Bodhipaksa

Receptivity and activity

dropping flowers in a still forest pool

When you contact your emotions, think of them as being like a still pool of water in a forest. Like a pool of water, your emotions are alive and vibrant; ready to quiver at the slightest touch.

Being aware of the vibrations in the pool of your emotions is receptivity. You’re being receptive to whatever influences your emotions.

The thoughts that you are consciously generating — the words, phrases, memories, and guided fantasies that you are using in the Metta Bhavana practice — are your activity. You’re using those methods to have an effect on your emotions.

Activity is like the hand that drops flowers, one by one, into the pool. Receptivity is like watching the ripples on the water as they spread out and fade.

You can use this image in your practice. It’s an analogy that will help you to deepen your appreciation of what the practice is achieving.

When I use the phrase “May I be well, may I be happy, may I be free from suffering,” I like to drop each part of the phrase in separately, as if it were an individual flower. I drop in “May I be well,” and then pause for a complete breath to watch for the ripples in my emotions. Then I say “May I be happy,” and pause again to feel any effect from the phrase. Then I do the same with “May I be free from suffering.”

Be patient. It may take time to attune yourself to the effects of the practice. But as you strengthen and deepen your awareness you’ll be able to feel the effects on your emotions every time you say the phrase “May I be well.”

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