This is a meditation to revel in joy,
Bask in joy.
Because our brain has a negative bias,
Striving to keep us alive and focusing on the negative to do that,
We very often don't notice joy or at least we don't notice it as much as we notice negative experience.
We don't dwell on the moments that make us smile when we are in harmony with life.
When we are enjoying the experience,
Fully loving the experience,
Feeling passionate,
Feeling on fire,
Feeling like we belong.
So if you're ready,
Let's do that.
Find yourself a nice comfortable seat.
Make sure that you have your spine straight and your muscles relaxed,
Your shoulders relaxed.
You can let your jaw relax and your forehead.
Tuck in your chin a little and if it is comfortable,
You can let your eyes close.
And just for a few moments as usual,
We're going to focus on the breath.
Just the breath as it is without needing to change it.
Just noticing,
Noticing the in-breath and noticing the out-breath.
Noticing the air going into the nostrils,
Down the back of our throat and warmer air coming out.
Noticing our body expanding and relaxing with the breath.
The ribcage,
The belly rising and falling.
Just tuning in,
Settling in ourselves.
Taking time to just be without needing to do anything,
Without needing to be anywhere.
And then put your mind on something joyful which has happened to you recently maybe or something that you usually enjoy.
Like for example sitting in the garden,
Having a cup of tea,
Having a chat and a laugh with a friend.
Thinking of something that you have which brings you happiness,
That gives you warmth.
What are you grateful for in your life?
And because we are so good at noticing the negative,
Ask yourself what is actually going right?
What is going right at the moment?
Is your relationship going right?
What about the wonderful animals in your life?
Do you have a pet,
A cat or a dog or something more unusual or exotic?
And feel that connection,
Let yourself become aware,
And celebrate that connection,
That love,
That warmth.
The fun things that they do and that you do together.
And think about your favourite places as well.
Your favourite places in a city or in nature and how they make you feel when you are there.
Think about your favourite things to do,
What you enjoy doing.
You might enjoy reading,
You might enjoy learning,
You might enjoy travelling or physical exercise.
So think about doing these things and the feelings that they bring to you and let yourself bask in those feelings.
Soak them up,
Breathe them in.
And just like we do with difficult experience,
Put your attention in the body.
Where do you feel this experience in the body?
Where do you feel the sense of joy,
Enjoyment,
Celebration in your body?
And notice everything there is to notice in your embodied experience.
Notice the temperature,
Is there warmth,
Is there tingling?
Does it move around in your body?
Does it stay in one place?
Does it have a colour,
A texture?
Does it expand and fill more and more of you?
Or is it flowing through you?
And before we come to the end of this meditation,
I'd like you to thank yourself for doing this today.
Giving yourself the gift of taking time for yourself,
For your wellbeing and basking in joy.
Which is your booth right?
And again before we finish,
Why don't you decide to do more of that?
Have more of those experiences which bring you so much joy and consciously create more space for joy in your life because you deserve it.
And now bring your attention back to the body and the breath.
Bring your attention back to the support that you're sitting on and how you are resting on it.
The sounds around you and the sensations in your body,
In your arms and your legs.
Then you can start slowly moving your feet,
On your hands,
Your fingers and toes and maybe having a little stretch.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
