Hi,
I'm Keith.
Welcome to today's meditation.
We're going to do a short meditation today.
It's suitable for all levels,
As always,
And it's focused on gratitude.
A really simple concept,
But a very powerful one.
It's got the power to shift your mood,
The way you show up in the world,
And there's just numerous benefits to putting your focus on what you're grateful for.
Come into a comfortable seat.
You can be on your knees if that works.
You could sit cross-legged,
Even in a chair.
Sometimes I like to meditate on the couch.
Just make sure you're comfortable and allow your eyes to close.
Your palms could rest on your thighs.
Today I'm going to take the mudra where the thumbs just touch the other fingers interlaced and allow your tailbone to lengthen down.
Feel a gentle lift in your heart.
Lift through the top of your head.
Big breath into your heart,
Through your nose.
Breathe in more at the top.
Open mouth,
Exhale,
Sigh it out.
Relax your shoulders.
Relax your hips,
Your face.
This is my favorite way to start meditation.
Let's do it twice more.
Exhale,
Relax.
Full exhale,
Go even emptier at the bottom.
Exhale it out.
Now seal your lips.
Start to focus on your breath coming in and out of the center of your chest.
No trying hard in this meditation.
So for now,
Soft inhales and exhales.
When we focus on what we're grateful for,
Life gives us more to be grateful for.
It's very easy to get into the trap of focusing on what we want more of and what we don't have,
Where we're dissatisfied.
It's okay to desire more,
But not at the expense of feeling grateful for what you have today,
Even if things aren't perfect.
So I'm going to open it up here before we get into more specifics.
Right here,
Right now,
Mentally list off in your head what you're grateful for.
Don't overthink this.
Notice what comes.
Maybe take a breath or two and really appreciate whatever or whoever it is that you're feeling grateful for before moving on to the next thing.
Again,
Even if your circumstances don't feel perfect today,
Make the shift into what is worth feeling grateful for.
This could be people,
Things,
Your circumstances.
A couple of minutes here.
Notice how it feels to focus on each thing.
Be specific moments.
Enjoy this.
Let this feel good.
Don't worry about doing this correctly.
Maybe it's things you've been struggling with you can look at from a different angle.
Is there gratitude there,
Even in the things that might feel like they're causing stress?
It's a couple of moments here.
You can feel grateful for your challenges.
See them as learning experiences,
Growing opportunities,
And shift out of victim mode a little bit easier.
Take some of their weight away.
We'll go through more specifics now.
So I want you to think of the last 24 hours.
Just revisit any moments that felt good that you can feel grateful for.
They could be big,
They could be small,
Like a nice meal or snack or a cup of tea or coffee.
If you can't think in the last day,
You can expand it to the last week or so.
Just take a moment.
Go through these little moments again that might just get lost in passing or we can overlook,
But take a moment to appreciate them.
The simple pleasures of being alive.
Take three more breaths here.
Now I invite you to take a few moments and feel grateful for your health and your body.
Even if you're having issues with your health or if you spend time criticizing your body,
Choose not to let your energy go there for this exercise.
Instead,
Focus on where you are grateful for your body today.
All of our bodies stop working at a certain point,
So don't criticize or waste time on the imperfections.
You're healthy enough to sit in meditation today.
Give your body some gratitude,
Some appreciation here.
You can even tell your body you love it.
You notice any resistance to that,
You let it go.
Almost shift into your abundance or finances.
It doesn't have to be specifically money.
Your material world it's easy to get caught up in lack and what we don't have,
Where we feel tight,
But even if you have two dollars in your bank account and you feel grateful for them or whatever you have,
Take some time here to really appreciate it.
And when we grateful,
Life gives us more.
When we feel lack,
Life gives us more lack.
Full gratitude for what you've got today.
Three more breaths here and we're gonna shift into love.
Most commonly it's our connections,
The other people in our life.
Could be a pet,
Could just be a connection with nature.
And even if you've been feeling lonely or off,
Is there someone or something that is a source of love that you can feel grateful for?
You can spend moments notice who your mind goes to,
Spend some time just appreciating their energy in your life.
Let this feel good,
Let it come from the heart.
A couple more breaths here.
Now a few minutes,
Again just feel grateful for anything.
You can list this off in your head.
It can even be things that you're calling in and you feel grateful for things that haven't even happened yet.
With faith that they'll come.
Maybe your mind just shifts from thing to thing.
No right or wrong,
Just being in this gratitude energy is powerful on its own.
A couple more breaths.
Connect again with your heart.
Send breath there.
Send this energy of gratitude there.
You can take your hands to the space in front of your heart.
Powerful shift.
Come back to this.
You could journal,
Make a list of ten things you're grateful for every day.
Even list these things off before bed or in the morning.
Appreciate what you've got.
Thank you for sharing the practice.
Grateful to be able to share it with you.
Have a wonderful day.
