I remember when I first became a monk we had a Christmas celebration.
This was actually before I became a monastic,
But I was already in the monastery and deciding that I was going to try to become a monk.
And previously we had all of these traditions in my home about waiting to open presents and we would open a couple and we'd open a stocking and then we would take a break,
Go get,
We'd have Christmas breakfast and there were a bunch of other traditions that went along with the whole process.
And I wasn't a huge fan of the traditions.
And I also had this pressure that I felt I had to be happy all the time.
And it really made things uncomfortable.
It was an uncomfortable experience for me.
It was a very exciting but uncomfortable day.
And being in the monastery,
All of that pressure was off.
I didn't have to be happy.
There wasn't that expectation.
There weren't a whole lot of traditional rules and rituals around Christmas actually.
It was very free flowing because everybody was Buddhist.
Nobody was Christian.
So it was just another opportunity to have fun and play around.
And it was actually one of the best Christmases that I'd ever had that first Christmas in the monastery.
The reason I tell that story is it's often the case that it is difficult to feel a feeling like appreciation or gratitude when we feel pressured to feel it.
So I encourage you as you go through this meditation to think about things not that you should be grateful for,
Not feeling appreciation or gratitude for things that other people feel appreciation or gratitude for,
But really trying to find a unique and personal experience.
And we're going to go through this gratitude,
Appreciation,
Meditation,
Mudita type meditation in three parts.
The first one is I'd like you to think about something that is sensually pleasant.
So something that looks good,
Looks nice to you.
Something that sounds nice,
Music,
A song that you like.
Or something that tastes delicious,
A dessert,
A wine,
A cheese,
Chocolate.
Or something that feels nice,
It feels good to you.
I'd like you to bring that to mind and find some appreciation for it.
It could be something like a beautiful artwork or a symphony,
Or it could be gummy bears.
Something that you enjoy.
And I'd like you to bring your attention to your body as we do this.
So becoming aware of the sensations that come up when you appreciate that sensual experience.
What is it that you like about it,
That you appreciate about it?
And next I'd like you to bring to mind,
After you've really experienced that felt sense,
Next bringing to mind a success that you've had in your life.
It could be something very recent.
If you have a big success that was recently great,
That happened recently.
Or something that happened in the past which you can savor,
Or a small win that you've had for yourself.
It tends to be that those that are recent are strong.
Think about that for a moment.
Bring that to mind with as vibrant sounds that people said to you,
The results of that,
How it felt in your body,
A win,
A success,
An accomplishment.
And savoring.
And it could be the energy that you put into that win,
That success,
It could be the relationships you made,
But whatever it is about that happening,
Can you savor that?
Can you appreciate it?
And continually coming back to the body,
Coming back to your heart,
Coming back to your stomach.
How does that feel in your body?
And the third part of this meditation is thinking about a relationship.
Make it a thing about a relationship or relationships that you appreciate and maybe we could start with that Mr.
Rogers perspective of who's somebody that helped you get to where you are in your life.
Somebody that went above and beyond.
Somebody that believed in you.
Someone that saw you.
A teacher.
A significant other.
A friend.
A family member.
Think about what was it from that one person,
Multiple people that really,
Really helped you.
Thank you.
.
And coming back to those relationships.
And then I'd like you to see if you can start to expand this feeling.
To your environment,
To those near you right now.
To the others maybe who are meditating with you.
Appreciation to yourself for going through this meditation process.
Appreciation towards family and friends.
To all the effort that goes into keeping you alive,
Keeping you comfortable,
Letting you thrive,
Supporting you in all sorts of ways.
Interconnectedness of the world and people's effort and care,
Their love.
People's joy and their successes.
Savoring.
Breathing that in,
Letting that feeling,
Appreciation grow inside of you.
Expanding across your chest beyond the boundaries of your body.
Breathing it in and breathing it out.
Letting that gratitude create a safe space for you.
Allowing yourself to feel the sensation of the in-breath and out-breath.
Allowing the body to breathe naturally.
And then beginning to feel the whole body breathing.
Allowing it to breathe naturally,
Letting go of any control of the breath.
And beginning to feel the breath from one area.
Your belly,
Your lips,
Your nostrils.
Letting your attention land in that one spot and feeling the sensation of the in-breath and out-breath just from that one place.
In the same way,
Savoring the sensation of the in-breath and out-breath.
And as you go forward with the rest of the meditation,
Which I will leave open-ended,
You can use counting if you notice that your mind is really distracted.
You can use allowing the body to breathe naturally,
To be more connected.
And you can use that appreciative savoring,
The sensation of the in-breath and out-breath.
Bring your attention back in a gentle and balanced way.
