Loving-Kindness Meditation: A Guided Metta Practice to Send Warm Wishes
A guided walk through the traditional loving-kindness (metta) meditation, sending warm wishes to yourself and outward to others, with space to make the phrases your own.
Reviewed by Michael Callans, MSW 
About this tool
Loving-kindness meditation, known in the Buddhist tradition as metta, is a practice of deliberately cultivating warm, benevolent wishes toward yourself and others. Rather than emptying the mind, you silently repeat short phrases of goodwill, such as may you be happy, may you be safe, gradually widening the circle of people you include.
The practice usually moves through a sequence: starting with yourself, then a loved one, then a neutral person, then someone difficult, and finally all beings everywhere. Beginning with yourself can feel surprisingly hard for people who struggle with self-criticism, which is part of why this practice is so often used to build self-compassion and self-worth.
Research led by psychologist Barbara Fredrickson and others has linked regular loving-kindness practice with increases in positive emotions, greater feelings of social connection, and improvements in well-being over time. It is also studied as a complement to therapy for self-criticism, depression, and chronic pain.
There is no need to force a feeling. The intention behind the phrases is what matters. Some sessions bring warmth; others feel flat, and that is fine. The benefit comes from returning to the practice, not from any single sitting.
A 2014 meta-analysis of 22 studies on kindness-based meditation, including loving-kindness and compassion practices, found small to moderate improvements in positive emotions, mindfulness, and self-compassion, along with reductions in depression symptoms (Galante et al., 2014). Most of the studies reviewed used sessions in the 10 to 20 minute range, practiced several times a week rather than once.
A common mistake is rushing through all five stages, from yourself to all beings, in a single short sitting. It is fine to spend an entire session on just one or two stages, especially the difficult person stage, which many people find easier to approach after weeks of practicing the earlier ones. Another mistake is judging a session by whether it produced a warm feeling. The phrases are an intention you are setting, not a mood you are required to reach.
If self-criticism, grief, or anger feel too large for a self-guided practice like this one, or if difficult feelings from the exercise stay with you for days rather than passing, it can help to talk with a licensed therapist who works with self-compassion or emotion regulation. You can search the Psychology.com therapist directory to find one.
References
- Fredrickson BL, Cohn MA, Coffey KA, Pek J, Finkel SM. Open hearts build lives: positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008;95(5):1045-1062.
- Salzberg S. Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Shambhala; 1995.
- Galante J, Galante I, Bekkers MJ, Gallacher J. Effect of kindness-based meditation on health and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2014;82(6):1101-1114.
Cite this source
Psychology.com. (2026, September 15). Loving-Kindness Meditation. Psychology.com. https://psychology.com/tools/loving-kindness-meditation
Loving-Kindness Meditation FAQ
What is loving-kindness meditation?
A practice, known as metta, of silently repeating phrases of goodwill, such as may you be happy and may you be safe, first toward yourself and then outward to others, to cultivate warmth and connection.
Why does it start with yourself?
Offering kindness to yourself first builds the self-compassion that the rest of the practice draws on. For people who are self-critical, this step can be the hardest and the most valuable.
What if I do not feel anything?
That is common and completely fine. The benefit comes from the repeated intention of goodwill, not from forcing a feeling. Some sessions feel warm, others feel flat.
Is my information saved?
No. Everything stays in your browser. Your entries are never uploaded or stored, and the PDF is generated on your own device.
How long should a loving-kindness meditation session be?
Most of the studies reviewed in a 2014 meta-analysis used sessions of about 10 to 20 minutes, practiced several times a week (Galante et al., 2014). You can move through this guided script in one sitting or spread the stages across several shorter sessions.
Does loving-kindness meditation actually work?
Research led by psychologist Barbara Fredrickson found that regular practice increased positive emotions and social connection over time (Fredrickson et al., 2008), and a later meta-analysis linked kindness-based meditation to improvements in well-being and reduced depression symptoms.
What is the difference between loving-kindness meditation and mindfulness meditation?
Mindfulness meditation trains attention on present-moment experience, such as the breath or bodily sensations, without trying to change it. Loving-kindness meditation actively directs warm, benevolent phrases toward yourself and others. Many people practice both.