Hello,
My name is Cheryl Bailey of Grit and Grace Meditation and today I'm sharing with you a gratitude meditation.
Before we begin,
I'd like to share with you that the practice of gratitude can greatly connect you to the present moment.
It can uplift your spirit and feed your heart.
It opens the heart and activates positive emotions within your brain.
With a regular gratitude practice,
You can change the way your brain's neurons fire into a more positive pattern.
Research actually shows us now that there's a correlation between happiness and spending just two minutes or more a day on positive thoughts and how transformational it can be in your life.
So I invite you now to come into a comfortably seated position.
You can sit in a chair on the floor and sit with a tall spine,
Gently resting your hands in your lap or letting them rest by your side.
And I invite you to close your eyes or create a soft gaze on the floor just a few feet in front of you.
Begin to turn your attention inward and notice your breath.
Take three long,
Slow deep breaths in through the nose and out through the nose.
This is sending a signal to your body that it's okay to come into a relaxed state.
Begin to notice that the world outside of you and inside of you is slowing down.
You can return your breath to its natural depth and rhythm.
And remember,
During this practice,
You do not need to do anything to control your breath.
Just let it be natural.
Let it flow with ease and in this very moment,
Drop your to-do list and be here right now.
You have no place to go and nothing to do.
Remember at any time during this meditation,
If you should drift away to your thoughts,
Just bring your attention back to the breath.
You can do this as many times as you have to.
Notice the sounds all around you.
Sounds are rarely a barrier to our meditation.
I invite you to welcome in everything and resist nothing.
As I guide you through this meditation,
You will drift your attention to various things in your life that you are grateful for.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
Notice the inhale and the exhale.
Feel gratitude that you have the ability to take a natural breath each and every day as breath gives you life.
Feel the coolness of your breath as you inhale and feel the warmth as you exhale.
Notice how your breath goes in sync with the rise and fall of your chest and belly.
Your breath is your sustaining life force.
Silently express gratitude for your breath.
Drift your awareness to your ears.
Feel gratitude how your ears bring in all the sounds around you.
The wonderful sounds of life.
The sounds of music or laughter.
Or the voices of those you love.
The sounds of pure silence.
Silently express gratitude for your ears.
Drift your awareness to your eyes,
Your beautiful eyes that allow you to see in vibrant colors in this great big world that surrounds you.
Your eyes that allow you to see a sunrise or a sunset.
Your eyes that allow you to see faces and smiles of loved ones or your gentle self in the mirror.
Silently express gratitude for your eyes.
Bring awareness to your mouth.
Your mouth that tastes and savors and helps nourish the body.
Your mouth that whispers and speaks.
Your mouth that produces your voice to be heard or says I love you to a special one.
Silently express gratitude for your mouth.
Bring your attention to your nose.
Feeling that cool air as you inhale and the warm air as you exhale.
Express gratitude on how the nose allows you to smell.
Smell the ocean breeze when standing at the water's edge.
Or the beautiful flowers that blossom.
Or the sweet scent of rain on a summer day.
Silently express gratitude for your nose.
Drift your attention to your heart center.
Imagine your breath floating in and out through your heart center.
Imagine if you'd like you can place one or both hands over your heart space.
And physically feel your heart beating inside of you.
Become aware of your heart pulsing and sending all the nutrients and oxygen throughout your body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
Your heart knows exactly what to do to take care of you without you having to tell it.
Your heart also fills you with feelings of love,
Compassion,
Empathy,
Joy,
And this deep feeling of gratitude.
Silently express gratitude for your heart and all that it does for you each and every day.
Breathe in and feel more gratitude.
And on each exhale,
Sending that gratitude out.
Breathe in more grace and ease.
And allow that to flow through your heart center.
Notice how you can cultivate the feeling of gratitude simply by bringing your awareness to various things in your life.
This feeling can be cultivated naturally and when it happens,
Allow yourself to sink into that feeling.
Please surrender to your heart,
Not the thoughts within your head.
Experience the warmth,
Love,
And compassion that gratitude brings into you.
Just to reflect here for a moment and continue to keep your focus on your breath,
Imagining as it's still floating in and out through your heart center.
Please surrender to your heart,
Not the thoughts within your head.
When you no longer take life for granted,
When you notice each and every day that life is a gift,
You deeply become more grateful for everything that you have.
You even have the ability to celebrate the small things of life.
Remember that if you need to access this sense of gratitude,
It is available to you each and every day.
You can extend this practice into your everyday life and cultivate the habit of thinking of something you feel grateful for every morning when you wake up.
Just gently and slowly start to bring awareness back into your body.
You can deepen your breath and when you're ready,
You can wiggle your fingers and toes and begin to stretch into the space around you.
It's important to come out of meditation slowly so when you are ready,
You can open your eyes and come back into the space.
I enjoyed meditating with you today and I hope that you were able to cultivate that sense of gratitude from even the smallest of things.
Carry this beautiful feeling of gratitude with you throughout the remainder of your day.
I thank you and Namaste.
