Welcome to this short 22-minute meditation on gratitude.
We'll start by just getting a nice sitting posture with your feet firmly on the floor,
Your sit bones on the chair,
A nice straight back and your head held up as if a string is pulling through the crown,
And then just gently tucking your neck down so there's no strain in the neck.
We'll start by grounding ourselves and taking a moment to really sense into the body,
Really feeling into our feet on the floor.
What's it like to really feel into your feet?
What sensations are you feeling right now?
Perhaps a cold or a warmth,
Perhaps just sensing the skin against the sock or clothing,
Just really feeling into our feet for a few moments,
Then bringing our awareness to the breath,
Feeling all of the inhale and all of the exhale,
Sensing into the full cycle of the breath,
The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale and the pause,
Really tuning into this full cycle of the breath,
And of course our mind will get distracted,
And when it does just notice where it's gone to,
Put a small label on that such as planning or regret or fantasizing or dreaming,
Whatever it is,
Just put a little label there,
But then choosing gently but firmly to come back to the breath as best we can,
Following this whole cycle of the breath,
And then as we start to become a little bit more grounded and a little bit more present,
We begin this meditation on gratitude,
And why are we meditating on gratitude?
It is said that gratitude is the key to opening the door to joy,
And when we are more joyful we engage and relate with life differently,
Often experiencing better relationships,
Lower stress,
Better sleep,
More creativity,
And just an openness to the opportunities that life brings.
Eckhart Tolle says,
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.
So,
There's a shifting of our mentality from scarcity to abundance by starting to reflect on what it is we already have in life.
So,
Let's start by choosing something in our lives that we are grateful for.
It could be a physical thing,
Could be our health,
Or it could simply be the breath we are breathing right now.
Once we've chosen this aspect of life to bring to mind,
Really feel into it,
Become familiar with it.
What is this thing that we are grateful for,
And how does it impact our lives?
Really tuning into it,
And then feeling into the physical manifestation of the gratitude for this in your life.
Where do you feel it in the body?
How does it feel right now?
Perhaps there's a lightness in the heart,
Or a smile on our face,
Or a warmth.
As best we can,
Really feeling into the physical manifestation of this gratitude.
Becoming familiar with the physical feelings associated with it,
And then coming back to the breath.
Feeling the inhale,
And the exhale.
Resting our awareness on the whole cycle of the breath.
Bringing to mind some person from our present or our past that has or has had a positive influence on our lives.
Who is this person?
What was their positive influence on your life?
How did it affect you?
When you think of this person,
What are the feelings that come to you?
Where do you feel the gratitude for this person in your body?
Really,
Once again,
Tuning in to that manifestation of gratitude in your physical body.
What's it like to focus our attention on this feeling?
Perhaps almost breathing into it,
Accentuating it,
Luxuriating in it.
A real knowing of what gratitude feels like.
Then coming back to the breath.
Just feeling that inhale and exhale.
Noticing this full cycle of the breath.
Just feeling the calmness in the body.
Noticing what it's like just to rest awareness on the breath.
Then bringing to mind gratitude for this planet of ours and the nature around it.
Perhaps bringing some aspect of nature to mind that brings us joy.
As simple as a flower,
A favorite walk,
A favorite place by the sea or a mountain.
Bring it to mind as vividly as possible.
Notice the colors,
The scents,
All aspects of this picture.
Really sensing into it and feeling into it as best we can.
How does this make us feel?
Tuning into our gratitude for this aspect of nature.
Once again,
Feeling into this physical feeling of gratitude in the body.
Where are we sensing it?
Where are we feeling it?
Perhaps breathing into it once again.
Expanding it,
Luxuriating in it.
Just coming back to the breath once more.
Feeling the inhale,
Feeling the exhale,
Resting our awareness on the full cycle of the breath.
This time we'll just tune into gratitude itself.
Not necessarily gratitude for any particular person or thing,
But just feeling into that sense of gratitude.
Bringing it to mind and bringing its physical manifestation into the body.
So just tuning into gratitude for gratitude itself.
What's it like just to feel into this sensation?
Acknowledging it,
Becoming more aware and more familiar with this feeling of how gratitude is felt in the body.
Feeling this contentedness,
Perhaps this lightness.
Whatever it is,
Just noticing it and becoming more familiar with it.
Then gently coming back to the breath.
Feeling the inhale and feeling the exhale.
As we sit here,
Perhaps reflecting on how can we build a practice of gratitude into our day?
Can we take a few moments to appreciate good things that happen in our day?
Even simple things.
Playing with bringing a gratitude practice into our day and seeing the impact it has on our lives.
Does it add joy to your day?
Does it add to the quality of your relationships?
Does it add to the serenity of your life?
Perhaps even improving the quality of your sleep.
You're just wondering where and how we can bring a little bit more gratitude into our lives.
For now,
Just remembering it is not joy that makes us grateful.
It is gratitude that makes us joyful.
Brother David Stendel Rast said that comment.
It is not joy that makes us grateful.
It is gratitude that makes us joyful.
So bringing these practices of gratitude into our lives,
Open up this door for joy.
Coming back and resting our awareness on the breath for a few moments.
Rumi says wear gratitude like a cloak and it'll feed every corner of your life.
Rumi in a way is setting the challenge of us bringing gratitude very much into every aspect of our life and then seeing the impact that it has.
So just finishing this meditation in one moment as I ring the bells.
