My name is Gary B.
Find somewhere where you can be comfortable,
Whether that be sitting in a chair or lying down.
Just get comfortable and become present with where you are right here,
Right now.
Move the focus to your breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Continue to focus on your breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Before we start our visualization today,
Let's take three deep breaths.
Inhale and exhale.
Inhale and exhale.
One more.
Inhale and exhale.
Now move your attention to the sound of the chimes.
Allow them to ground you in your meditation practice and bring you into the present moment.
Just concentrate on the koshi chimes.
Open your mind and your heart and allow the chimes to prepare you for a visualization.
In your mind's eye,
Picture a small town with a park in the center square.
This park is approximately two blocks by two blocks.
It has green grass with paths through it that have benches.
The leaves and the trees have started to change as it is late fall with vibrant colors of yellow,
Orange,
And red.
There's a slight breeze.
It's early morning.
You can feel the sun on your face.
Picture yourself sitting on a bench in this park.
The streets surrounding this park are full of shops and restaurants.
The architecture is somewhere between 1940 and 1960.
And most of the shops and restaurants have not updated their fronts.
They're quite quaint and beautiful.
Take a minute to sit on this bench.
Notice what you hear.
Fountain gurgling in the background.
The wind rustling through the tree leaves.
Notice what you feel.
The sun on your face.
The bench where you make contact with it.
Your feet on the ground.
Notice what you see.
All of the colors.
Green grass.
Shops and restaurants.
Notice how you feel.
You are at peace.
There is a reason why we came here today.
For there is a new art gallery exhibit opening.
It's about a block and a half away.
So visualize yourself getting up off the bench.
Walking through the park and crossing the street.
Taking a left.
Walking down the sidewalk towards the art gallery.
The people that you see on the street smile at you as you pass by.
And you smile at them.
You are at peace and looking forward to seeing the exhibit.
As you approach the doorway to the art gallery,
You notice it is a brilliant blue.
There's a silver door handle.
Turn the knob and enter into the art gallery.
There is an attendant there that welcomes you.
He says it's your lucky day because today is the first day of the grand opening of the gratitude exhibit.
And because it is opening day,
Today your tour is free.
He guides you to a doorway.
And motions you to enter into the first room.
When you walk in,
It is a square room with white walls.
In the center of the room,
There is a pool of water.
The instructions say to go and sit by this reflection pool.
And look into the water and notice what you see.
What is it that you see reflected back to you in this pool?
When you are ready,
You stand up from the pool.
And walk over to the doorway and enter the second room.
Like the first room,
It is square and has white walls.
There is a chair in the center across from a large picture frame without anything in it.
The instructions say to sit in the chair and then close your eyes.
And think about an image or a picture from the past that you are grateful for.
This can be anything you want.
And then when you open your eyes,
You will see that image in the frame.
What is it that you see inside the picture frame?
And notice how it makes you feel.
When you are ready,
You stand up and go to the next doorway which takes you to the third room.
Again,
This room is square and has white walls.
In the center of the room is a generic statue without a whole lot of details.
The instructions say to think of a person in your life that you are grateful for.
Close your eyes and when you open them,
The statue will become that person.
Who is it that you see?
What is it that they are doing?
And how does this make you feel?
When you are ready,
You walk across the room to the doorway and enter the final and fourth room.
This room looks like a movie theater.
The seats are soft and comfortable.
And there's a movie screen on the wall.
Currently,
It is blank.
The instructions say to sit down,
Close your eyes,
And then think about something that has happened recently that you are grateful for.
And when you open your eyes,
A movie will play on the screen of what happened.
What is it that you see on that screen?
Sit and watch the entire movie and notice how it makes you feel.
When the movie has finished,
You stand up and walk over to the doorway.
It takes you down a hallway and back to the first room.
This room has the reflection pool in it.
Except this time,
The walls are your favorite color.
You go over and sit next to the reflection pool and look in.
What is it that you see?
When you are ready,
You stand up and exit the room.
And back into the lobby where you thank the attendant and walk out of the gallery through the brilliant blue door.
You're back on the street and you walk back to the park.
Once you're in the park,
You find a comfortable bench to sit on.
And the sun is on your face.
Your heart is full of gratitude.
You can see the green grass and hear people milling about.
Spend a minute to just enjoy being in the park.
Grateful for what you have today.
While sitting on the bench,
You look around and notice all the beauty and you smile.
You feel calm.
You feel safe.
And you feel grateful.
Spend a minute here in the park,
Sitting on this bench.
When you are ready,
Allow this visualization to fade.
Start to move your focus back to your breath,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Pay attention once again to the chimes and allow them to grow.
And bring you back.
Let's end our practice today with three deep breaths.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Start to move your fingers and your toes.
Maybe take a stretch.
Start to notice any sounds,
Any smells around you.
And when you are ready,
Open your eyes.
Notice how you feel.
Thank you for joining me on your meditation practice today.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Namaste.
