Welcome.
Find a comfortable way to sit,
Either sitting on a cushion or leaning against a wall or sitting in a chair.
Then close your eyes.
And now we'll begin by taking a few deep breaths,
Cleansing breaths,
To release any stresses that you experienced throughout the day or any extra pent-up tension in the mind or in the physical body.
Just let it go with those clearing breaths.
And eventually you'll feel a little more grounded here and you can find yourself with an easeful breath in and out of the nose.
Soften your belly completely and allow yourself to relax.
Invite yourself to fully relax.
So you get really quiet and still.
This is a little exercise on increasing a sense of gratitude towards ourselves.
It's often an overlooked area of practice.
We extend gratitude outwards.
Just like many other emotions and feelings and thoughts,
They go outwards.
Let's bring it back in just for right now.
Let's keep it simple.
I'm going to ask you to think about something that you like about yourself.
This could be something that you know you're good at,
Something really simple,
Small tasks in daily life that you're good at.
And if that's hard for you,
Then you can imagine what your friends would say about you.
Or bring to mind something that a friend or your friends regularly comment about.
And can you just kind of breathe that in for a little bit?
Allow yourself to be soaked by this feeling or these feelings of likeability.
What do you like about yourself?
Envision it.
Sense for it.
Let it be here now.
Let yourself trust that this is right.
This is needed.
This reflection.
Be sure to attune to those little thoughts and those little voices that trickle in.
Those old patterns are trying to convince us that we are unlovable or that we are not loved or that we need to change something or be better or do better.
Honor those voices,
But remember that they are not true.
They are not real.
They are temporary thoughts.
Stay soft in your low belly,
Soft in your breath,
And soft across your whole facial expression.
So simply remembering what it is you like about yourself.
Whether or not you believe it,
That comes in time.
It takes practice.
For now,
From your friend's perspective or your own perspective,
What it is you like about yourself.
Stay soft in your low belly,
Soft in your breath,
And soft across your whole facial expression.
What you've been practicing and what you've been doing for yourself is truly the work of reprogramming how the mind thinks.
And how we often in turn act.
This is the work of reprogramming to believe that you are worthy,
That you can be grateful for yourself,
That you can accept yourself as you are.
And although it takes a lot of dedication and practice,
It will start to extend out.
And we find that we are more grateful for others who show up in our lives right when we need them.
We become so grateful of those that support us on whatever path it is that we're on.
We turn to every single person and every single experience in life,
And we honor them with gratitude for the lessons that each and every one of them present.
And this gratitude has to come from a deep place of knowing,
A deep sense of accepting and trusting the essence of what we are first.
So take your hand up onto your upper chest,
Your heart center,
Or both hands up there.
And just kind of channel in,
Dig into what lies in the heart,
All this goodness.
So much to be grateful for already inside of you.
Give yourself a couple of big breaths to let go of this effort now,
This good work in meditation and reflection that you've just done.
Release it.
And as we go out into the rest of the day or the rest of the evening and whoever it is we come into contact with or share a meal with or run into in a lineup somewhere,
Whoever it is that presents themselves to us before anything occurs,
Can we first and foremost tap into this worthiness deep within?
May we attune to this universal desire that we all be accepted,
That we all be loved,
That we all be seen for our worthiness.
As you connect to you first and as you connect to self,
You connect to that which lives in all of us.
And for this we can be grateful.
There is no separation.
But when you feel the separation and the anxiety of wanting to be loved or comparing yourself to others,
Put a hand on your heart,
Get right back inside,
Remember what you like about yourself.
Continue to grow this gratitude for self and watch many other areas of your life start to flourish and blossom.
Bring your palms into prayer.
Thankful for yourself for doing this work,
For being present and looking within.
And for all the people who support us.
Namaste.
