Gratitude As A Soul Quality

Gratitude is actually a soul quality. I believe that life is the school for our Soul, and developing our Soul qualities is our curriculum. To live our best life, to grow our Soul, to become our best selves we can choose to develop the qualities of the soul. This meditation will offer a mantra to practice with.

Transcript

Hello,

I'm Anne Sussman,

Founder of Mindfulness Meeting Place and the author of the Bliss Buddy project,

How Sharing Gratitude Increases Joy.

Did you know that gratitude is actually a soul quality?

I believe that life is the school for our soul and developing our soul qualities is our curriculum.

For me,

I began my own journey with the soul quality of gratitude.

To live our best life,

To grow our soul,

To become our best selves,

We can choose to develop the qualities of the soul.

And there are many,

Gratitude just being one of them.

We are here on this journey of life to learn something.

Your soul is the real you,

The authentic self,

Your spirit or essence.

It's what makes you,

You.

It is your pure awareness.

Developing a gratitude practice can be the first step in the growth of your soul and this is essential to living a life of spiritual growth.

Your soul is like the force of gravity or electricity.

You can't see it,

But you know it's there.

It's kind of like love or the wind.

When you infuse the qualities of your soul into your life,

The effects are as real as a light bulb turning on.

Stress dampens the connection we feel to our soul.

For me,

I liken it to my car when it needs to be washed.

I know my car is red,

But it's lost its luster.

It has a thick coating of dirt and grime all over.

Each time you meditate,

It's like going through the car wash.

My car is a beautiful,

Shiny,

Rich,

Sparkly red.

When you feel anxious,

Nervous,

Unstable,

Ill,

Distracted,

Confused,

Critical or judgmental,

It may be difficult to feel a connection to your soul.

That stress we carry around is like a layer that we carry that dampens our connection to our true self and doesn't allow us to live a life that's shiny and sparkly with vitality and zest.

That's how we want to live.

Meditation really helps us to do that.

It clears away that layer.

Here are some of the other qualities you can begin to cultivate aside from gratitude as you move forward along your path of spiritual growth.

Generosity,

Compassion,

Kindness,

Patience,

Creativity,

Humility,

Trust,

Balance.

These are just some of the qualities of the soul that we all have,

No matter who we are.

We can develop these as we move along this path to getting to know ourselves and living our best life.

Exploring the soul quality of gratitude can begin your journey inward to a greater understanding of all you have to be grateful for.

Today we will be practicing a mantra meditation.

This is a meditation focused on sound that you will be repeating silently.

First you repeat it and then it may magically shift to hearing it.

You may notice as you're doing this a parallel stream of thought and mantra.

When you notice that,

Just gently shift so that the mantra is your primary focus.

Coming back again and again from thoughts to the mantra,

From thoughts to the mantra.

Often in meditation people work with ancient Sanskrit mantras that come from the Vedic tradition.

Today we will use the mantra Kosi Rivaya,

Kosi Rivaya,

Which is the Hebrew translation of the line from the 23rd Psalm that may be familiar to you.

It means my cup runneth over,

Kosi Rivaya.

So before we begin I will remind you of the essentials for any meditation practice.

Remember it's okay to have thoughts in meditation.

The biggest misconception is that you need to clear your mind.

You may actually notice that by using mantra today you have an easier time meditating.

We actually only have so much mental space and it's often taken up with mind chatter.

So when you introduce a new sound like the mantra there's actually less room for some of that mental chatter to exist.

Don't try too hard.

This is really a very gentle shifting of your attention from thought back to the mantra,

From thought back to the mantra.

Doesn't matter how many times you return,

That's the practice.

You're doing it just right.

Let go of expectations and be kind to yourself.

Stick with it over days,

Weeks,

Months and years.

The changes that meditation will bring to your life are subtle yet profound.

So let's begin.

Come to find a comfortable seat upright if that works for you and relax.

Minimize your distractions for our time together.

When you are ready gently close your eyes and begin by taking a few long,

Slow,

Deep breaths in and out of your nose.

Feeling the breath right now,

Knowing that you are safe,

Grounded and present,

Making this choice to meditate.

And as you listen to the sound of the time,

You can now let your breath return to its natural depth and rhythm.

You may notice your breath speeds up or slows down,

But your breath knows just how to take care of you,

No need to control it anymore.

Notice the temperature on your skin,

The warmth or coolness of the air.

And begin to notice the sounds around you.

Sounds in the room,

Distant sounds outside.

Sounds need not be a barrier to your meditation.

In this practice we want to welcome everything that arises internally,

Externally,

Resisting nothing,

Holding everything in kind attention.

And bringing some relaxation to the body beginning at the top of the head,

Softening the scalp.

Unfurling the brow.

Allowing the face to be soft and easy,

No expression necessary.

Checking in with the jaw,

Seeing if you might need to unclench just a little bit.

Inviting the tongue to rest comfortably in the mouth.

Inviting the shoulders to soften down the back away from the ears a little bit.

Checking in with the spine,

From the base of the spine to the top of the head.

Feeling tall,

Holding the body in a posture that feels like dignity to you.

Relaxed.

Alert.

Softening the front body from the top of the chest on down through the diaphragm.

Just letting the belly be soft and easy,

Like a great big Buddha belly.

Noticing the right arm from the shoulder on down through the elbow all the way to the fingertips is softening.

