Gratitude, Appreciation, And Easy Loving Kindness

Hey,

What do you say we do a little gratitude practice?

Start out with kind of basic mindfulness.

So typical notes of finding your seat.

Sit with an upright spine.

I like to give the note to the back of the head where your ponytail would meet,

Where your ponytail would tie.

A slight little pull back from that area.

Relax your shoulders down.

A slight tuck to the chin.

You could do eyes open or eyes closed.

It's totally up to you.

The eyes closed gesture that I give is about five,

Say four to six feet away in front of you,

Kind of a downward motion.

And it's just a gaze,

Right?

You're not looking at anything.

You're not looking for anything.

You're just seeing your whole sky.

Like you're watching a storm go by and you're hoping to see some lighting,

Right?

You're not going to look at one specific spot.

You just have an open,

Relaxed gaze.

So you have an upright posture.

Your legs can be crisscross.

They can be just,

Your knees can be touching the ground with your shins on the ground.

You can have a cushion underneath your bottom.

It's typically recommended to have some sort of upright for your hips.

So your hips are a bit more elevated than your legs,

But listen,

Whatever you have as far as seating today is fine.

Just,

I encourage back unsupported.

Your hands could rest on your lap there.

What does gratitude practice mean?

What does it mean to take time to actively meditate on gratitude?

It helps us land back where we're at.

It helps us land back.

For me,

I say landing back in your body.

Gratitude helps me remember the things that I am actually grateful for.

It's like,

As soon as I think of them,

As soon as I bring them to my mind,

The gratitude just begins to swell up.

So let's begin with one big,

Deep breath from the diaphragm up to the top of the head.

Breathe in and relax.

Breathe out.

Extend your breath a little more.

Relax.

Breathe out.

Double check on your posture.

Make sure it's a confident upright.

You're not pulling.

You're not getting too tall.

Relaxingly upright.

One more deep breath from your diaphragm down low to the top of your head.

Breathe in.

A little more.

Breathe in a little more.

A little more.

And relax all of it down.

Shoulders down.

Relax your face.

Breathe out.

Just land.

Just kind of sit in the sounds of where you're at.

Your breathing can return to normal.

Just land where you're at.

I'd like you to think of where you're at.

Just remember,

I'm in my apartment.

I'm in my house.

I'm at work.

I'm in my car.

I'm in the bathroom.

I'm in my room,

Living room,

Wherever it is.

And just bring gratitude to that.

Like,

It's nice that I have an apartment.

Maybe you've had nicer apartments.

Maybe you've been in nicer spots.

Maybe you're not in Cancun with a margarita in your hand.

But man,

Wherever you're at,

If you were in a worse spot,

You'd be happy to be back where you're at,

Right?

So just really think about it wherever you're at.

And try to be grateful for that.

I'm glad I have it.

Say to yourself.

Think about those objects in the room around you.

The things,

The material stuff.

It's just stuff,

But you worked hard to get it,

Right?

You should be proud of yourself for getting that stuff.

Can you be grateful for the fact that you have that stuff,

And you're able to do things with that?

Maybe you have cookingware.

You have food.

You can make meals for your family.

That's pretty nice.

Just bring that to your attention.

There's a lot of other stuff to think about,

Of course,

But you're dedicating this time to gratitude.

And this is where it starts.

Just being grateful for what's around you in your room.

Do you have a computer?

Do you have a phone that you can learn things on?

You can make money from your computer.

Do you take Zoom calls on there?

Can you FaceTime on an iPad or on your phone with your loved ones who don't live near you?

That's actually pretty nice.

We don't take a lot of time.

There's a lot going on when it comes to our phones and our technology,

But I'm grateful for my technology.

Just think that to yourself.

What else do you have?

Do you play video games?

Do you have a guitar?

Do you have a paintbrush?

Even stuff you haven't used recently.

Are you grateful just that you have the opportunity to have it?

Maybe you have some arts and crafts stuff in a closet.

Maybe you have some things out in a shop.

Maybe out in the garage.

Maybe on the driveway you have a car that at one point you were super pumped you had it.

Remember that right now.

Bring that.

You should be proud of yourself.

There's a time where you probably thought you weren't able to afford a car like that,

You know.

Or maybe you just had a broke down car.

Maybe you don't have a car right now.

Do you have a bus pass?

Do you have a bike?

A decent pair of shoes without holes in them?

Yeah,

Be grateful for those.

Whatever it is that you do have,

Just give it a gesture.

Give it attention and say thanks.

Now,

Bring someone to mind.

A person in your life that you have an easy relationship with.

An easy relationship is you don't have to overthink.

It's not this series of a whole story.

It's not kind of complicated sometimes.

It's just whoever quickly kind of pops up to mind.

One of your friends.

One of your co-workers.

Your loved one.

Maybe it's your dog.

Whoever comes up to mind first.

So you're just like I have an easy.

I appreciate that person.

