Happiness all around.
A meditation to build happiness and appreciation by Susie McWilliam.
Happiness.
A word of many meanings and will differ from individual to individual.
Happiness is a feeling.
A feeling that life is good.
A sense of well-being or contentment.
What does happiness look like for you?
Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down.
Allow your eyes to gently close and connect in with your breath.
Your life force energy.
As you breathe in and out,
Feel the corners of your mouth gently rise.
Feel your chest expand and smile.
Allow the warmth of your breath and your smile to wash over you.
To fill you with a sense of contentment and joy.
Feel it travel from your face down your neck.
Wash over your chest,
Your ribs,
Your belly.
Smiling and breathing.
Allowing it to travel through your hips and pelvis.
Your legs,
Your feet,
Your toes.
All being washed with a smile and breath.
Being with your breath.
Many seek that state of peace or enlightenment through their meditation practice.
But what if each time you meditate you take one step closer to joy,
Bliss and happiness?
Enjoy the journey and the process.
We may never reach enlightenment,
Yet we can live a life of joy,
Happiness and contentment should we wish.
As a beautiful creation of mankind,
You are blessed with the ability to experience so many emotions.
Sadness.
Joy.
Anger.
Happiness.
Jealousy.
Appreciation.
And these can shift in a moment with our awareness.
So again,
Bringing awareness to that smile.
I want you to breathe and smile and notice how different you feel as you breathe with this expression.
I want you to visualize a moment where you felt truly happy,
Joyful or content.
Take a moment to connect with the sensations in your body.
Where were you?
Who were you with?
What were you doing?
Truly reflecting back,
Engaging and relive that moment again.
Feeling into your body.
Repeating in your mind,
I deserve happiness and joy.
Happiness is available to me.
My happiness grows daily.
Then bringing to mind another moment of happiness.
The moment experienced by another.
For us to experience another's joy and happiness and delight in it is known in Sanskrit and Buddhism as Mudita.
Which means appreciative joy.
This practice allows us to access a well of joy and happiness.
For when we can not only enjoy our own happiness,
But that of another,
Our world of happiness expands.
So taking a moment to see a friend,
Loved one,
Stranger or even animal delighting in happiness.
How do they look?
Can you feel into their happiness too?
This form of happiness fills our hearts.
Feel your heart expand and your happiness increase as you visualize this.
Again smiling.
Connecting,
Recognizing that happiness is all around.
What we seek is seeking us.
So be aware,
Allow happiness to build in your own life and that of others.
Repeating in your mind,
Happiness is my natural state.
I delight in the happiness of others.
As I connect to feelings of happiness,
These develop and grow.
Bringing awareness back to your breath,
To your smile.
Breathing in and out,
Allowing the corners of your mouth to rise,
Your chest expand and smile.
Allow the warmth of your breath and smile to wash over you.
To fill you with a sense of contentment and joy.
Feel it travel from your face down your neck.
Your chest,
Your ribs,
Your belly.
Smiling,
Breathing down into your pelvis,
Your hips,
Your legs.
Your feet and all the way to your toes.
All being washed with a smile and breath.
As you move through your day,
Week,
Month,
I urge you to choose happiness.
To view happiness around you.
To notice the cat that gently purrs.
The baby that giggles.
The children laughing and playing in the playground.
The friend that delights in the compliments you gave them.
The joy and happiness you feel as you witness the sunrise.
For when we pay attention,
Happiness is all around.
Wishing you much happiness from my heart to yours.
Slowly guiding yourself back.
Breathing deeply,
Wriggling those happy fingers and toes.
Moving your body.
Awakening with every breath you take.
And when you feel ready,
Gently blinking your eyes open.
Wishing you much happiness from my heart to yours.
Namaste.
