So,
Let's begin by just bringing our attention to our body in the space that we're in.
Feeling contact with your feet or your knees on the ground,
Depending how you're seated.
And just check that your spine is straight,
That you're able to support yourself while seated.
And you can rest your hands in your lap with your right hand over your left with the thumbs touching.
That can help the flow of energy in the body.
And you can lower your eyes and keep them open very slightly and let some light in to keep the mind bright,
But you don't have to look at anything specific.
So let's take a moment just to place our attention on our breath to help settle the mind.
You can focus on the in and out sensation of air at your nostrils or on the rise and fall of your belly.
So,
Let's begin by cultivating our motivation for engaging in this meditation session that we're going to explore this mental state called appreciative joy,
Because it is one that is realistic and beneficial and can be developed immeasurably.
And it's a state of mind that can bring a lot of energy to our practice because it delights in what is virtuous.
Here we're cultivating a mind that doesn't just rejoice in our own benefit or profit or worldly gains,
But this is a mind that just takes delight in all the benefit that people bring to the world and how it impacts families,
Societies,
Communities,
Every being that we are connected with.
So,
Knowing that we have the capacity to cultivate this kind of immeasurable appreciative joy that takes delight in the virtue of not only ourselves,
But all beings,
We're going to explore how we can do that with different groups of people.
So,
Let's begin by bringing to mind someone who we consider a role model and spend some minutes just reflecting on their good qualities and all the beneficial actions that this person engages in that you admire so much.
And so,
Bringing to mind these good qualities and virtuous deeds,
Let your mind rejoice in all these good qualities and deeds of this role model that you hold dear in your life.
Next,
Bring to mind a family member or a friend,
And I'll also appreciate this person's good qualities and the virtuous things that they do.
Very naturally,
You might bring to mind the impact of their good qualities and the actions on those around them.
And again,
Let a sense of joy arise in your mind as you appreciate this person's benefit that they bring to the world.
Now,
Bring to mind a stranger,
Maybe someone who cleans the office that you work in or works in the post office.
You may not know their name,
But you notice that they too have certain good qualities.
Maybe it's the way they speak to customers or their attention to little details when you work with them.
So bring to mind too the good qualities you've observed in a stranger or the virtuous deeds you've seen them engage in.
And again,
Let a sense of joy arise when you appreciate what you can see in someone whose name or life story you may not know,
But too you can see the benefit that they bring to everyone around them.
And now that we have some sense of what appreciative joy feels like,
We're going to turn to object that might be a bit more challenging,
And that is yourself.
So often we get down on ourselves.
It's very easy to follow the self-critical judgmental mind,
But if we can recognize others' good qualities and their virtuous actions,
Surely we can see them in ourselves.
So take a moment to recognize your own good qualities.
Think about some of the virtuous things you've done recently,
And just let the mind rest in the sense of appreciation for your own goodness.
And finally,
Let's see if we can challenge ourselves further by appreciating the good qualities of those we find difficult or who might even have harmed us or harmed others we care about,
Instead of just focusing on their negative qualities or the harm they have done.
Might it be possible for you to see one or two of the good qualities of this person who you find so difficult?
Have they done actions that are beneficial?
Maybe not to you directly,
But to others.
So see if you can identify those good qualities and virtuous actions in someone you find difficult.
And again,
Appreciate and rejoice in them.
So from this short exercise,
Hopefully we've seen that it's possible to cultivate appreciative joy for every single being,
No matter what kind of label we put on them.
They have good qualities and the capacity to engage in beneficial deeds.
And if resistance comes up or we feel we just can't see what's good in someone,
That's actually very helpful information that shows us perhaps some of the wrong views or distorted perceptions that we're still hanging on to.
So let's conclude by rejoicing that we've taken this time to generate a very beneficial mental state that looks at the positive potential that every single being has and simply appreciates the benefit that they can bring into the world.
So knowing that we have this capacity to cultivate immeasurable appreciative joy,
Let's visualize all the merit,
All this positive energy we've generated through this meditation as light at our heart.
And we can send this light out into the entire universe,
Especially people or situations that might be in need of just some rejoicing and appreciation.
So now you can bring your mind back into this room that you're in.
And whenever you're ready,
You can gently open your eyes.
