We started our weekly Metta Circle on Thursday evening, in Bishop Lloyd's Palace in Chester. If our Scottish friend Jinavamsa has his Red Table , we now have our Red Carpet! - a lovely Persian rug covering the floor in the room we're hiring. The Metta Circle feels like something between an informal Japanese Tea Ceremony and a Sufi Circle, so the Persian rug fits in perfectly! We start by sitting close in a circle, tea pot in the centre, and have tea and talk informally. Then we light a candl...e and have 20 mins guided metta (love) meditation. After that we have a thoughtful discussion, linking to the heart, on some theme of love or interconnectedness in daily life. We end with 10 minutes silent meditation and a little gentle chanting "sabbe satta sukhi hontu" - "may all beings be happy". It's a simple format, not too long, and it seems to work well. I like to finish with a simplified version of the Rose Breath prayer from the Mevlevi tradition:
May this moment be blessed
May goodness be opened and may darkness be dispelled
May our hearts be strengthened with love...
May this moment be blessed
May goodness be opened and may darkness be dispelled
May our hearts be strengthened with love...