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In the first stage of the metta bhavana meditation practice (cultivation of loving kindness), we are invited to cultivate loving kindness towards ourselves by repeating phrases to ourselves such as "may I be happy, may I be well". This instruction sounds like painting over one's present moment experience with "don't worry, be happy". How is this not spiritual bypassing? To understand how the metta bhavana is a path towards liberation, one must engage with this meditation as both a calming practice (samatha) and an insight practice (vipassana). Bringing vipassana to the fore involves turning towards that which we habitually ignore - the dark thoughts, the shame, the malice - and bringing curiosity, kindness and patience to the shadows that lie within.