And the left arm,

Letting go of any tension you might be holding there from the shoulder on down through the elbow all the way to the fingertips.

Allowing the hands to rest comfortably in the lap.

Feeling your pelvis maybe sinking a little bit deeper into the cushions beneath you.

And then see if you can notice the cushions rising up in reciprocity to support you in your practice to hold you.

Noticing the right leg from the hip on down through the knee all the way to the toes is softening.

And then the left leg,

Letting go of any tension you might be holding there from the hip on down through the knee all the way to the toes.

Now scanning your body,

Seeing if there's any place you might have missed that's calling for some ease or comfort.

Knowing in this practice you can always shift if you need to and sitting still as you can.

Now turning your attention inward to the interior realm of you.

Coming to notice any tingling or pulsing,

Any sensations.

You might notice that most in your fingertips or your toes.

You might not notice anything at all,

That's okay too.

But the sensations are your aliveness.

We're alive in our bodies,

We almost never notice.

You now come to find your breath wherever that's most obvious for you.

That might be at the tip of the nose,

Noticing the cool air coming in through the nostrils,

Leaving a bit warmer above the upper lip.

For you you might notice the breath most in the rise and fall of the chest or the belly.

Just resting your attention on the sensations of breathing.

Noticing the expansion as you breathe in,

The space and the contraction as you breathe out and the space between the next breath.

And now we're going to introduce the mantra,

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

As I say it out loud,

Repeating it silently to yourself at your own pace,

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Allowing the mantra to be your focus.

Noticing when your attention wanders off of the mantra and gently,

Without judging it,

Just shifting back and finding the sound of the mantra again.

Kosi Rivaya.

My cup runneth over.

Kosi Rivaya.

We'll sit silently.

I'll mind the time.

You'll hear a chime at the end.

Stay seated with your eyes closed and I'll let you know your next steps.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Notice where your attention is.

If you plunder to thought,

Gently shift back,

Find the mantra.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Kosi Rivaya.

Becoming aware of the presence that calls your body home,

The thinker of the thoughts,

The reader of the words,

Your pure awareness,

This witness perspective,

This is your soul.

As you hear the words,

Kosi Rivaya,

You may notice that sense of the cup of gratefulness overflowing,

My cup runneth over Kosi Rivaya.

Notice where your attention is.

Gently shift back and find the mantra Kosi Rivaya,

Kosi Rivaya.

Gently shift back and find the mantra Kosi Rivaya,

Kosi Rivaya.

Gently shift back and find the mantra Kosi Rivaya,

Kosi Rivaya.

Gently shift back and find the mantra Kosi Rivaya,

Kosi Rivaya.

Gently shift back and find the mantra Kosi Rivaya,

Kosi Rivaya.

Gently shift back and find the mantra Kosi Rivaya,

Kosi Rivaya.

Gently shift back and find the mantra Kosi Rivaya,

Kosi Rivaya.

Gently shift back and find the mantra Kosi Rivaya,

Kosi Rivaya.

So as you listen to the sound of the time,

You can let that mantra fade away.

Any images you might be holding,

Letting them fade away,

Sitting in stillness just a little longer.

During your time you can begin to deepen your breath,

Wiggle your fingers and your toes,

Keeping your eyes closed.

You can start to stretch and move in whatever way feels good to you.

And lastly,

When you're ready,

Gazing at the floor,

Letting in just a little bit of light before coming back fully to this space.

There's no rush.

Thank you for joining me.

It's been my honor to share these meditations on gratitude with you.

I leave you with this very simple but profound quote from Meister Eckhart,

A German theologian,

Philosopher and mystic from the late 1200s.

He said,

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you,

It will be enough.

I thank you so much and I wish you peace.

Reviews

Amazing

Thank you. it was very beautiful from beginning to end.

Sat Nam.

Wow! That was exactly what I have been looking for. A beautiful introduction, a soul filling mantra and minimal talking throughout. I love the silence to sit with my true self.

Thank you again 🙏

This is an absolutely beautiful, soul-enriching meditation. Anne’s voice and message are like a soothing balm that surrounds me in a safe little sanctuary. Her explanation of soul qualities is an informative but incredibly peaceful set-up for the mantra meditation that follows. I felt completely restored and renewed both during the meditation practice and even now that it’s over. I will carry this slice of bliss with me throughout my day. Anne is quite right when she says the benefits of meditation are subtle yet profound. I encourage anyone seeking more joy to add one of Anne’s meditations to their daily routine and notice how so much more beauty, compassion, generosity and kind curiosity follows you wherever you go. Thank you, Anne, for this special magic! I am grateful for you!!

Anne great explanation prior to the practice to get you in the right place for the practice. Loved it looking forward to checking out your other practices.
Thank You!
JJZ

Loved hearing your voice, Sussy!!! Great way to start my day in overflowing gratitude 🙏

Such a wonderful and enriching mantra meditation. Your calming voice and kind directions made my sit so relaxing.

Love this! Thank you very much.

Anne’s voice is very calming. I love her pacing. I really enjoyed the mantra Kosi Ri Vaya

Fabulous-exceptional-perfect.

A centering practice. Thank you!

Amazing. Thank you 🙏

Simply beautiful

A beautiful mantra and a gentle approach to the power of gratitude. Thank you.

💖such tender beauty, thank you💖

Terrific! I appreciate the integration of scripture, mysticism, and the soft gentle directions!
Thanks so much! My cup runneth over!