metta self visualization

[befriend]

when doing metta bhavana i know you can visualize or just say the name of a dear friend, neutral person etc... but can you visualize yourself? or do you just use your name.
metta, befriend

[daverupa]

I think this is a problem with this particular approach to mettabhavana; intentionally summoning certain images of beings seems to me to be unnecessarily complicated.

Perhaps instead, using kusala-dhammas (wholesome things) to recall metta as necessary, make it your habit to pervade the surround with it, encompassing any beings which appear to the six senses as one moves about ones day. This includes those which arise in memory and imagination, but it does not necessarily mean intentionally bringing such things into play.