Hello.
Today we are going to do a meditation on gratitude.
Take a few moments to find a comfortable posture.
Notice if the mind is already busy,
Or if you're anticipating what's coming next.
As you settle in,
Notice if the body is tight,
If it's sore,
Or if you're relaxed already.
To meditate is not to become a statue or a robot.
It's to become relaxed,
To sit like a Buddha.
So find your posture,
Even if that means you're going to move around a little bit,
Or even if you're not in a traditional meditation posture.
It's okay to stretch your legs out,
To scratch something if it itches.
It's okay to sneeze if you need to.
Whenever you're ready,
Close your eyes.
If you would like to keep your eyes open,
That's also an option.
To close our eyes helps us to turn our attention inward.
It's not mandatory though,
So feel free to choose what works best for you.
Let's take a few moments and focus on the breath.
Without trying to speed the breath up or slow it down,
We're not trying to manipulate the breath.
We're just observing it.
We're becoming witnesses to this amazing process,
The inhale and the exhale.
Notice the breath,
And notice how focusing on the breath trains the mind.
As we notice the inhale,
As we notice the exhale,
We're pointing the mind towards something specific,
Something life-affirming,
Something positive.
This is a good way to use the mind.
We direct our attention to something wholesome.
Each inhale is sustaining.
It fills us up.
It nourishes us.
And each exhale allows us to let go of something,
To surrender,
To relax.
Continue to breathe consciously,
Which simply means being aware of each breath.
If you need to,
Begin to relax the shoulders.
Notice if there's tension there.
Relax the jaw.
Let the breath guide you.
Let the breath be your teacher in this moment.
Let the breath teach you about gratitude.
To breathe deeply,
Courageously,
With awareness,
We can be very grateful.
This means our lungs are healthy and working.
Our heart is healthy and working.
The throat,
The nose,
The mouth,
All of these things are helping us to breathe.
The space around us is the air that we breathe in.
This is also the space we breathe out into.
The earth below us supports this practice.
And our consciousness is allowing us to perceive what's happening,
To understand what's happening.
Keep breathing with awareness,
Breathing with gratitude,
Remembering that we get to breathe in this moment.
We get to be alive in this moment.
We get to practice meditation in this moment.
We get to continue to grow and learn and develop and mature.
Gratitude is not theoretical.
It's not a philosophical concept.
It's something that's felt.
It's a practice.
Let's take and inhale a grateful breath together.
Exhale,
We send out a thankful out-breath.
If your eyes are closed,
Gently blink your eyes open.
Take this with you today,
This gratitude practice.
Each breath you take today,
It's a blessing.
It's a gift.
This is the gift that we share with others.
Our awareness,
Our breath,
The words that travel on the breath outward,
The song that we sing.
If we sing,
When we chant,
The breath is sending all these things out.
When your body becomes still,
This is the gift that you give to others.
Your presence,
Your safety,
Your reliability,
Your trustworthiness comes when you're solid,
When you're stable,
When your meditation practice comes with you off the cushion out into the world.
Thank you for meditating today.
See you again soon.
