Welcome to today's gratitude meditation.
We're going to take a look at some of the simple things in our lives that bring joy,
Perhaps a sense of peace or ease.
Some of the things that make our life wonderful,
Worth living,
Worth exploring.
Gratitude as a practice has been around for thousands of years across so many different spiritual traditions.
Practicing daily gratitude,
Giving thanks for the things that light up our lives,
Is shown to bring the heart and the brain into a state of rest and joy.
It's said to ease depression,
Stress and anxiety.
And it helps us live in a more abundant state so that life,
When we practice giving thanks,
Flows that more easily.
It's not always easy to give thanks when we find ourselves struggling against the tide of life or when we experience deep physical or emotional pain.
And sometimes those daily practices,
The habit of giving thanks,
Of honoring what is here right now,
Can be really challenging.
It's not fair to say that we can always walk in the light when there is plenty of darkness to experience in our lives.
But when we do shine a light on what is positive,
What nourishes us,
What brings us hope,
Satisfaction,
Pleasure,
A sense of safety or of having been seen,
Felt or heard.
Then we come to find the process of looking for what's good and right that much easier.
It's like a muscle,
The more we practice,
The more we receive,
The more benefits we are able to notice both within and in our external world.
So let's move ourselves into a comfortable position,
Whether that's lying down on the back or in a cross-legged or side saddle seated pose.
As with all of these meditations,
The more comfortable you can make yourself,
The more relaxed your body will become and hence the more focused the mind will be.
And once you've arranged yourself,
Either soften the eyes or close the lids completely and begin to let the eyes turn down towards the cheeks as you relax all the muscles of the face,
Just dropping any expression,
Any tension,
Releasing forehead and the eyes and especially the cheeks,
The jaw and the mouth.
And as the face begins to soften,
Notice how that softening melts down into the physical body,
Relaxing the shoulders down the back.
And allowing the weight of your body to settle down into your sit bones,
Into your seat.
Feeling whatever is beneath you rising up to support you.
Feeling the earth beneath the floor supporting you entirely.
And as the body begins to settle into this place,
We might notice as we take the attention inward,
The subtlety of the breath.
And if it helps you to bring your left hand to your heart and your right hand to your belly,
You can place your hands on the body and just notice that softness of touch and the warmth of your hands against your skin.
And from here we're not looking to make any changes to the breath,
Rather we're observing how the body breathes.
And we're tuning into that elegant gentle rhythm of in-breath followed by out-breath,
In-breath and out-breath.
And we begin just to sink a little deeper into the experience of the body being breathed.
No control on your part,
No effort required.
Just observing.
And if you're finding that the mind is busy and distracted,
Don't worry,
It's completely normal,
Especially if you're new to the practice of meditation.
It might help you to bring your attention to your nostrils and just notice the cool passage of air as it enters the nose.
Knowing the body rise as it draws in this breath.
And then how it softens as it exhales,
And how warm air leaving the nose.
And once again there's no need to manipulate the breath,
No need to change or force.
We're allowing it to be exactly as it is,
Exactly as we find it.
Even if there's some difficulty in breathing,
A blocked nose or shortness of breath.
We're cultivating a non-judgmental approach to our meditation,
Just opening the mind to experience,
Without a filter,
Without judgement,
Things exactly as they are.
Knowing that things are exactly as they should be.
So we'll keep this left hand on the heart and the right hand on the belly.
With the body being breathed gently,
One breath at a time.
Oxygenated and then detoxified.
The activity of your lungs and your heart,
Your whole cardiovascular system and respiratory systems working together on your behalf.
And let us just begin to draw to mind one thing for which we're thankful.
One thing today,
A conversation perhaps that you've had,
A positive work offer,
A breakthrough in your thinking,
A fantastic meal,
A hug with a friend,
A good night's sleep,
A hot shower,
A walk with your dog,
Whatever it is.
One thing that has uplifted and improved the quality of your life,
Of your day.
And of course if it's hard to find something,
If you really feel like there hasn't been anything good in my day,
Then I invite you to keep the hands on the body and let the activity of breath,
This life giving prana encouraging movement to be that thing.
Just giving thanks for the body and all the systems inside it that keep you running,
Living,
Moving,
Being.
Sometimes looking at the detail of things,
The small things which in fact aren't small at all,
Help us to see how much we really have.
So whatever it is that you've chosen to give thanks for,
And it could be a handful of things too,
Let's just let the image or the sensation,
The feeling,
Any thoughts associated with these things just permeate your mind's eye.
You might feel the joy of walking your dog,
Or the pleasure of hot water against your skin.
Or you might see your friend's face as they come in for a hug.
Feel their warmth against your body.
And in thinking and feeling these things,
Allow the corners of your mouth to turn up into a little smile.
And let the smile and the thoughts and the images and the feelings start to fill your heart underneath your left hand.
Feel your heart swelling up as you breathe in,
Rising up to meet the cavity of your chest and the warmth of your left hand.
And allow yourself to breathe into this space,
Imagining that you're enlarging that sensation of love and gratitude.
Again,
No need to force anything,
You can just let this grow exponentially with every breath,
Gently,
Organically,
Peacefully.
You might visualize the heart space glowing with a warm,
Red or rosy pink,
Golden kind of a light.
And perhaps you feel the heart and the hand more deeply connected,
A warmth spreading between them.
And as you grow this feeling,
The whole heart space radiates and begins to fill the entire body.
And perhaps you just summoned some words to mind,
I am grateful for.
I give thanks too.
And of course,
If the mind wanders off,
Which the mind will do,
We can use that moment of realization when we see I'm lost in thought.
Just very gently,
Without judgment,
With a whole load of compassion,
Guide ourselves back to this breath,
This body,
This moment,
This sacred place of thankfulness that we've created from the inside out.
Let yourself bathe in this rich,
Sensual feeling that you've been inspired deep within.
Knowing that together as we practice,
We,
Each of us give thanks for all that there is in this moment of our lives.
And knowing too that we can come back to this place of gratitude,
Thankfulness,
Wherever we are in our day,
Wherever we are in our lives,
No matter what goes on in our external surroundings,
No matter what sees our boat,
Tosses and turns on.
Use this place as an anchor,
As a returning home.
And let it help you flow and sail onward with ease,
Grace and peace.
So bringing the hands together now at the heart,
We'll close our meditation,
Pressing the warmth of the palms and the fingers together,
Taking a breath down into the heart.
And as we let go of that breath,
Just bowing the head towards the hands.
Namaste.
