A meditation on gratitude and generosity.
The invitation with this meditation is to cultivate an attitude of gratitude and generosity.
Let's begin by getting into a comfortable seated position,
Either on a chair or on the floor,
On the side of the bed,
Letting go of any notions that you need anything in particular to meditate.
Take your time getting comfortable.
When you're ready,
Elongate your spine,
Try to sit a little taller,
Really bringing an awareness to the length from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.
Chest nice and open,
Sitting up nice and tall,
Keeping the shoulders relaxed.
Sense of rising up through the front and the back and dropping down through the shoulders.
Letting your eyes gently close if they aren't already and breathe a little more slowly,
A little more deeply.
Notice your arms hanging peacefully by your sides,
Heavy and relaxed.
Rest and soften your hands.
Once you find your moment,
Take some slower,
Deeper breaths in through your nose and breathing out from your mouth,
A sense of settling,
Bringing yourself to this moment,
This breath.
Like the waves of the ocean,
The breath rises and falls,
So you bring a loving awareness to the breath,
That energy of life.
Begin to shift your attention from the breath to all the sensations in your body,
Gently scanning your awareness through the body with a mindful,
Loving awareness,
Noticing the whole field of sensations,
Noticing any areas of pain or stiffness,
Holding them with kindness,
Loving awareness,
Allowing for any tension,
Any knots to soften in their own way.
And as an expression of gratitude,
Offering thanks to your own body for caring so much,
For holding so much as you move through the days and nights,
And letting your body know,
I'm okay just now,
You can relax,
You can rest,
And now bringing your attention to your heart that carries so much.
Notice all that your heart has been holding,
Longings,
Fear,
Love,
Worry and frustration,
Excitement,
Sadness,
Appreciation,
Doubt,
Deep,
Deep love,
And offering thanks now to your heart for caring so much,
For trying to help and protect you,
And letting your heart know,
I'm okay just now,
You can relax,
You can rest,
Let your heart be at ease,
Now bring your attention to your mind that produces a stream of thoughts,
Images,
Pictures,
Plans,
Memories,
Ideas,
Feel the energy of the mind,
Creative,
Sometimes obsessed,
Analyzing,
Exploring,
Opening,
And offering thanks for working so hard to take care of you,
To protect you,
Letting your mind know,
I'm okay just now,
You can relax,
You can rest,
Notice that you're not your body,
Feelings or thoughts,
You are the loving witness,
You are the loving awareness that acknowledges the body,
Heart and mind,
And can rest in that loving awareness,
Bringing awareness to things in your life that you may feel thankful for,
And allowing gratitude the chance to come up naturally,
And when it comes up,
Letting yourself sink into the feeling,
Surrender to it,
Notice how it feels in your body,
How your energy feels,
And if it doesn't come up,
That's okay,
There's no need to try to make yourself feel it,
Let's see if we can meet ourselves just as we are today,
Allowing experience to unfold just as it is,
A genuine curiosity,
Surrendering to the heart rather than the head,
So firstly bringing awareness to the breath,
As you inhale and as you exhale,
And the fact that each of these breaths gives you life,
And be aware of your heart beating,
Pulsing,
Filling with love and compassion,
Energy and life flowing through and around,
Bring awareness to your eyes that let you see colour,
Faces,
Smiles,
Nature,
The sunrise,
The sunset,
The rainbow,
The moon and the stars,
And bring your awareness to your ears that receive sound,
Music,
Laughter,
The voices of those you love,
The silence,
The sounds of life,
Bring your awareness to your nose that senses the aromas of flowers,
The trees,
The earth,
A sea breeze,
Favourite foods cooking in the kitchen,
A cup of morning coffee,
Bring awareness to your lips and mouth that tastes and savours and nourishes,
That kisses and speaks,
That whispers and sings,
Bring awareness to your hands that hold and touch and caress and open and close and applaud and squeeze,
The arms and shoulders that carry and hug and lift and stretch,
Our feet,
Our toes that give to wiggle them,
Transport you,
Walk,
Run,
Dangle,
Dance,
Kick,
Fold,
Leap and point,
And what about your tears,
Your sorrows that reflect what it is to be human,
To feel,
To love,
In the strength that you seem to be able to muster to make it through each day,
Bring your awareness to your abundance,
Your openness,
Your expansion,
Your evolution,
Your shifts in perspective,
The flow and empathy and love and light,
And your ability to see growth and potential in every moment,
Drift your awareness to nurturing relationships in your life,
The new ones and the older ones,
Simply breathing and feeling this flow,
And we no longer take life for granted,
We become grateful for everything that we have,
And gratitude is like breathing in,
Letting ourselves be touched by the wonder in ourselves and others and in our world,
Generosity is like breathing out,
Sensing our mutual belonging and offering our care,
When we are awake and whole,
Breathing in and out happens naturally,
And these beautiful expressions of our heart,
Gratitude and generosity flow freely when we're living in intentional balance,
Above all,
Generosity is a feeling state,
A willingness to share your own being with the world,
And with the mindful cultivation of generosity,
A good place to start is with yourself,
See if you can give yourself gifts,
Self-acceptance,
Some time each day with no purpose,
Practice feeling deserving enough to accept these gifts without obligation,
To simply receive from yourself,
Practice generosity with others,
Recognition and appreciation,
Showing gratitude,
Giving credit and positive feedback,
Letting people know you're thinking of them,
As you practice offering gifts freely,
You open yourself up to doing and being more,
Giving more of yourself,
Practicing sharing the fullness of your being,
Your enthusiasm,
Your vitality,
Your spirit,
Your trust,
Your openness,
And above all,
Your presence,
By practicing mindfulness of generosity,
By observing its effects on ourselves and others,
We discover expanded versions of ourselves,
So initiate giving,
Don't wait for someone to ask,
See what happens,
Especially to you,
You may find that rather than exhausting yourself or your resources,
You replenish them,
Such is the power of mindful,
Selfless generosity,
At the deepest level,
There is no giver,
No gift,
And no recipient,
Only the universe rearranging itself,
