Welcome to this short meditation to practice the beautiful and powerful habit of gratitude.
Many years ago I heard the Hawaiian word Mahalo.
While this word simply means thank you,
The philosophy behind the word is what makes it so special.
Rooted in gratefulness and appreciation,
Giving thanks for the world and all that is.
Gratitude is a powerful emotion.
It is known as a gateway emotion,
Giving you access to all positive emotions.
It can be easiest to grasp when you are feeling low and don't feel like letting any positivity in.
No matter how low you go,
There is always something you can feel grateful for.
By focusing on something you are grateful for,
It gives hope.
It shows you that all is not dark.
Gratitude can be great to use when you are feeling sorry for yourself.
It can help you step away from a victim mentality.
By focusing on what is good in your life,
It will shift you away from any negative energy.
So let's spend a little time immersed in the energy of gratitude.
So get yourself comfortable and let us begin.
As you settle yourself into your space,
Take a couple of full deep inhales and exhale fully,
Releasing all the stale air from your lungs and refreshing with fresh oxygen.
Take a moment to anchor yourself to your breath,
Noticing the air coming in through your nose,
Going right down into your stomach and with the exhale,
Consciously relaxing.
Breathing in and out,
Relaxing a little more.
As you watch your breath,
Thoughts may come and all you have to do is notice them without judgment and let them go,
Gently bringing your attention back to your breath.
Several studies have shown that people who practice gratitude are more likely to reach their goals,
Have better relationships,
Better sleep,
More energy and better health.
So I hope that convinces you.
From this nice state of relaxation,
I want you to bring to mind someone you feel grateful for.
It may be someone close to you or someone who did something nice for you.
Just choose one person for now.
Put a picture of that person in your mind.
Thank them for all that they have done.
Tell them that you are grateful and feel the feeling of gratitude spread out throughout your body.
If you are finding it difficult to feel the emotion,
Just imagine what it would feel like if you felt grateful and intensify that feeling.
Now bring to mind something in your life that you are grateful for.
It may be your health,
It could be a material possession,
It doesn't matter.
Just rest your attention on that thing you are grateful for and again notice the feeling of gratitude.
Lastly,
I want you to thank yourself for taking time out to do this short meditation.
Every moment spent basking in gratitude is a moment very well spent.
You could open or close each meditation that you do with gratitude and thinking about two things that you might be grateful for.
I'm grateful to have shared this time with you.
Have a beautiful day.
