Welcome to this five-finger appreciation meditation.
We will begin by bringing our awareness to the body.
Take a moment to notice the support beneath you.
And the gentle open resting of your hands,
Wherever they are.
There is no need to control or change your breathing.
Simply observe its movement as it flows naturally.
As your body settles into comfort and stillness,
Allow your mind to soften as well.
This meditation is designed to gently incline your awareness towards appreciation.
Rather than trying to force positive emotions,
Let your attention be guided to what is already supportive,
Beautiful or nourishing in your life,
Even if these moments are small.
Embrace the subtle experience of goodness that are present,
Noticing how they arise and how your body and mind respond.
And then,
Grabbing your thumb,
Feeling the connection between your hand and the thumb.
Maybe feeling pressure around the thumb.
Feeling warmth or maybe a cold hand.
And then,
Bring your mind to something in your home that you appreciate.
This can be something small.
This can be the chair you're sitting on.
The bed in which you could sleep.
The door to which you enter your house.
Then,
Letting go of your thumb,
Switching to your index finger.
Feeling the touch and presence of your index finger.
Then,
Bringing to mind something outside.
Something you appreciate.
Maybe something in nature.
A tree.
A flower.
A bird or the sounds of birds.
Maybe the sun or the warmth from the sun.
Then,
Releasing your index finger,
Switching to your middle finger.
Returning to the sensations of touch for a moment.
Contact between your hand and your middle finger.
Then,
Bringing to mind something from today.
Maybe something which happened today.
You saw,
You heard,
Or you did.
Something which felt good.
Or simply pleasant.
A kind interaction.
Or maybe a moment of ease.
Maybe a smile.
Or something you tasted.
Letting go of your middle finger,
Switching to your ring finger.
Holding your ring finger gently in your hand.
Bringing to mind a person.
A person who contributes to your life in some way.
Bringing to mind you genuinely appreciate about this person.
A small gesture.
Their presence.
Maybe their humor.
Or something they did for you.
And maybe noticing if something happens in the body when thinking of this moment of appreciation.
Then,
Switching to the last finger,
The little finger.
Holding your little finger in your hand.
And then,
Bringing to mind something about yourself that you appreciate.
Something small.
This can be a quality of yourself,
An effort you made today,
A moment of kindness.
Or a moment of courage.
Allowing this acknowledgement to be real.
And maybe sensing this in your body somewhere.
Then,
Slowly coming to closing.
Let your hands relax in your lap again.
Feeling your whole body.
And then ending this practice by maybe opening your eyes if you had closed them.
Thank you.
