Hey there,
Welcome to a 10 minute guided meditation on gratitude.
Most of our life is outside of our control,
But what we do have control over is our attention and where we place it and for how long.
And in this meditation we are going to be finding something that we are grateful for and using that as our anchor into the present moment,
Bringing our attention back again and again with patience and compassion as we develop that feeling of gratitude in ourselves.
Start by sitting comfortably,
Find length and spaciousness in your spine extending up through the crown of your head,
Allow the breath to drop into your body deeply and easily.
You know how to breathe.
Can you get out of your own way?
As the breath softens,
Allow your eyes to soften as well and close them if you're comfortable doing so,
If not just keep a soft gaze in front of you.
Bring your awareness to your surroundings,
Listen to the world around you and then listen with your body to your other senses.
Notice the feeling of touch,
Pressure,
The surface that you are being supported by,
Notice the temperature of the air around you,
Any smells that are present.
And whatever you encounter,
See if it can be okay.
Can you acknowledge it for being present?
And as thoughts and feelings and sensations come and go,
Notice how underneath all of them is the breath rising and falling.
As you settle,
I invite you to find something in your imagination that you are grateful for.
It might be a person in your life or a pet,
It might be an experience you were able to have,
A memory,
It could even be for the lack of something,
Maybe a lack of pain.
If you've ever had a toothache,
It's easy to be grateful for not having a toothache.
Whatever it is,
Let it be easy.
You don't have to search so hard for it.
Let it be the first thing that comes up that you have the strongest pull toward.
And as you breathe in and out through the nose,
As you relax your body,
Your shoulders,
Your jaw,
Can you sharpen that image of what you're grateful for?
Can you put it in context and environment?
A moment.
And as you rest your attention on this focus point that you are grateful for,
Notice how your body is responding and feel into that sense of gratitude.
What does it feel like?
And where in your body do you feel it?
If the mind wanders,
Bring it back to what you've chosen,
To what you're grateful for.
Continue to feel into it with your heart.
Breathe into it with your breath.
Continue to breathe.
And return to what you're grateful for.
And now I invite you to really hone in on that feeling of gratitude in your body.
And give it a color,
A quality.
Maybe it's light.
Give it a location.
Where does it begin?
And as you breathe,
See if you can breathe into that origin and expand it a little.
And little by little,
As you breathe,
As you soften the body,
As you bring your attention to that feeling of gratitude,
Let the breath serve as a bellows to the fire of gratitude within you.
Feel it getting larger and expanding.
Allow the intensity to rise,
To sharpen.
And just watch as you breathe and the sensation of gratitude begins to move throughout your body.
Take a wave of energy,
Moving in and out like a rising tide with every breath.
Continue to breathe until you feel it in your fingertips.
The tips of your toes moving through every joint.
Can every cell in your body experience the sensation of gratitude?
What would that look like?
What would that feel like?
And rest in that place.
Let your awareness ride that wave,
Floating effortlessly on this current of gratitude.
And then let go of any focus.
Allow the mind to wander,
To be free.
Gently bring it back to your body,
To your environment.
And see if you can allow some of that energy,
Some of that gratitude to stay present as you gently open your eyes.
And look around you.
It might help to open your eyes a little wider than you might normally.
Perhaps you might see some blessings that you've taken for granted.
No matter where we are,
There is always a reason to be grateful.
It is the ultimate practice of humility.
And I hope it serves you well in the rest of your day and your evening.
Thanks for joining me,
And I'll see you next time.
