This is a meditation on gratitude.
It's easy for us to get caught up in current events and news.
Our minds get really confused and overwhelmed.
Gratitude meditation is a way of bringing us back to a place of personal reflection.
Simply the practice of reflecting on the things in our lives that we are grateful for.
Gratitude arises when we are in an intimate relationship with life and strengthens our relationships with those around us.
Experiencing feelings of appreciation can cultivate a greater sense of well-being and contentment for our lives.
Take a moment to drop into this space,
Into your surroundings and then into this stillness.
Let your eyes rest softly down,
Your chin slightly tucked and your mouth slightly open.
Relax your body,
Softening any tension,
Putting any worries or anxieties from the day aside.
Can you let go of them and surrender to being fully present here?
Commit to this space,
To the stillness,
A time of self-reflection,
The coming home to self.
Relax your body a little more,
Softening all your muscles,
Taking in a deep breath through the nose,
Opening your chest and a slow mindful exhale out.
Another deep breath in,
Feeling all the way up,
Sitting up a little taller and a really slow exhale out.
How smooth can you make the breath?
Continue this at your own pace,
Slowly breathing in and really extending that exhale.
How smooth can you make the rhythm of the breath?
I want you to focus on that last 20% of the exhale.
Can you soften your whole body in that last 20%?
Inhaling with more openness,
Feeling all the way to the top and then letting it all go,
Really slowly and mindfully exhaling.
A couple more rounds on your own.
If your mind wanders off just bring it back to the rhythms of the breath,
This smooth motion traveling up and down the body,
Fully relaxing and softening with each exhale.
Now I'll bring the breath back to its natural state,
No effort or force,
Just the subtle flows of the breath coming in and out of the nostrils.
Can you rest your attention on the upper lip for a moment?
What subtle sensations can you feel here?
Maybe the coldness of the breath coming in or the warmth of the breath with each exhale.
Rest your awareness here on the upper lip for a moment.
We will now do a scan of the body to release any tension we may be holding unconsciously.
Keep your awareness on the face.
Can you soften your forehead,
Your cheeks,
Your jaw,
Your lips?
Can you soften your left eye,
Your right eye?
Now can you soften them together,
Fully relaxing them both,
Letting them rest softly down?
Can you relax your neck,
Your chest,
Your heart space?
Can you relax your tummy,
Softening all the muscles in your stomach?
Can you relax your left arm,
Your left hand,
Your fingers?
Can you soften your right arm,
Your right hand,
Your fingers?
Can you soften your hips?
Can you relax your thighs,
Your calves,
Your feet and your toes?
Can you relax your whole body,
Softening all the muscles and the skin,
All the cells?
Can you let go even more,
Relax even more?
Now that our body is calm,
We'll move on to our intention for this practice,
The intention of gratitude.
When we give thanks to what we have,
We start to strengthen our happiness and find full abundance in our lives at this present moment,
Living fully in every moment of the day,
Not expecting or desiring more.
We can find not only contentment in our everyday lives but appreciation for life,
To be living,
Breathing,
Moving,
Connecting,
Acknowledging ourselves as we are,
Completely whole.
How can you find appreciation in this moment?
The appreciation of life itself,
The ability to hear,
See,
Learn,
Breathe,
Move,
Feel.
Take a moment to reflect on your appreciation of life itself for being alive.
We'll now move to the appreciation of nature,
The warm sun on your skin,
The touch of earth on your feet,
The sounds of birds,
The lovingness of animals.
Take a moment to reflect on your appreciation for nature.
Now move your appreciation to your life,
Your clothes on your body,
Your bed,
The roof over your head.
Can you give thanks to your loved ones,
Your friends,
Your co-workers,
People around you always doing the best that they can?
Can you find gratitude towards them?
Appreciation for your education,
For your ability to learn,
Grow and relate to the world around you,
Always being the student.
Appreciation for your ability to connect with others,
To be heard,
To feel loved,
To love and to be seen.
Appreciation for your ability to feel,
To experience emotions whether they be pleasant or unpleasant.
All are welcome to experience diversity in your emotions.
Now I want you to think about all the things that you love about yourself.
What traits or things about yourself are you grateful for?
Take a moment to reflect on how you can be grateful towards yourself.
Now think about one person in your life who you are grateful for.
What do you love about them?
And if they were here now what would you say to them to acknowledge them,
To make them feel loved,
Heard,
Seen and appreciated?
What would you say to them?
And in what ways can you express this feeling of gratitude towards them?
Maybe it's through words,
Maybe it's through actions,
Maybe it's through an act of kindness,
Maybe it's a hug or a smile.
In what ways can you express your appreciation for them?
I want you to carry this form of appreciative expression with you when you leave here and make it happen.
Make this person feel loved,
Seen,
Heard and appreciated.
Now bring your attention back into the body for a moment.
Notice if you've tensed up at all.
Can you relax a little deeper?
Soften all your muscles and let go.
Keep your awareness on the body for a moment.
What can you appreciate about your body?
Take a moment to reflect on all the incredible things your body is able to do.
Give thanks to it.
Feel this deep sense of gratitude for your body.
Keep relaxing and softening.
The breath is calm and effortless.
Take the last couple of moments to appreciate the abundance of your life and rest in this feeling of gratitude for yourself,
Your life and all those around you.
Take a deep breath in through the nose,
Filling up with this sense of gratitude and a slow exhale out,
Releasing any tension.
Take another deep mindful breath in and a long exhale out.
Before you open your eyes just take a moment to notice how you're feeling.
Notice how this sense of gratitude and appreciation for life can bring you back to this grounding.