It's easy to appreciate them.

Bring them to mind.

And really think of them.

Think of the times you've seen them laugh.

Think of like what are they wearing when you picture them,

You know?

How do you feel if they were right next to you?

You guys are laughing at something.

You're working hard at something next to them.

Something where you have joy with this person.

Imagine them right next to you.

How does it feel to have your friend,

Someone you love,

Someone you have an easy relationship with,

Your dog,

Your cat,

Whoever it is,

Whoever came to mind.

There's no wrong or right,

Right?

It's just your mind.

How does it feel to have them next to you?

It feels encouraging,

Right?

Now,

Bring gratitude to them.

It's easy to bring gratitude to them,

Right?

It's like dang,

I'm glad I'm good.

I'm glad I'm friends with this person.

I'm glad I get to be you know throughout our lives.

We have easily less than 20.

It could be less than 10.

Deep,

Close relationships.

Easy relationships.

You know,

Just another layer out.

Maybe it's 50 people.

Either way,

This person you get to be friends with.

And just bring attention to that.

Whatever stuff comes into your mind,

Whatever feelings you feel like you need to be somewhere else.

Am I doing this wrong or right?

What is the point of this?

Just let that stuff flow by.

It keeps coming and going.

Just like your breath.

You're sitting here.

You've been breathing this whole time.

You have been thinking about it.

Let it come and go.

And just insert,

I'm grateful for my friend.

I'm grateful for this person who I have an easy relationship with.

Now picture that person as a young child.

Before they knew you,

Maybe when they knew you,

If you've known them for a long time.

They were just a kid.

Just a little boy.

Just a little girl.

A young pup.

It's not easy to understand them when you just picture them as a child.

They get a little older,

They're a teenager.

They're a young teenager.

They're 11 or 12.

Picture you're a friend,

You're a person that you have an easy relationship with.

Picture them as just younger than they are now.

Younger.

Teenage years.

Child.

They were a baby.

They had a first heartbreak.

They had a first girlfriend.

They had a first boyfriend.

They went to a dance.

They were nervous.

They had interests that they thought about a lot and they got older and maybe they explored some of those interests.

They've been extremely happy.

They've accomplished things.

They've had a whole life without you.

They've had a whole life with you.

Think of the times you had together with that person.

And just bring them to mind.

Think of,

In this moment,

See if you can think of one happy memory with that person and just allow it to come to mind.

What are some more details about that memory?

Again,

There's no wrong or right.

Whatever memory comes up.

It doesn't even have to be that super strong memory.

What happened with them about some dumb joke over a Bud Light?

You know,

Whatever it is,

It's okay.

Now,

Land in that memory.

Think of that memory.

Bring it to mind.

What were the smells in that memory?

Can you remember?

What do you think they were?

What was playing?

Was there music playing?

Was there sounds?

Could you hear things?

Like what was the environment like sound-wise?

This happy memory with your friend,

This person who's easy to love.

How did you feel in that moment with your friend?

And just bring gratitude to that.

Be grateful for the whole thing.

The fact they're able to remember it.

The moment that all the series of your life led up to being able to have that good time with that friend.

You know,

You don't need to recreate it,

You know.

But you can think about it.

You can just slow down a bit here and you can be grateful for it.

I'm glad I had that memory.

Glad I have this friend.

It feels nice to envision him next to me.

Now,

Land back in your body in this room.

Let's adjust our posture,

Right?

Pull lightly from the top of your head.

There's a gentle lift from the back where a ponytail would meet back there,

The back of our neck.

We're kind of a little bit of a pull backwards as well as the uplifting pull.

Our chest is open.

Our heart is bright and out and upright.

Relax your face wherever you're at.

Whatever your face is doing,

Just relax it.

Your jaw,

Each side,

Your left,

Your jaw,

Your right jaw.

Underneath each eye,

Your forehead.

Just relax all that.

Your nose area,

Like a circle around your nose.

Can you relax all that?

Land back in this room,

Sitting upright.

Let's breathe in from our diaphragm,

Down low.

Breathe in,

Up high.

Breathe in.

Relaxingly,

Slowly breathe out.

Gratitude.

You're grateful for the things around you.

This moment that you set out for yourself,

You're grateful for your friendship.

This person who's easy to love,

Your dog,

Your cat,

Dogs or cats you've had before.

That's great that you got to experience that.

Now send out your gratitude to the people in your neighborhood.

Like the energy is leaking from your home and just envision sending it out to your neighbors.

It doesn't matter.

Maybe you don't even like them.

Maybe you have a whole story that comes up.

You don't have to dive into it.

Nonetheless,

Regardless of how you feel about your neighbors,

The people around your house,

Just send them a good vibe.

Just like there's light pouring from your house into your neighborhood.

And it just kind of expands.

And it's just gratitude.

It's happy feelings.

It's love.

It's encouragement.

It's inspiration.

