Find a tall and comfortable seat in a way that allows you to breathe easily in and out of the nose with a sense of calm alertness.
In a way that allows you to receive the breath easily through the lungs and the whole interior of the body.
Notice how the thoughts move like the gentle waves of each breath.
They ebb and flow,
They come and go within the present moment.
It's like the movement of the sounds around you and the sensations of the body and the emotions or feelings.
Everything is fluid.
And each time that a thought arrives,
Observe it without judgment.
Whether the thought feels positive or negative or neutral,
Do your best to simply notice it,
Watch it,
See it internally.
Notice where in the body you feel any emotions that are connected to these thoughts.
And just how we allow the thoughts themselves to move,
To enter and exit.
Allow the emotions or sensations attached to the thought to leave easily or simply just to be fluid.
With each breath,
Allow the body to become more receptive,
Soft,
Sense of calmness within your tall seat.
Feel the fluctuation of each inhale before you exhale and allow thoughts,
Sensations to release,
To be free.
Leave the breath now like it might touch something softly within the lungs and release the breath as if all of the tension moves through you and exits without force.
Leave the inhale as though you could receive gratitude along with that breath,
Touching somewhere within the heart.
And release the exhale as though it is an offer of gratitude to something or someone for whom you feel grateful for today in this moment.
And if that's challenging,
You can simply go back to receiving the breath as if it might touch softly within the lungs and releasing tension with the exhalation.
Otherwise you can continue to inhale gratitude into the heart and exhale gratitude for someone or something who is important for you in this moment.
You can be a person,
A place,
A community,
A country or even the world.
Whatever feels comfortable and feasible for you in this moment.
Inhaling and exhaling gratitude.
Releasing freely,
Receiving it freely,
That love,
That softness.
Releasing it freely,
Offering it to others,
Something else.
Inhale and exhale this love.
Let it move through the interior of the body,
Within you,
Without you.
Notice if and where you feel this gratitude in your body.
It's not your heart.
It might be another area,
Another space.
Just notice the experience of how and where you feel.
It's doing your best to receive and offer freely,
Just as we receive the breath.
As if it could touch softly within you and perhaps as you breathe out it might touch somewhere within the heart of another or elsewhere in the world or in this place.
Whether or not it feels close to you in proximity,
Might be the thought of somebody or place or thing,
Community.
Just letting this essence of love and gratitude circulate.
Breathing into the body,
The mind,
And each present moment exactly as it is and exactly as you are.
As nothing exists forever,
Allow that everything is just fluid with gratitude,
Flooded with gratitude without anticipating the future or attaching to the past.
Letting this essence of love and gratitude circulate through this moment,
This body,
And this breath.
When we teach and train ourselves to guide our attention to the breath,
To the thoughts,
And to the body,
We can learn to rest in the moment,
In the body,
And accept everything with softness,
With ease,
As best we can,
Or at least know that it's available to us to do so.
When we learn to surf the waves of life,
We allow ourselves to move in a way that's fluid,
A bit more easeful,
Instead of feeling stuck or blocked.
Because we can't,
In fact,
Stop these waves of thoughts,
Emotions,
Sounds,
Sensations,
But we can learn to surf them,
To ride them,
To be fluid with them.
And the mind is clear and free.
We can begin to perceive the things,
The people of the world exactly as they are.
Education is clear,
Crisper,
Even a little softer.
Our bodies and our hearts become more free,
More receptive,
And more grateful,
Thankful for what is,
Instead of attaching to what was or what might be.
There's a quote by Albert Einstein that says that there are two ways to live your life.
One is as if nothing is a miracle,
And the other is as if everything is a miracle.
If it feels comfortable for you to complete this practice,
You can place your hands on your heart or somewhere on your body that feels appropriate for you.
Breathing in gratitude,
Breathing love,
Breathing a deep sense of thankfulness for this moment,
This body,
And this breath.
Namaste.
