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Do you have it within you to show mercy, to forgive, to wish only good things for people who have wronged you?
In the penultimate scene of the 1982 film Blade Runner, the synthetic human, Roy, knowing that he is about to die, saves Rick, who had been hunting him. If you knew that you were about to die, could you find it within yourself to wish unqualified peace and happiness to your enemies?
The Buddhist mettā, or loving-kindness, meditation challenges us every day to open our hearts to those who may hate us and may have hurt us. This is important in our own spiritual development, because holding on to animosity, no matter how much it is deserved, keeps our souls boxed in, or attached to karma that prevents us from progressing in this (and if you believe in reincarnation, the next) life.
Do you want to be truly free? Then you have to work to free yourself from the attachments of resentment, from fantasies of revenge, from anger. If you run mental scripts about past injustices or future potential injustices, you are keeping yourself chained to the past. A chained bird cannot fly. And if you don’t let go and stop re-traumatizing yourself through your obsessive thinking, it will be all the more difficult to overcome your OCD.
Love will set you free
— Engelbert Humperdinck
So put yourself in the mindset of the synthetic human in Blade Runner. Can you picture yourself on your deathbed wishing peace and love to those who have wronged you? If you can imagine this, then it’s a small step to letting go of the anger and sending them thoughts of peace and love right now. After all, who knows when your last minute in life could be?
The energies that are entangled in past traumas can become available to you in the here and now to fuel your dreams and success. The past won’t be re-written though your thoughts, so live now, fully, with all of your energy.
Practicing mettā meditation can help get you there. Here is a basic script:
While sitting comfortably in a quiet space, think and feel:
May I be healthy
May I be happy
May I find peace and joy
May I give and receive only loving-kindness
