Flancia, or the loving kindness revolution!

What is loving kindness?

[[Loving kindness]], or [[mettā]], is a [[meditation technique]] where you intentionally cultivate positive, happy, loving thoughts and feelings: thoughts of [[good will]] towards yourself and [[others]], and feelings of [[happiness]], unconditional love, joy, and care. Loving kindness is relatively easy, extremely enjoyable – even blissful – and it can genuinely [[change your life]].

[[Tasshin]] is writing a book on loving kindness here.

• [[flancian]]: love it! Thank you for linking it here. I’ve noded it in [[the path of love]] and added it to my [[reading list]].
  • Loved the beginning. Would you like to be friends?
  • It is amazing that you studied with [[Shinzen]]! I read him and sat with his app, but never attended a retreat.

How does [[Flancia]] relate to loving kindness?

• [[flancian]]: You could say Flancia came about as an exploration of solidarity through meditation in general and loving kindness in particular. In general I like to think of the project as influenced (in the sense that some of the good in its sources remains?) by Buddhist teachings and philosophy, perhaps most directly that of [[Peter Singer]].
  • Are you familiar with [[The Expanding Circle]]? The core idea of the book, which is well expressed through the metaphor in its title, being reminiscent of the progressions that one practices in [[metta]].

What is the loving kindness revolution?

• [[flancian]] It is essentially a theme I would love us to explore together: in which ways (ideally of increasing specificity?) would the world be different if ever greater groups agreed to work incrementally towards the common good, leaving their small selves behind and reaching a state of mutual understanding – not necessarily in that order? :)
  • In thinking of this I am inspired by [[systems thinking]] (you could say by my life experience), [[satyagraha]] (in being forceful, but not violent) and most of all by the [[bodhisattva path]] (in wanting to work for the benefit of all beings).
  • My current best known proposal such a [[revolution]] is described, mostly piecemeal, in this [[Agora]].