Namaste.
In order to make yourself most comfortable for this meditation,
You can either choose to lie down or to find yourself in a seated position.
Having decided where you want to rest for this meditation,
Begin by taking your breath in through your nose and let it out over your lips.
You can take just a few breaths like this to signal to your nervous system that you are coming into your practice,
Ready to arrive in stillness.
This process of arriving can continue as you bring your breath in and out through your nose now,
Feeling the muscles around your jaw,
Your lips,
And your tongue easy and relaxed.
Feeling your gaze,
Whether your eyes are slightly open or fully closed,
Turn downwards towards your cheeks.
Begin feeling now the muscles around your eyes and across your forehead,
Feeling more relaxed.
You can imagine now the hands of someone you love coming to rest on your shoulders,
Allowing your shoulders to release.
Then in that process,
Feeling the way your body begins to settle into itself,
Feeling the weight at the base of your spine or the base of your body if you're lying down.
Now whatever it is that you find yourself resting on,
Feel its support moving back up against you,
Creating a sense of being lifted from beneath,
Buoyant,
Light.
Becoming aware now of your breathing,
And as you become aware of your breathing,
Perhaps also feeling the shape of your breath as it comes into your body,
Filling it up,
And the shape of your body as your breath is leaving.
With each breath,
You can imagine that you are being breathed so that your breath happens with very little effort,
As if you were receiving the breath,
Your breath,
And then offering your breath back out again.
The premise of today's meditation is to see what is already available in your life,
Even to see the parts of your life that you feel are okay or even better than okay.
Your intelligent mind is designed to quickly pick out risks and obstacles and hardships,
And so will use that gift in this meditation in order to arrive at gratitude.
For the next few breaths,
Allow your mind to pinpoint anything you see as an obstacle in your life right now.
Just one thing in particular is giving you stress or worries you.
Whatever comes to mind,
Try not to replace it or judge it,
But instead just give it a name,
A word,
Or even an image.
Once you hold this word,
Name,
Or image in your mind,
Begin to notice if you feel anything in your body,
Sensations,
Perhaps of tightening or tension.
Knowing just for the next few breaths the word,
Image,
And feeling in your body.
Now with honesty and more curiosity,
You can begin to ask yourself,
Could things be any worse?
You only need to do this for a few breaths,
Knowing that it could be uncomfortable to let yourself explore what could make this even worse.
What could make this obstacle even more difficult or more stressful?
And now pause.
Take a deep inhale,
And now a cleansing exhale through your mouth.
Now I'd like you to bring to mind something in your life that keeps your worries from being their worst.
Or something you have always had but forgotten,
Or something you've recently gained.
Perhaps it is another person or it is a place.
You might now name this,
Or see an image in your mind.
You might feel a presence in or near your body.
Begin to be with this feeling now,
Being in the presence of what in your life keeps your worries from being at their worst.
Is it possible as you sit now to feel appreciation or gratitude?
How does this feel in your body?
As you continue to be with these names or images or words or this feeling,
You can increase your focus by bringing your hands together now,
As in prayer,
Palms touching in the front of your chest.
Let your wrists,
Your thumb tips,
And your pinky fingers gently press into one another.
And explore letting the rest of your fingers and your fingertips bloom and spread apart.
Create the shape of a lotus with your hands.
Let this shape rest directly in front of your chest,
Relaxed in your shoulders,
Your elbows,
Your face.
You can hold names,
Images,
And feelings of appreciation in the center of your hands.
Let your wrists,
Your fingers,
And your fingers gently press into one another.
And as you sit silently,
You might begin to hear your own thoughts transitioning to say thank you,
Thank you,
Thank you.
Feeling as if an offering directed at your hands.
Continuing to be with your hands,
Your breath.
Feeling to be with your hands,
Your breath,
This feeling of gratitude,
This feeling.
Feeling if more appears.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Slowly let images and words fade,
Bringing your awareness back to your hands.
Feeling your pinky fingers,
Your thumbs slowly beginning to draw your ring fingers together to touch again.
Now your middle fingers coming together to touch.
Your index fingers coming together to touch.
The full palm of your hand pressing one into another.
Facing your hands,
Let your awareness swim in the experience of gratitude.
You are okay,
Perhaps you are more than okay.
Your life is full,
Perhaps it is more than full.
Welcome back to your crazy,
Full,
And okay life.
Taking a full breath in and pausing just for a moment at the top to hold in your fullness.
Letting it go completely and fully.
Take in one more deep breath and hold it in to feel your fullness.
Let it out now full and easy.
Namaste.
