Hello and thank you for joining me.
I like to start out meditating by finding a comfortable position.
It can be sitting in a comfy chair,
On a couch,
Lying down in your bed,
Wherever you're comfortable.
Settle in to a nice comfy spot where you can just take a few moments to yourself.
And once you've found your comfortable position,
Remember there's no wrong way to do this.
The fact that you're here trying to calm yourself,
That's all that matters.
If you find your position isn't comfortable anymore,
You can either pause this track and move or just move and continue.
So now that we're all settled in and comfy,
Let's take a few deep breaths.
So on our in-breath,
We're going to breathe in positive,
Happy thoughts.
And then on our out-breath,
We're going to release all the negative thoughts from our day.
So when I say in,
Take a deep breath in,
Thinking those positive thoughts.
And then when I say out,
Take a deep exhale,
Let out all those negative thoughts.
So let's start in and out.
Again a nice deep breath in and out.
And on this last one,
Let's really think all the positive thoughts,
Positive energy,
And breathe it all in through your nose.
And then you're going to let out all the negativity holding you back,
Clouding your mind on the exhale through your mouth.
So together,
A deep breath in and out.
Thank you.
Now today I'd like to talk about gratitude.
We have so much to be grateful in this world,
And so often we find ourselves clouding our minds with negative thoughts.
But I found through meditation and practicing gratitude that my outlook on life has greatly improved.
I suffer from depression and sometimes suicidal thoughts.
And once I started keeping a gratitude journal,
My mental health greatly improved.
So I recommend getting a little book,
A notebook,
Or it can be your phone,
Anywhere that you can keep a log.
And every day try and jot down at least three things that you can be grateful for.
I try to make mine specific to something that happened in that day,
But it can just be anything.
And if you have more than three,
You're welcome to write more than three.
But just keep track of everything you have to be grateful for.
And then when you're feeling down,
You can look back.
Just the other day I was really,
Really feeling down.
I was having depressive thoughts,
Even suicidal thoughts.
So I went to my room,
I took a few deep breaths,
And I looked over my gratitude book.
I went back to the beginning of the book.
I've started this particular journal about five months ago,
And I saw all the wonderful things I could be grateful for.
And once I looked over my gratitudes,
I felt better,
And I was able to fight that depression.
And think of some gratitudes right there.
So a few things that we can be grateful for.
We are here.
We are living at this time in history where we can communicate instantly with each other.
We are here,
And we are taking care of our well-being,
Taking a few short minutes just for ourselves.
We can breathe in that wonderful oxygen and exhale carbon.
And while we do that,
We carry on through our day.
There's so many things you can be grateful for.
I am grateful to you.
Wherever in the world you're listening,
I'm so grateful that you've decided to let me be your guide in this gratitude practice.
I'm grateful for the sun in the sky.
Even on cloudy days,
You might not see it,
But it's still there.
I'm grateful for my family who love and support me,
And who I found and got to choose.
I'm grateful for the beautiful trees and flowers and everything nature has to offer.
And I'm grateful that I live here in this time.
There's so many negative things in the world that we could focus our time and energy on,
But when we choose to focus on gratitude,
Our outlook changes.
Of course,
There are going to be bad things that happen,
But I've come to try and find a positive in everything that happens to me.
For example,
I have knee issues,
And it hurts sometimes to walk,
But I am grateful to be alive.
And that pain I feel reminds me that I'm alive,
And I'm still going strong.
So if you just practice gratitude and try to think you can find a positive in any situation.
Once again,
I'm grateful that I have been able to practice gratitude and mindfulness and meditation.
And I'm so grateful to you for joining me on this journey.
Thank you for letting me be your guide today.
And please leave a comment with what you thought about this meditation.
Namaste.