Anything that positively comes to mind,

Just kind of send it out to these people.

Think of your memory with your friend.

Can you send that feeling out to people?

Again,

There's no wrong or right.

You couldn't measure sending a feeling out to people.

But while you're here,

Just try it out.

See whatever that feels like to you and see how it feels in your body afterwards.

Send out loving,

Grateful energy,

Happiness with your friend,

With a person that's easy for you to love,

A relationship that you have.

And see if you can wish that on other people.

You would,

Right?

You want other people to feel love and friendship and belonging,

Laughter.

If you could give that to them,

You would.

So just send it out to the people in your neighborhood.

Even people in your house,

Your family,

Your friends,

Your roommates.

Maybe you have a maid.

Maybe you have a burglar upstairs in the attic that you're just learning about.

Send that burglar love.

Please don't steal my stuff,

But I recognize that you had an entire childhood.

Send love to the people around you.

Bring back that memory of gratitude,

Of easy laughter,

Easy joy,

Easy love with that person that's easy to love.

Land back in that moment.

Breathe it in and bring it right here into your home,

Into where you're at right now,

And send that out to those around you.

Wish them well.

In your mind,

Say,

I wish you well.

I wish you well with a smile.

I wish you free from suffering.

You can say it in your mind or out loud and feel what that feels like to genuinely wish them freedom from suffering.

I wish you peace.

I wish you joy.

A smile a bit deeper,

A bit bigger of a smile.

And just quickly bring to mind multiple things.

Vacations you went on that you're grateful you went on.

Concerts that you're grateful that you went to.

Some plans that you have on the calendar that you're excited for.

Memories that you have.

Laughing times that you've had.

Do you have loving relationships right now?

Have you had loving relationships?

Bring them all to mind.

What are you grateful for?

What makes you happy?

What has brought you joy?

Successes that you've had.

You've completed things.

You've worked hard for things and you've achieved goals.

Be proud of yourself.

Bring those to mind.

Remember a beautiful time you've had outdoors.

Outside.

You were outside.

You were with other people.

Maybe you weren't.

You're just appreciating outdoors.

And feel that now.

A time where you were happy outdoors.

What does it smell like?

What does it taste like?

What does it feel like?

Was there wind?

Was the temperature just right?

Aren't you grateful you got to experience that?

Now bring someone,

A second person who's easy to love.

Even though that first person's there,

You love them.

They're great.

You're glad you get to love them.

You're grateful.

A second person that's easy to love.

Just quickly,

Same thing.

Picture them as a child.

Picture a moment you had with them.

Can you smell what was there in that moment?

Can you recall how you felt?

Who you were?

Who they were?

If you were flying on the wall watching them in that moment,

You would just appreciate them.

Bring gratitude to that second person.

And now that same scenario,

That second person that you were just with,

You're picturing you laughing with them,

You loving them,

You being in a joyful environment with them.

You're the fly on the wall viewing them with loving kindness.

Now look to yourself in that moment.

Can you give yourself loving kindness?

Can you picture yourself with love?

Go back to that memory where you were.

Use both memories.

The first friend,

The second friend,

An easy relationship,

An easy memory that comes up.

You're in that memory too.

Can you bring love to yourself in that memory?

Whoever you were,

Can you bring love to that person?

Can you bring love to who you are now in this room for taking the time to love yourself?

For taking the time to be gratitude,

To feel gratitude,

To be grounded,

To land back in your body here.

Give yourself appreciation.

See yourself from the eyes of those loving friends.

If they were doing the same practice in their own life right now,

And they were thinking of you,

Can you tap into that?

It's real.

It's there.

Take the opportunity to feel gratitude for the place you're in right now.

Your car,

Your apartment,

Your home,

Your work,

Wherever you are right now.

You're grateful.

Gratitude that you get to be there.

The things that you have around you,

You've worked for them.

You've obtained them.

Someone has gifted them to you.

It's been a whole journey to get these things,

And they give you opportunities to find love,

To find peace,

To get money,

To make food,

To bring meaning to you and your family.

Can you be grateful for this environment around you?

For memories you've had with friends?

Can you be grateful for your friends and the lives that they've led without you and with you?

Can you be grateful to your neighbors,

To the people in your community,

In your neighborhood,

To your co-workers?

Just bring them to mind and send them well wishes.

Your co-workers,

Your neighbors,

Your family,

Your friends,

Your dog,

Your cat.

Send them love.

All right,

Let's land back in our bodies here in this room with soft gratitude,

With confident posture.

Pull from the top of your head like a gentle marionette string,

Like the sun coming out in the morning,

And a gentle flower lifts up towards it.

It's not a giant pole.

Tuck your chin lightly.

Have your chest open and out and honest and ready for the day.

Your shoulders are down.

Big deep breath from the diaphragm in up to the top of your head.

Breathe in and gently breathe out slowly.

Thanks for your time.

Have a wonderful day.