It.
And come into a comfortable seat.
If you're seated on a chair,
Uncross your legs and bring your feet to the floor.
If you're seated on a cushion or a pillow,
Let your legs be crossed or extended in any way that feels comfortable and easeful for you.
Let your seat be quiet.
No sensation or loudness in the legs or the hips.
And in the quietness of your seat,
Bring your attention to your seat.
Feel that which is touching your chair or your cushion.
Feel equal weight on both of your sitz bones.
There's a symmetry in your seat,
A weight.
Feel that weight and symmetry.
Feel that connection to the earth.
And then from that connection,
Begin to lift up a little bit in the belly,
Getting longer in the waist.
Lift in the center of the chest.
The roof of the mouth lifts.
The crown of the head lifts.
You're growing longer and taller in the spine.
Send the heads of the arms back and the shoulders down the back,
Relaxing the arms,
Relaxing the shoulders.
Relax your jaw and the tongue in your mouth.
Soften in the cheeks and in the brow.
Relax your eyes.
Close your eyes.
Begin to observe your breathing,
Feeling the breath as it flows in and out,
Noticing the cool air sensation on the tips of the nose as you inhale and the warm air as you exhale.
Notice your breath and how your breath is naturally breathing without you trying to control or change it.
In this meditation,
We're going to cultivate the quality of gratitude.
And so very simply,
Bring to mind one thing or person or situation that you feel grateful for.
The object of your gratitude doesn't matter.
It's the sensation that we seek to experience from this gratitude that matters in this meditation.
So as you bring this object of gratitude into your mind's eye,
Begin to use your thinking mind to state or list all of the reasons why you are grateful for this person,
Object,
Or situation.
Notice the feeling that you start to get in the body.
Notice the sensation in the chest.
As you focus on the reasons for your gratitude,
Feel the sensation that arises in your field,
In the physical body,
And the sensations within and around your physical body.
And once you've become aware of the sensation,
Of gratitude,
Feel it.
Notice where you feel it in the body.
Observe the sensation you feel while expressing gratitude.
And slowly begin to let go of the object and shift your attention now to the sensation of gratitude.
Let the sensation be your point of focus now.
And if that dissolves or goes away,
Bring back that object and begin again,
Focusing on the story and the reasons why you are grateful.
Bring your thinking to cultivate a state of vibration in your field of energy.
When we can cultivate this frequency of gratitude in our field,
In our consciousness,
We attract experiences that we are grateful for.
So feel what it feels like to feel grateful.
Letting go of the story,
Letting go of the words,
Just feel that state of gratitude,
The light,
Sweet quality in the mind and in the heart.
Notice the gentle smile on your face and the softness of the eyes.
And if you have trouble sustaining that,
Just bring back the object in your mind and again,
Use your thinking to cultivate that quality of feeling and bring your attention there.
Letting go of the story,
Letting go of the words,
Just feel that state of gratitude,
The light,
Sweet quality in the mind and in the heart.
Letting go of the story,
Letting go of the words,
Just feel that state of gratitude,
We can use our thinking to create an internal experience of vibration,
If you will,
A state.
Gratitude can be cultivated at any time of day,
No matter what we're doing.
We use our minds to see all that we are grateful for.
And the more we do this,
The more we see there is to be grateful for.
So please place your hands on your heart,
A moment to be grateful for yourself and for the time you have given yourself for this practice today.
And state in your mind,
I am grateful for me.
I am grateful for my effort.
I am grateful for my heart.
I am grateful for my breath.
Taking a moment to dedicate this practice time to all beings everywhere,
Whether big or small,
Near or far,
Seen or unseen.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be free from suffering.
Taking a big breath in through your nose and a complete breath out.
Namaste.
