The feeling of gratitude is a positive natural human emotion that we all feel from time to time.
The secret of gratitude is that it can be cultivated and strengthened as a source of well-being and inner happiness that can be available to us anytime.
So this meditation will give you some of the basics for developing gratitude in your life.
You can take these instructions and use them at the beginning of your meditation for a few minutes or every day when you wake up in the morning or before you go to bed at night.
Start by sitting comfortably,
Letting your spine be upright yet relaxed.
If you're practicing in a reclining position,
Just feel the steady support of the ground beneath you.
You might take a few slow deep breaths to allow yourself to arrive more fully.
There's nothing else you need to do right now other than relax and just be here.
Feel the body sitting,
Letting its weight and heaviness bring your awareness more and more fully into the present.
I often find it helpful at the beginning of a period of meditation to take a few moments to relax some key areas that often hold tension.
So first just feel your jaw,
See if you can let it relax.
You might find that it parts just slightly.
Next,
Feel your eyes,
Letting all of the tiny muscles and nerves around the eyes soften and relax.
Let your whole face be open and soft.
Feel your neck and the shoulders,
Seeing if there's any releasing of tension that naturally comes there.
Feel your body sitting,
Allow the breath to come into your awareness,
Sensing its natural rhythm and movement.
You can let the awareness of your body sitting,
Breathing,
To be in the background as we meditate.
It's a good way to help our mind stay grounded in the present as we explore gratitude.
So now call to mind something specific that's happened in the last day or two for which you're grateful.
It can be anything great or small,
Noticing something beautiful in nature,
Seeing a friend,
Or even sharing a genuine smile or greeting with someone.
Take a few moments to allow something real and concrete to come to mind that you're grateful for.
Allow that memory to become as clear as possible in your mind.
If there's an image,
Let yourself really see it in your mind's eye.
If it's more of a kinesthetic memory,
See if you can recall the felt sense of that moment,
How it felt to be there.
Use your memory and your imagination to allow it to become as real as possible in your mind.
Now tune into the heart.
Notice any feeling of gratitude that's present.
It might be strong or more subtle.
It may fade in and out.
Even if it's just a seed of gratitude,
Allow yourself to receive that feeling.
Hold the memory or image in your mind and feel any gratitude that arises.
You might be able to hold both at the same time,
Seeing the image,
Feeling the gratitude.
Or you can move back and forth between the two,
Seeing the image or memory,
And then receiving the sensations of gratitude.
Give more time to the gratitude,
Letting yourself really take it in.
You can stay with that first memory or,
If you like,
Think of another situation.
Again,
Make it something real and specific,
Great or small.
The more specific it is,
The easier it can be to connect with the genuine feeling of gratitude.
Allow the memory to become as sharp and clear as possible in your mind.
And then tune in to any feeling of gratitude that naturally arises.
The art of cultivating gratitude depends on our ability to fully receive the pleasure of this emotion.
It's a quiet kind of pleasure.
See if you can give your full attention to the subtle enjoyment of this feeling.
Notice where you feel it.
Is it in your heart?
Maybe it's more spread out in your chest.
It might even be in your face,
Your back,
Or your arms.
Could be all over.
Allow yourself to fully receive the nourishment of gratitude.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Letting yourself feel it,
Take it in.
Let's do one more for this last round.
You can go back in time even further if you like,
The last few months or even years.
Again,
Try to make it as specific as possible.
For example,
If it's a person in your life,
Think of a time that you actually saw them.
Recall one moment during that visit,
Something they said,
A handshake or a hug or the way they looked at you.
Let that memory become clear and alive,
And then allow the heart to naturally appreciate.
We don't have to do anything to feel gratitude.
We simply bring our attention to a specific moment,
Event,
Or situation,
And the heart naturally will find gratitude.
Letting the heart appreciate,
Letting the heart appreciate,
And letting yourself take it in.
Letting yourself dwell and savor the feeling of gratitude,
Fully receiving its healthy pleasure.
Notice where you sense it and how it feels there.
Letting the sensations really touch and nourish your heart.
Taking the time to practice with gratitude in this slow,
Deliberate way helps our minds learn how to access the positive emotion of gratitude and how to strengthen it.
Over time,
As you get more and more familiar with this process,
You'll be able to return to the feeling of gratitude at will whenever you want or need.
So do this practice whenever you like.
It can even be for just a minute or two,
And when you have the time,
Let yourself stretch out and really soak in the goodness of gratitude.
