Happiness Meditation

This meditation is designed to make you smile on the inside and out. It begins with a focus on breath and a body scan, both of these creating opportunities to feel light, happy and free. It continues with a reflection on areas of your life where you feel connected, grateful and supported. As you breathe into these experiences they will soak into your entire being. In so doing, growing your sense of inner happiness and well-being.

Transcript

A warm welcome to you.

I am so happy you are here.

Sometimes being an adult can leave us with a feeling of having too many responsibilities and expectations,

A sense of overwhelm and even a heavy heart.

Sometimes even the act of calming your mind through meditation can feel like work.

Finding the time for personal growth can also feel like yet another thing to add to your to-do list.

So in today's meditation we are going to focus on lightening up,

Taking out some of the heavy rocks from our backpack of life so that we can step lightly on our path.

Let's skip rather than walk.

Let's focus on the moments of happiness available to us on our journey each day rather than worrying about the destination.

Let's loosen our grip on the striving so often associated with adulthood.

This meditation is designed to make you smile on the inside and out.

It will help you cultivate feelings of happiness and well-being.

It will shine a gentle light on areas of your life that are going well,

Areas where you feel connected,

Grateful,

Supported and cared for.

We will breathe into these experiences allowing them to soak into our entire being,

In so doing growing our sense of inner happiness.

So let us begin by finding a comfortable position.

This could be seated or lying down.

Casting your eye around the space you are in,

Noticing details big and small.

Noticing colours,

Textures,

Shapes,

Contrasts,

Even shadows.

Noticing any elements in your environment that bring you happiness.

Perhaps your bed,

A special cushion or rug,

A photo on your wall that sparks happy memories.

Maybe the way the sun streams in makes you happy.

Is there a tree you notice through your window?

Maybe the very act of being here,

Having this time for yourself,

Makes you happy.

Offering this space and this moment a gentle smile of appreciation for the happiness it brings you.

I wonder if you can feel this sense of happiness anywhere in your body.

Gently closing down your eyes now if you like.

Letting the landscape of your awareness turn inwards to the movement,

Life and feeling that exists in your internal world.

Bringing your attention now to your breath.

Noticing the air as it enters your nose.

Noticing the air as it leaves your mouth.

Noticing the rise and fall of your chest.

Noticing the soft expanse of your belly as the air flows in and out.

Resting here for a moment in the rhythm of your breath.

What part is capturing your curiosity?

Can you lengthen your inhale slightly?

Imagining the air as filled with possibilities for happiness.

Possibilities to see things differently.

To respond differently.

To interact with the world in new ways that make you feel light,

Free and happy.

With each inhale can you breathe these possibilities into your chest,

Your belly,

Your entire being.

Noticing your chest expanding with each new breath.

Noticing it expanding at the front,

The back and the sides of your body.

This expansion in your body encouraging an expansion in your awareness.

An opportunity to interact in a different way with today and tomorrow.

An opportunity to be curious,

Creative and content.

Now let us enjoy a body scan with a focus on letting our whole body smile.

Beginning with your feet noticing sensations.

Noticing all ten toes perhaps giving them a wiggle.

Feeling grateful for our feet for taking us where we need to go each day.

Letting your feet smile.

Noticing your lower legs,

Sensations.

Noticing your knees,

The front and the backs of your knees.

Noticing your upper legs,

Any sensations where they come in contact with the surface that supports them.

Letting your legs relax into this opportunity for stillness.

Letting your legs smile.

Noticing your hips and pelvis,

Letting the bones soften into the shape of a smile.

Your tummy taking a nice breath in and out.

Feeling a softening,

A sense of relaxation across your tummy.

And with this calm comes a smile.

Noticing your chest and your lungs,

Feeling them expand at the front,

The sides and the back.

Feeling grateful for this expansion,

For the opportunity to breathe in new energy for beginnings.

Allowing your chest to smile.

Noticing your shoulders,

Allowing them to relax from the inside out.

These shoulders that hold your strength and your tension.

Feeling the essence of a smile across the width of your shoulders.

Noticing your arms,

Allowing them to rest heavy and relaxed by your side.

Can your arms rest in the comfort of a smile?

Your hands and your fingers,

They do so much for you each day.

Give your fingers a wiggle.

Let this movement resemble the etchings of a smile.

Moving up your neck to your head,

Can you relax your skull a little?

Letting go of the pressures of thought.

If thoughts come,

Can you offer them a smile?

Your mouth,

Teeth,

Gums and tongue,

Can you let the landscape of your mouth become soft?

Within this softness,

Can you smile?

Your lips,

Can you turn them slightly upwards?

Yep,

You got it,

Into a smile.

Letting your lips smile.

And what about your eyes that allow you to see colours,

Shapes,

Faces of those you love?

Can you feel gratitude for your eyes?

Can you transform your eyes into a smile?

And what about your eyebrows?

The space between your eyebrows and your forehead,

Can you imagine them soften and spread?

Let the essence of a smile permeate your entire being now.

Sinking into your organs,

Your blood,

Your life force.

Let's bask together in this felt sense of happiness,

This essence of a smile.

