This meditation is one you can do to build up your happiness muscles.
Muscles that just like the ones in your body need to be strengthened and conditioned for a brighter mental landscape.
So getting yourself into a comfy position,
Inviting an ease and listening of the body and of the mind ahead of our meditation.
And if you found yourself fighting sleep in meditation recently,
That's actually okay.
You can accept the sleepy state just as it is and if it means nodding off then so be it.
But if you prefer you can also try to encourage a more alert kind of relaxation by freeing your back to sit unsupported at various times throughout the meditation as well as tilting your chin slightly upwards to shake off any dullness.
But together we'll start with the intention of a wakeful kind of relaxation and we'll do this by first connecting with the breath.
Connecting in with the breath where you can feel it best and using the cooling in breath and the warming out breath to get things started.
Breathing in energy and alertness,
Breathing out relaxation into the body,
Breathing in attention and vibrancy,
And breathing out a deep restfulness into the body,
Breathing in wakefulness and clarity,
And breathing out calm and stillness through the body.
We're now ready to begin.
And what I'd like you to do now is cast your mind back on your day.
See if you can recall any moments of pleasure or joy,
Conversation or a song you heard on the radio,
Any moments outside in the sunshine or the first sip of coffee for the day.
Just sitting here and allowing any little moments of happiness from your day to present themselves to you in memory.
And if not today then maybe yesterday or sometime in the past week.
And something or many things that brought a smile to your face either inwardly or outwardly.
And having recalled these little glimpses of joy or contentment from the recent past,
Now I'd like you to bring your awareness into the present moment,
To the here and now,
To all the things you can hear inside and outside,
And all the things you can feel,
Either emotions or other physical sensations felt in the body.
Just noticing whatever is arising moment to moment.
Is there anything in there you can appreciate?
Anything you can feel happy about?
There may be pain in the body,
There may be fatigue,
There may be feelings of sadness or anger or anxiety.
You can accept all of these things just as they are,
But you can also ask yourself in every moment that arises,
Can I feel grateful for this?
Like this breath,
Or this time you've carved out for yourself,
This body,
These sounds that are all around you,
Memories that return from the past,
Or thoughts that arise about the future,
Any people that are currently in your midst,
Either known or unknown.
What about any of your experiences,
Both here in meditation and out in the world,
Can you appreciate and find the joy in and see beauty within?
I'll leave you here to continue on in silent meditation.
You can keep going with this cultivation of a positive thankful state of mind or move on to whatever style of meditation presents itself to you in the first few quiet moments.
Enjoy.
