Hello,
And welcome to this gratitude meditation practice.
Please take a few moments to settle into a comfortable position where your body is fully supported and at ease.
You might make small little fidgets and adjustments until you find a sense of equilibrium in your body,
A balance of being relaxed yet open,
Restful yet alert and aware.
Once you find a comfortable stillness,
Gently close your eyes and let your eyelids become heavy.
Take a deep breath in,
And a long breath out.
Take another deep breath in,
And slowly let it go.
Take one more deep breath in,
And slowly release.
Let go of any clenching in your jaw.
Relax your tongue.
Allow the tension in your face to release.
Feel all of the little tiny muscles and tissues in your face start to soften as you spread your awareness across your forehead to your temples,
Your eyes,
Eyebrows,
Ears,
Cheeks,
Bridge of the nose,
Inside of the mouth,
Lower jaw.
Notice the soothing effects on your body as you move your conscious awareness down into your neck,
Collarbones,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
And fingers.
Let your awareness flow down your spine,
Into your hips,
Legs,
Feet,
Toes.
Welcome a sense of calm to wash over your whole body,
From head to toe,
As you relax into the safety and support of the Earth beneath you.
Imagine that every cell in your body is grounding down into Mother Earth's steady foundation,
Allowing you to surrender into a deep inner stillness.
Might you welcome yourself to arrive in this moment just as you are,
As you let go of distractions and come into a vivid presence.
Notice how you feel.
Notice how you feel mentally,
Emotionally,
Physically.
Just notice,
Without judgment,
Without trying to change anything.
And now,
Could you meet yourself with love,
With compassion,
And gratitude?
Could you extend your own loving-kindness to yourself,
As if you were shining your own light onto yourself?
Feel your awareness drawing into your heart now.
Notice the natural sense of connection that occurs as you rest your awareness in your beautiful heart space,
Almost as if you were smiling at your heart,
And your heart was smiling back at you.
From this place of inner connection,
Can you think of something or someone that you're grateful for?
Something or someone that you're grateful for?
As this thought emerges,
Can you feel a sense of gratitude with your whole heart?
Can you allow this felt sense of gratitude to expand from your heart into your entire being?
Imagine that as you breathe in,
You could fill up every cell in your body with gratitude,
And as you breathe out,
This sense of gratitude is strengthened and amplified.
You might bring to your awareness more of who and what you're grateful for now.
Let your thoughts become a flowing stream of gratitude,
Shining your awareness on all of the blessings in your life,
Past,
Present,
Future.
Feeling thankful with every cell in your being,
Let yourself bask in the warmth and joy that gratitude brings,
As you remember just how much there is to be thankful for,
Perhaps appreciating all of the little things that you don't usually think about,
Giving thanks for the abundance that's already here.
You might picture the energy of gratitude as a wellspring of golden light,
Overflowing from the center of your heart,
And spreading through your entire body,
Rippling out into your energetic field,
And illuminating every fiber and particle of your being.
With each breath,
Your cells dance in rhythm with a vibration of gratitude,
Each one of your trillions of cells pulsing and radiating with a profound thankfulness for life.
Imagine you could fully merge with the energy of gratitude now,
All of your thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations,
Becoming one with the vibration of gratitude,
Breathing in the sweetness of gratitude,
Breathing out the sweetness of gratitude.
With each breath,
You're embodying gratitude,
Becoming gratitude,
And attracting more and more of what you're grateful for into your life.
You might place one or both hands over your heart now,
Tuning in to the infinite source of gratitude within you,
And grounding this sense of deep appreciation down through your body,
To your feet,
And into Mother Earth.
You might take a moment to offer your gratitude to Mother Earth,
And inwardly whisper to her,
Thank you,
Thank you,
Thank you.
You might also offer gratitude to Father Sky,
And the vast universe above,
By inwardly whispering,
Thank you,
Thank you,
Thank you.
And as you feel your beautiful heart beating in your chest,
You might offer gratitude to yourself,
To the pure light within you,
By inwardly whispering,
Thank you,
Thank you,
Thank you.
When you're ready,
Invite your full awareness into your body,
Let your hand or hands rest down by your sides,
Or in your lap,
And take a few deep,
Slow breaths.
Start to sense the space around you,
Sense the support underneath you,
Slowly start to awaken your body by brushing your thumbs across the tips of your fingers,
Or by taking a gentle stretch,
And when you're ready to come back,
Slowly blink your eyes open.
As you move into the rest of your day,
Or evening,
I invite you to carry this feeling of gratitude with you.
You might continue to practice tuning into your heart space,
To give thanks for all of the gifts and blessings in your life,
Big and small.
Please feel free to revisit this meditation as often as you like,
In the words of Alan Cohen,
Gratitude,
Like faith,
Is a muscle,
The more you use it,
The stronger it grows.
Thank you for practicing with me today,
From my heart to yours.
Namaste.