From this place of deep connection,

I ask you,

What makes you smile?

Breathing into the thoughts,

Emotions and images that are coming up for you now.

Allowing their sentiments to fill your body,

Mind and heart.

Who are the people in your life you feel deeply connected to?

Can you picture them in your mind's eye?

Can you offer them a smile?

Cast your mind back to a time in your life when you really laughed.

Picture this moment in your mind.

Who was with you?

What was making you laugh?

How did it feel to share this experience of laughter?

Can you allow the essence of this moment to return to you for a moment or two now?

Letting these memories of laughter fill your body with a sense of lightness and wellbeing.

Reflecting now on a time when you felt really supported by friends or family.

Perhaps you were having a hard time and you received the love and support of family and friends.

Perhaps you experienced ill health and people were there to care for you.

Maybe you can remember a time when friends and family stood up for you,

They were in your corner,

On your side.

Allowing this feeling of support to wash over your body,

Just like a wave washes over the sand.

And finally,

What are you grateful for in your life as it is right now?

Through breath can you let the essence of this gratitude soak into your being.

If these experiences of connection,

Laughter,

Support and gratitude had a colour,

What colour would it be?

Breathing in this colour,

Breathing out this colour.

Can you imagine your entire being surrounded by this colour that represents your happiness,

Almost as if you were lying in a cloud of wellbeing?

What colour would you be?

What colour would you be?

What colour would you be?

What colour would you be?

Now,

I am going to offer you some suggestions for ways you could experience more opportunities for happiness in the days ahead.

You may call these affirmations,

You may call them well wishes.

Think of these as seeds that you may plant today that may bear fruit or flower today,

Tomorrow or over the coming weeks.

Allowing yourself to breathe into each of these possibilities for greater happiness,

As if your breath is watering these seeds and helping them grow.

And so I begin.

Today,

May you be kind to yourself,

Not letting the voice of your inner critic take over.

May you be your own best friend.

Today,

May you forgive yourself if you make mistakes or things don't go to plan.

Today,

When you complete a task,

May you pause and feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction before you move on to your next task.

Today,

May you go with the flow a little more,

Being open to changing plans and situations.

Today,

May you seek out opportunities for greater connection with family and friends.

Today,

May you laugh,

Really laugh.

Today,

May you pause a few times and feel grateful for the life that is yours right now.

Today,

May you notice the beauty of your natural surrounds and may this act of noticing cultivate a feeling of awe and wonder within you.

Today,

May you feel a sense of expansion and possibility and may you move freely within this experience.

Today,

May you step lightly,

May you experience love,

May you laugh,

May you be open to the magic of life.

Taking a moment now to breathe into all the possibilities of greater happiness that you have in your life.

I wonder which one spoke to you most strongly.

Albert Einstein said,

There are only two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.

And so I ask you,

How would you like to live your life?

From this place of expanded awareness and hope,

Perhaps you may like to offer yourself a gentle commitment.

This may relate to how you would like to interact with the world around you,

With people or even with yourself.

How would you like to create moments for greater happiness in your life?

Let's seal this commitment with three deep breaths in and out in your own time.

Slowly finding some gentle movement through your fingers and toes.

Offering your body any other movement it desires.

Gently opening your eyes.

May you move through your day with greater awareness of what makes you happy and an ability to seek out these moments.

Reviews

Been awhile AND I’ve missed this voice in my ear

Thank you 💞🙏🏻

Beautiful. Thank you so much. Though it did make me cry.

Well spoken. Music is supportive. Great science- based use of body awareness’s influence on our ability to move in the direction of a sense of well-being. This is a subtle and invitational presentation that I will revisit.

Absolutely wonderful! Great to listen to after completing the 5th Step in the 12 Steps.

Peaceful and centering. Brings me back to all the joy I forget exists in my life. Thank you Fleur!

Thank you. I will seek moments that make me happy. I'm sure I will find plenty ❤️

I had time to enjoy this vintage “seaside” era meditation. Even with all that I have to be grateful for, the challenges of life tend to dampen happiness. Need to work on that! Thanks Fleur. 8/6

Hi❗️I’m letting my heart smile right now and it is so happy with you and your wonderful words ......
Thank you.

In kindness Hope 🤍

Beautiful thank you

That was so uplifting and positive! I am bookmarking this one

Felt blissful, felt powerful, felt humble, felt loved, felt happy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Wonderful! I love how smiley body scan rolls into affirmations. Thank you Fleur!

A pleasant practice! I am in a great mood now :-)

I love this! Thanks for reminding us that there are so many reasons to be happy.

Thank you! My inner and outer smile brings me joy and contentment. I will commit to seeking out the beauty in each day of life and allow the happiness that brings me to flourish💜🌸✨!

Thank you for the smile. Longest smile I have held in a long time and helps remember that there is a lot to be grateful for.

Just perfect!! This will be one I revisit often. Thank you!!

This meditation is wonderfully full circle and I love your comforting voice! I am looking forward to this guided practice again to start my day tomorrow!

The visualizing of the smiles in my body parts was wonderful. I need this same meditation for abundance 😃 I need to imagine my feet walking through loads of abundance.