Hello friends and welcome to this guided meditation to cultivate the quality of gratitude,
Which is such a powerful quality to cultivate within and one that we sometimes forget to do unless we intentionally sit down to do so.
So thank you for being here and we will begin in a comfortable seated position.
So finding a seat where your sit bones are just slightly above your knees.
You can sit in a chair or maybe on a cushion.
Let your spine be long.
Let your chest be open.
Let your body posture feel alert but not rigid.
Let there be a softness in the upper body.
Your palms can rest in your lap or along your thighs.
When you feel ready you can let your eyes gently close and begin by tuning into the sounds around you.
Listening to the sounds outside of the room,
The most distant sounds that you can hear.
And then the sounds in the room are closer to you.
And see if you can receive these sounds without judgment or needing to label them but just allowing the environment to be as it is currently.
And then bring your awareness to the top of your head.
And you might imagine that there is a small soft stone on the crown of your head.
And with the stability of your spine you're holding this stone upright.
But you can also feel a gentle heaviness in this stone that is helping your body to relax and feel grounded.
You might imagine a small channel of energy flowing from the crown of your head down into the earth.
Letting your forehead be smooth.
Relaxing the eyes and the eyebrows.
Letting your jaw be soft.
Letting your shoulders melt down along your spine.
And if you notice any tension in the shoulders,
Just doing your best to allow this tension to be here.
If it doesn't yet feel ready to release.
And softening the area around the tension.
And then bringing your awareness into your hands.
And seeing if you can feel your hands from the inside out.
Noticing sensations.
Noticing the pressure of your hands against your thighs or in your lap.
And letting there be an openness in the area of the heart.
And just as with the shoulders,
If there's any tension or tightness in the area of the body,
See if you can just allow it to be.
Maybe instead bringing your awareness to the space around the tension.
And see if you can soften there.
Noticing the expansion and contraction of your lungs with each inhale and exhale.
And then letting your awareness slide down into the torso.
Letting your stomach be full and soft.
And letting that fullness spread down into the pelvic region.
Maybe imagining a large,
Soft stone here in this part of the body.
Helping you to feel grounded and connected to the earth and to your breath.
And noticing the point of contact between your sit bones and the earth.
And then letting your awareness spread down through the legs.
Tuning into the weight and the volume of the legs.
And then down into the feet.
Feeling the feet from the inside out.
Noticing the feeling of the carpet,
Or the wood,
The tile,
Maybe a mat.
And now let your awareness rest for a moment with the breath.
Just noticing where it feels the easiest to be with the breath.
Maybe it's in the sensations,
In the nasal passage,
As the air passes in and out.
Maybe it's in the rise and fall of your chest,
Or in your belly.
Wherever you notice the breath the most,
Just see if you can let your attention pause here.
Being present with the breath during each moment of the inhale,
And each moment of the exhale.
And if the mind wanders,
As it does so naturally,
You just gently notice that the mind has wandered and then bring your attention back to the breath.
And now take a moment to bring your awareness into the region of the heart.
And take your time to bring one thing to mind that you feel grateful for in your life.
And it could be something really small,
Or it could be something greater that seems to hold a lot of meaning for you.
Just taking a moment to bring that to mind.
Maybe it's a person,
Maybe it's a situation,
Maybe it's the weather,
The sunrise or sunset.
Maybe it's an object or a thing that you really appreciate in your life.
Maybe an unexpected blessing or gift.
Whatever it is,
Just take a moment to become familiar with the details of this thing that you're grateful for.
What is it about this person or situation or thing that you feel thankful for?
And you might imagine lighting a candle within the region of the heart to signify this gratitude,
This burning light of gratitude.
And then when you feel ready,
You can let this person or thing fade into the background,
Still imagining it as a burning candle flame,
But letting it be in the background.
And now bringing another person,
Event,
Situation to mind that you feel grateful for in your life.
And again,
Taking your time to really bask in the details of this thing that you're grateful for.
And as well,
Imagining lighting a candle for this being or thing and letting the flame of the candle symbolize your thankfulness.
And then again,
Letting this flame gently fade into the background.
And one more time,
Just taking a minute to bring to mind something you're grateful for.
And if it feels challenging to imagine something at this moment or maybe the things that you're imagining,
It might feel difficult to really tap into that sense of gratitude,
That's okay.
Just noticing that and still see if you can be with the practice.
So bringing to mind one more thing you feel grateful for,
Imagining the details of this person or place,
Situation,
Or maybe it's something about yourself.
And again,
Imagine yourself lighting a candle to symbolize your gratitude.
And now bring all three of these things,
Represented as burning candle flames,
Into the center of your awareness.
And you might imagine these flames in the region of your heart.
And just take a few moments to really appreciate and rest in the warmth and comfort of your gratitude.
You might imagine that these flames are warming you up from the inside out.
Warming you through the region of the heart,
Out through your arms,
Your torso,
Legs,
Chest,
And head.
Feeling your whole body warm and lit up with the power of gratitude.
You might even imagine that these flames are slowly melting away anything that gets in the way of feeling gratitude.
Whether that's fear,
Resentment,
Self-limiting beliefs.
Just imagine gratitude warming and melting these feelings.
And to finish our meditation,
I would like to offer a short quote by Eckhart Tolle.
He says,
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.
