As we start this gratitude practice,
Begin by noticing the places where you are being supported physically.
Notice your contact with the chair or the floor underneath you.
And I invite you to imagine that whatever is beneath you is rising up to meet you,
Rather than gravity pulling you down.
That it is rising up to meet you,
And if you can,
Allow yourself to rest even just a little bit into that sensation of being held or of being supported.
From this place,
I invite you to exhale fully without forcing it,
And then allowing your in-breath to come naturally at the end of your exhale.
Now take two more breaths in this way,
Focusing on exhaling fully,
And then allowing your lungs to naturally fill again.
Now returning back to a normal breathing cycle.
As the foundation for this gratitude practice,
I invite you to bring to mind a time where you received gratitude from another person,
When someone expressed genuine gratitude for you or for something you did.
Perhaps you can remember a time when someone was struggling and you offered help and support,
And that it was received by the other person with genuine appreciation.
It could be something small,
Like someone in front of you in a line at the store not having enough money to pay for something,
And you offering them some change that you had.
It could be something bigger,
Like caring for someone who was ill or believing in someone's dream and helping them to realize it.
You could also reflect on someone who you have been in a longer relationship with,
So that could be a friend or someone in your family or a partner,
And think of an experience of them expressing maybe a bigger picture gratitude for how you have been there for them or how you have supported them.
It is important to bring to mind a specific moment,
Though,
When the gratitude was expressed and you truly knew that it was genuine.
I also recommend choosing a moment in which you were able to more openly receive and experience the gratitude that someone offered to you.
If a situation like this does not come to mind easily for you,
I recommend pausing this meditation and just taking some time to journal or reflect and see if you can identify even the smallest moment of experiencing someone's gratitude for you.
Now that you have this experience in your mind,
We are going to explore it a little more deeply.
And if it feels comfortable,
I invite you to close your eyes,
And you are also welcome to leave them open either way,
Whatever most supports you.
And first,
Let's bring to mind the struggle or the challenge that the other person was facing,
Whether it was a one-time situation or a longer,
Ongoing difficulty.
What was going on for the other person?
And how did you feel when you noticed them having a hard time?
And what prompted you to lean in,
To offer support or help?
Now take a moment to reflect on what the help or support you offered was,
Whether it was something concrete and more tangible,
Or whether it was the way in which you were simply able to be with that person.
How did it feel to provide that to them?
Really notice any sensations,
Any emotions that arise as you reflect on this.
Now we will explore the experience of receiving the gratitude that the other person offered you in return.
Bring to mind how the other person communicated their gratitude.
And this is a moment to get really specific.
Using whatever senses are available to you,
Reflect on what their facial expression was,
What their body language was,
Their tone of voice.
What words did they use,
If any?
Or what physical gestures did they use to show you that they truly appreciated you?
Perhaps you can also bring to mind the physical environment,
The season,
The time of day,
Any specific things that you can remember about the interaction that might help make it more real in your experience right now.
Now I invite you to take a moment and sit with the impact of receiving that gratitude.
How did you feel in the moment that they shared it with you?
What sensations did you notice then,
Or do you notice now as you bring this moment to mind?
Where do you feel those sensations most intensely or most obviously in your body?
And what,
If any,
Emotions might be connected to those sensations?
I invite you to become curious and ask whether maybe there's a sense of expansion or tenderness.
Perhaps you feel shy or awkward,
And maybe nothing in particular comes up.
And if that's the case,
That's completely fine.
The idea is just to notice,
And each of us receives gratitude differently in different moments.
As we now take a few minutes in silence to connect with this experience,
Continue to extend this noticing,
This curiosity.
There may be ways that you minimize or discount the other person's gratitude.
If so,
Simply notice these thoughts or the sensations that come up with them.
And there may be ways that your response to the gratitude shifts,
Moving from less receptive to more receptive or vice versa.
However,
In any moment that you are able to open to receiving the gratitude more fully,
I invite you to pay particular attention to what it feels like and how you notice it.
As we transition out of this practice,
I invite you to write down some of the most important main points that we touched on.
The following reflection questions are offered by Andrew Huberman in his podcast about gratitude,
Which this guided practice is based on.
Your responses can be returned to and reflected on as an ongoing way to stay connected with the experience of receiving gratitude.
The first is,
How did you feel before the person offered you gratitude?
Next,
How did you feel after their gratitude was shared with you?
And finally,
How did or does that experience impact you emotionally?
Given that this practice is grounded in some of the most recent science related to building an effective gratitude practice,
I invite you to especially explore that last point,
Really leaning into the moments that the gratitude lands in your nervous system when you're truly able to feel it.
This is a practice that you can return to however often you would like,
Spending anywhere from one to five minutes or even more if you would like,
Connecting with the gratitude that is yours to receive.
