Mindfulness and metta meditation Utrecht is a meditation group that focuses on practicing mindfulness meditation in a non-religious, non-devotional and non-dogmatic way. We respect and recognize the traditions that have brought mindfulness and metta meditation to our attention. However, we do not think that all ingredients of these Eastern tradtions are necessarily suitable for us and our time. To us, mindfulness meditation is a way to practice concentration, learn to see deeper into our experiences and develop wisdom. In metta meditation we develop loving kindness, not just for the world and people around us, but also for ourselves.
We do not use statues of Buddha or boddhisattvas, we do not do prostrations or bowing, we have no ceremonies and we do not sing any mantras. To a more traditional mindfulness practitioner, this may seem empty. Nevertheless, we are convinced that the method of mindfulness meditation is self-sustaining and can do without the different ceremonial colours of the different traditions – however beautiful or illustrative. The distance between the Thai, Japanese, Tibetan, Burmese, Chinese or American mindfulness practitioner’s world view and our own is rather big. It may very well be that we will in time develop our own traditions and ceremonies, based on the practice of mindfulness and metta. That time is not now, however. First, we would probe what the steady practice of mindfulness can do for us, how we can apply mindfulness and metta to our daily lives and how we can build a relatively stable meditation practice.
Every Tuesday night, there is a meditation session that is open to everyone. We meditate for 30 minutes. And then again for 30 minutes. The first session generally consists of a guided mindfulness meditation, after which we stretch and get the blood flowing for about five minutes. The second 30-minute meditation period will be either metta meditation or mindfulness meditation. In this second second session, you are also free to do walking meditation. Afterwards, we have tea and the opportunity to share experiences. Should you prefer to stay in silence, then that is always your option.