Setting yourself up in your mindfulness meditation posture.
Making yourself comfortable,
Feeling supported,
Warm,
Relaxed.
Taking a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
And as you breathe out just letting go of the day.
Letting go of the day that's either behind you or ahead of you.
Giving yourself permission to be fully in the moment.
To be right here,
Right now.
Bringing a sense that this is the most important thing that you're going to do today.
And today the focus of our attention will be on the cultivation of gratitude.
The sign shows us that we are born with a certain amount of gratitude.
Or a certain amount of optimism as such.
But we can train ourselves to be more grateful,
To be more optimistic.
With the regular practice of gratitude.
I remember once being in a corporate setting.
And my challenge for the week was to practice some gratitude.
By at the end of the day just writing down the things that they were grateful for.
During the 24 hours that had passed.
And after a week I came back and I asked them,
Did anybody practice this?
And one girl shared that she did.
And I asked her how she found it and she said she found it amazing,
Transformational for her.
Because she realised halfway through the week that she was living her day looking out for things to write in her gratitude journal that evening.
So she was living her day looking for things to be grateful for.
Wouldn't that be a nice way to live your life?
Doesn't deny the stuff that comes along.
But the attention and the importance is placed on the things to be grateful for.
And often times when we find gratitude for the challenges in our life.
We can often see transformation or come up with different solutions.
So gratitude can extend to those parts of our life that are a little bit difficult at the moment.
Gratitude can extend to things outside of our control like the weather.
Like the sun.
Like the rain.
The wind.
Gratitude can also extend to the things that are material in our lives.
The people.
The things we have.
The car.
The clothes.
It doesn't matter what you express gratitude for so long as you're expressing gratitude.
First we even up our breathing.
We're going to breathe in for the count of five and out for the count of five.
If you wish to extend this or shorten it to whatever is comfortable for you please feel free to do so.
So breathing out.
And the next in we're at.
Breathing in for three two one and out for three two one.
In for three two one and out for three two one.
In for three two one and out for three two one.
In for three two one and out for three two one.
In for three two one and out for three two one.
In for three two one and out for three two one.
In for three two one and out for three two one.
In.
In.
Very nice.
Once more in.
Right.
And then you can let your breath resume its natural rhythm.
Bringing your awareness to your chest to your heart area.
And calling to mind someone in your life that you're grateful for.
It could be a pet,
It could be a family member or a friend.
Somebody perhaps has extended a kindness to you recently.
And just calling them to mind as you breathe in.
And then letting those good feelings flow through your body on the out breath.
So calling to mind someone that you're grateful for.
As you breathe in how they make you feel or how you feel when you're around them.
And on the out breath just taking those feelings and letting them flow throughout your body from your heart.
Down your arms,
Down your legs.
And then call to mind an event from the recent past that you might be grateful for.
Again it could be a kindness that was offered to you or that you offered to somebody.
It could be something worked out or you accomplished something.
Perhaps it was a completion of a task.
Something that you might have been dreading doing.
You did it.
How did that feel?
So bringing that to mind now on the in breath.
How you felt,
What happened,
What you did.
And on the out breath spreading that gratitude throughout your body.
Down your arms,
Down your legs.
And then something that you're grateful for about yourself.
Maybe a gift or a talent that you have.
Finding some sort of gratitude within.
Maybe you're grateful for your resilience,
Your strength,
Your kindness to others.
You're grateful for your patience.
You're grateful for your caring,
For your calm.
Maybe you're grateful that you sit down and you're listening to this meditation.
Seeing if you can find something that you're grateful for within yourself.
And again breathe that in on the in breath and let it flow through your body.
On the out breath acknowledging that part of you that you're grateful for.
It's recognizing a deep appreciation.
All those parts of you that are good.
And there are many.
As you bring all those things to mind.
How does it feel?
What does it feel in your body?
Gratitude has been shown to lower heart rate,
Blood pressure,
Boost immunity.
Even more than that it tends to bring happiness and joy.
A recognition of the good that's within us.
It's within other people.
It's in the world.
A reminder.
So with gratitude to you for listening to this practice today.
You can stay here and keep focusing on gratitude and what you're grateful for.
Or if you're ready you can begin to come out of this practice.
By putting fingers and toes.
Opening your eyes whenever you feel ready to do so.
Namaste.
