with yourself or, if this seems to difficult at the time, start with someone you know and love well.
2. Take deep breaths to center yourself. Open your hands to a willing position, communicating to your brain through body language that you are open.
3. Repeat kind affirmations about yourself or others. For example, “May I find joy,” or “May they find joy.” “May I find peace,” or “May they find peace.” or “May I love myself,” or “May they feel my love for them.”
4. Repeat these affirmations to yourself until you begin to feel kindness toward yourself or the other person. If you become distracted, recenter yourself using mindfulness techniques: allow your distractions to come and go, only noticing them and not attaching any judgment.
5. Practice loving kindness as often as it takes for you to feel at peace with yourself or the situation involving another living being.