Can Practicing Kindness Change the Brain? For more than 2,500 years, loving-kindness meditation has been practiced as a way of cultivating compassion, goodwill, and connection. Today, scientists are asking a fascinating question: What happens when we intentionally practice kindness - toward ourselves and others - on a regular basis? While loving-kindness meditation emerged from ancient Buddhist traditions, it has increasingly become the subject of modern research. Psychologists, neuroscientists, and contemplative researchers are exploring how compassion-based practices may influence our emotions, relationships, and even the brain itself. The results are intriguing. What Is Loving-Kindness Meditation? Loving-kindness meditation, often called metta meditation , is a practice of cultivating goodwill toward ourselves and others through the repetition of simple phrases. Traditionally, practitioners begin by offering kind wishes to themselves: May I be safe. May I be well. May I ...