From Shane Pinata,
I'm Colleen Thomas.
This is Daily Magic for Peace.
Today we will celebrate the healing power of gratitude.
Welcome to the circle.
So the only thing you need today is a bowl of stones.
If you wanna pause the episode here and go forage for a minute,
Feel free to do that.
So I'd like to welcome you to our time together today.
I would like to invite you to take a breath and as you breathe,
Feel into whatever it is that you're standing,
Sitting,
Or lying on right now.
And maybe one more breath,
Just really feeling into that thing that is supporting you right now.
See if you can give your weight to that thing just a little bit more.
Dropping in,
Resting,
Allowing your awareness to drop down into the earth,
Allowing yourself to feel held in this moment.
Held by the earth and held in this circle.
The circle with these invisible people around you who've been listening to this episode and who will listen to this episode in the future.
The people who join you today in circle.
So what I'd love to do since we're gonna talk about gratitude today is do something that we have done before,
Although sparingly because it's a little awkward,
Laughing.
Laughing is a way to stimulate the vagus nerve and wake up our nervous system,
Calm our nervous system,
Get our nervous system into a better space.
Now I don't know what space you are in right now and if laughing makes any sense for you.
Maybe silently chuckling is more your speed at the moment.
I'm gonna do a little laughing and I invite you to join me.
And laughing,
When there's not a lot of impulse for it,
Can feel a little awkward.
But you just kinda go with it.
Maybe think of something that was really funny that you heard about recently or just let it go,
Just let it go.
Just let yourself find a way.
I'm gonna do a little,
It's funnier the longer I do it.
Okay,
Oh my gosh,
It's hard to stop.
Okay,
Okay,
I invite you to bring your laughing to a close.
And as we finish laughing,
Maybe just place a hand on your heart if that feels comforting to you and just notice,
Maybe you feel your life force a little brighter now that we did a little laughing or maybe a hand also on your belly,
Just noticing your vitality right now and touching in with that life force in your body.
It might be your heart chakra,
It might be your third chakra or your second chakra,
Wherever your hands are,
Just noticing how amazing your body is and how amazing it is to be here in this moment.
And I invite you to take your stones,
Maybe place them in your hand if they'll all fit in your hand and maybe put both of your hands on them so that you're holding them in the palms of your hands.
And I invite you to join me in thanking these stones,
Thanking these stones for manifesting in your world today and making their way into your hands and working with us in this magic,
This magic we're doing together today of remembering gratitude,
Practicing being in gratitude.
Thank these stones as representatives of this beautiful,
Amazing earth that we live on,
Sending our blessing to the earth as we send our blessing to them.
So sometimes gratitude practices can be like shoulds.
I should be grateful that I'm not sick right now.
A gratitude practice can come from the head.
Oh,
I'm grateful that the sky is blue and it's a nice day because that's what I thought of saying,
Right?
There's so many levels to a gratitude practice.
And the level I'd like to work with you on today is to find what's in the heart,
Find what's in the heart that is just already a joy,
A gratitude.
And as you pick up each stone,
You can say that to yourself silently,
What is this thing I'm grateful for?
You can honor it by putting it in the bowl.
So just together,
We will place these stones in the bowl,
Silently saying our gratitudes that are coming from our heart.
And if you have a few stones left,
You might pause for a moment and see if there's any gratitudes you have that are bigger than yourself,
That are wider,
That are deeper.
And when you're finished,
I invite you to take a breath,
Let go,
And you might hold this bowl and you might feel into your heart again and just notice,
How does this feel?
How does doing a little gratitude work in this circle feel?
Knowing you're not alone and other people on the planet are doing this practice too,
Is this something that you might like to do every day?
Is this a bowl of stones you might like to keep on your desk or your dresser or near your bed?
Is there something that would feel even better to you than doing this kind of ritual for gratitude?
Is there some deeper way or different way that would feel really good to your body to honor your gratitude?
And I invite you to bring whatever it is into your life that will enhance your gratitude and help you connect with your beautiful,
Beautiful heart.
May it be so.
Thank you so much for being with us today.
Your presence,
Your energy,
And your heart make all the difference in healing our world.
Remember to breathe today.
Breathe and expand.
And I hope you join us again next time.
Please consider inviting a friend.
