Gratitude and Joy Gratitude and joy can arise as warm-hearted feelings that you have when you feel thankful or appreciative,
Or when you feel kind,
Compassionate,
Loving and peaceful,
Or content within yourself or towards another.
Gratitude and joy can also arise as warm-hearted feelings of pleasure or thankfulness that you experience for being alive,
For the rainbow you see,
For the food on your table,
The sun shining on your face,
Or for no reason at all.
Feeling gratitude and joy and their accompanying feelings such as peace,
Love and compassion for no reason at all is what happens the more you practice welcoming and experiencing gratitude and joy.
Gratitude and joy,
Like feelings of love,
Kindness,
Compassion and peace and equanimity,
Manifest the more you take time to feel them.
The more you nourish and experience gratitude and joy,
The easier it becomes to access,
Feel and express gratitude and joy.
So take time then to experience gratitude and joy moments each and every day.
Experiencing these moments is a powerful practice.
For instance,
Take time each morning or evening to note what you're grateful or joyful for before going into your day or falling asleep.
Then take time throughout each day to feel gratitude and joy for some reason and for no reason at all.
Some other considerations to keep in mind include writing a gratitude or joy letter to yourself,
Or to another person that you send or just keep to yourself.
Or spend time communicating directly to your reflection in a mirror or in person or by phone with others.
Nourish your willingness and ability to give yourself the gift of expressing gratitude and joy to yourself,
To others,
Directly and regularly.
When you do,
Be aware of where and how you feel in your body and mind as you write your letter or communicate gratitude and joy in person or to yourself in the mirror.
As a result,
You'll discover that you feel happier and more at ease as you go about your daily life,
Where you'll find that instead of having to remember,
Gratitude and joy will be remembering you when you least expect it,
Or may be in most need of feeling gratitude and joy wherever you are,
Whomever you're with,
Whatever your circumstances.
The following meditations then are designed to support you in nourishing gratitude and joy amidst your daily life and activities.
Keep in mind that it's not necessary that you hear every word as you listen,
As your unconscious mind is taking in the good of what you're hearing.
This brings to mind comments made by many over the years,
Which are reflected in the words of one person who stated that she'd hardly heard a word I'd said during the meditation,
But that as a result,
She was finding joy and gratitude spontaneously arising in ways that were helping her enjoy being with herself and the people around her in unexpected ways.
So welcome to the wonderful world of being grateful and joyful for no reason at all.
May you,
As she and I have found,
Find joy and gratitude in unexpected ways amidst every circumstance,
Whether you're awake during the day or in dreamtime at night while you're sleeping deeply and peacefully.
