Nalu | Mind The Flow, Day 25 Of 28 - Gratitude

Nalu is the Hawaiian word for wave. It can also mean mindful observation. During this series, we follow our main character, Nalu, as they explore mindful and meditation practices and deepen their understanding. On day 25, we explore gratitude.

Thank you to Mika Mimura Erickson for licensing the music track.

Transcript

Hello everyone, Welcome back to Nalu Mind the Flow and welcome if you're joining for the first time. Today is day 25 of our 28 day journey together as we have followed Nalu through experiencing breath awareness. We were experiencing with Nalu awareness of the sensation on the body as well as doing some deep breathing practices and some sensing techniques about how we are in the world and how we perceive the world around us at the same time. So for today and as we continue toward the end of our journey here together where we'll be looking at gratitude and gratefulness. So I'd like to invite you to have your eyes closed or have your eyes open at your preference. And again, Bring the attention to the breath, Noticing the breathing happen, Just a great way to start. The breath is always there with us and it's always gently flowing into the body and out from the body in exactly the right amount that we need for the moment. So observing that breath, Noticing that breath, Watching that breath happen as we sit back together and tune in is a great way to get started. For today, Nalu is again along the shoreline, One of their favorite places where they like to be. This time they're seated down along the shore and they're focusing in on their breath and they're noticing their breathing. They're noticing their seat on the ground and feeling the gravity gently and carefully holding them here on the earth and feeling the connection to the earth beneath them. And having spent so many days on this journey, Nalu is really aware that the breath that's happening, The breath that's coming into them is a gift. This gift of sustenance is coming into their body and bringing with it fresh energy. And on the exhale, The exhaling breath is a gift because every time the exhale happens, It's releasing all the impurities and all the extra things that the body doesn't need anymore. And so as Nalu keys in on the breath, As Nalu focuses on each breath as it comes into the body and each breath as it gently leaves the body, Even while they continue to notice those breaths, They start to become aware of the true value and the true sustainment that this very obvious and very regular pattern brings to them. And so for today, We'll follow Nalu on this short journey that we have together for a few minutes, Just observing the breath as it goes in and observing the breath as it goes out and maybe on each inward breath or as each breath comes into the body, Maybe attaching a little bit of understanding of gratitude or gratefulness for that freshness as it comes in. And with each exhalation of the air from the body, As the air kind of pulls itself out from us, Keeping a little bit of gratitude for the way that it's drawing out any impurities or any things we don't need anymore. And observing that and being grateful for that as it happens. And then even as we're grateful for this vital and amazing work that the breath is doing for our bodies, We can also be grateful for the bodies themselves. How these organisms that we find ourselves in have been perfectly formed. There's a small bridge here between the world outside and the world inside in the shape of our nose, And that's filled with little hairs to filter out early impurities and warm up the air before it comes into our bodies. And on each breath, That air is warming as it comes in. And this perfectly shaped and perfectly formed diaphragm is there opening and closing to pull the air down into our lungs. And the lungs with their thousands of miles of tiny circuits and locations for the air and the oxygen in the air to come into our bodies. Perfectly formed. Something that we can be truly grateful for on each inhale as the air comes into our body and travels to every cell through the mechanism of our diaphragm and lung. And then every time we exhale, So grateful for the systems that bring all of these impurities right up to the surface of the lungs so that they can be expelled and released and pulled out from our bodies with the exhalation back into the air around us. And from the very moment when we draw that first breath through all of the tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of breaths to the very moment when we released that last breath, All of these processes are working for us without us having to do anything. They just happen. And so Nalu becomes really aware and grateful of that fact that they just happen. And as the air continues to move into the body and move out from the body, We may notice other sensations. We may want to take a deep breath or we may want to let out a sigh. All of that's perfectly natural, Especially as we become more and more aware of the grace and the gratitude that we have toward this ongoing process. And so as you come back to the room, I welcome you back, Hopefully feeling a little bit more resilient, Maybe a little bit rested. As you come back to the room and maybe notice some of the more obvious signs of the room around you, Some sounds coming into your ears or perhaps your seat on the chair. And I am also grateful for you for having joined today, Spent time with our main character Nalu and our small community, Whether in time or out of time, I'm grateful to have you here. And I do hope to see you again on another day of Nalu Mind the Flow. Be well and please enjoy.