Hello and welcome to today's meditation.
Whether you are a complete beginner or a Zen master,
You are very welcome here.
No experience is necessary,
Only a willingness to be here and an intention to go inwards.
So bring yourself into a comfortable position now and close your eyes,
Inviting in a moment of stillness as you do so.
Allow your mind to quiet down and begin to bring your awareness to your breath.
Bringing your awareness to your breath is a very simple way to become present,
Connected,
Here and now.
So just allow yourself for a few moments now to simply notice your breath.
Feel the gentle sensation as you breathe in and out.
Feel your breath moving through your body,
Breathing in air,
Breathing in life,
Breathing in energy,
Breathing in you.
And now begin to consciously deepen your inhalation and lengthen your exhalation.
Breathing in deeply and breathing out slowly at whatever pace feels comfortable for you.
Just enjoying this moment,
Enjoying this time,
This place.
And knowing that you are in complete control of this experience,
This experience of meditation and indeed this experience of life.
And even though at times it may feel as though life happens to you,
Know that you have the power to change your perception and to see that life can and does happen for you.
With each new day,
Each new moment in fact,
You have a choice of what you see,
What you hear,
What you feel and what you do.
Even when times are tough,
You can choose to be grateful,
To feel gratitude and to show gratitude.
Benefits of gratitude meditation include increased wellbeing,
Compassion and of course gratitude.
If you aren't sure where to start,
You can begin with the basics.
Food,
Water,
Shelter and love.
If you have these things,
You already have so much to be grateful for.
Note also that it's not simply about being grateful for only the positive things in your life,
But rather being grateful for everything in your life.
You can choose to be grateful for everything,
Whether you like it or not.
Because even things or people or situations that are challenging help us to learn lessons and to grow.
Also when you practice gratitude meditation as we are today,
Include those things or people or situations that you feel neutral about or perhaps even dislike and see if you can find gratitude for them too.
One of the main points of meditation is non-attachment.
Meditation is not to run from suffering nor toward ecstasy,
But rather to remain accepting of the present moment,
Whatever that may be.
It's easy to see what we don't have,
What we're missing,
Where we don't want to be.
It's easy to feel lack or scarcity or fear.
But when you decide to consciously switch your focus to what you already have,
To where you already are,
Your cup fills up.
So wherever you are,
Whatever you're doing,
Begin now.
And should you falter or fall,
Simply start again.
Remembering once more that each new moment is a new opportunity to be grateful,
To practice gratitude.
So now bring to mind at least three things that you are grateful for.
People or experiences or circumstances.
Maybe you can visualize them in your mind's eye.
Maybe you can even hear them,
Whether in words or sounds.
But what I would really like you to focus on now is the feelings,
The sensations in your body,
The emotions inside you.
What does this sense of gratitude feel like to you?
And notice now whether this emerges in a particular part of your body.
And if so,
Tune in your awareness.
Deepen your awareness here even more.
Or perhaps for you,
It's stronger as a visual image.
If so,
That's fine.
But just enhance that image.
Bring it into focus and save it as a snapshot in your mind.
And just spend a few moments here in this space of gratitude.
This feeling of gratitude.
This image of gratitude.
Here,
In this place of peace and calm,
This place of well-being.
All is well right now.
All is calm.
All is peaceful.
With grateful images in your mind and grateful feelings in your body.
Continue to focus on what you are grateful for.
And know that when we change our internal world,
Our outer circumstances change too.
So be the change that you want to see in the world.
And watch this world unfold before your very eyes.
And slowly start to bring your awareness back to your breath.
Breathing in deeply and calmly.
And breathing out slowly and effortlessly.
And just before you come all the way back,
Reminding yourself today of at least three things that you are grateful for.
So you can carry these with you throughout your day.
And then begin to bring your awareness back to your body.
Back to the room in which you are in.
And whenever you are ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
Coming all the way back now.
Welcome back.
