Allow yourself to come into a position that will best support you for this meditation.
You could be standing,
Sitting,
Or laying down.
And whatever shape you choose,
Seeing if you can maintain a sense of strength and alertness while balancing ease and relaxation.
Then allowing your eyes to close or just lowering your gaze.
And as we come into this moment,
Exploring and seeing what your body feels like here and now.
Are there different temperatures?
Is there a sense of weight against a surface that's supporting you?
Maybe tingling and itch.
Maybe you can just notice the movement of breath with each inhalation and exhalation.
Is there any tension that your body is holding on to right now?
If so,
Seeing if you can just invite yourself to be at ease.
Making a little more room between your eyebrows.
Letting your shoulders,
Arms,
And hands just to let go.
And softening your chest.
And softening your heart.
And this practice will be connecting with gratitude.
And what that feels like for us.
And I'll invite you to start by just contemplating what gratitude means to you.
There could be a formal definition that's coming to mind or a series of words or images.
Maybe even a person comes to mind.
In this practice,
I'll be inviting you to bring to your mind's eye a couple of different events.
People or things that you're grateful for.
And you'll be invited to hold a couple different things for a little bit of time in your mind and in your heart.
And seeing what the feeling associated with this sense of gratitude is like.
And the intention here is really creating space to see if it's possible to do some rewiring in our brains.
Shifting from scanning for threats to being at rest and specifically holding this sense of gratitude.
Let's begin by bringing to mind something that you're grateful for recently in your life.
It could be from earlier today or this week.
There is no good,
Bad,
Wrong,
Or right thing to pick.
Sometimes whatever pops into your mind first is your mind bringing a suggestion forward.
This could be a person,
A pet,
An object,
An event.
Allowing whatever is coming to mind just to be held in your mind's eye right now.
And as you make and hold space for this,
See what you might notice happening in your body as sensations.
Is there perhaps a smile coming across your face?
Is there a lightness in the eyes?
Maybe an opening in the chest?
Just getting curious.
And it's possible that maybe there are no sensations and that's okay.
This is a heart-based practice and sometimes you're just planting seeds never knowing when they might grow.
If you are feeling sensations,
Seeing if you can allow these sensations to spread and permeate your body.
Seeing if you can allow this feeling and sensation of gratitude to grow and grow.
And now gently letting this image fade away.
I'm now going to invite you to recall a second thing or person or place or event that you're grateful for recently.
Taking a moment to scan your memory banks.
And know that this doesn't have to be anything extravagant or huge.
It could be the simplest thing like having hot water.
It could even be as simple as enjoying sunshine or having a warm living space.
Whatever you've identified,
Allowing yourself to hold this in your mind's eye.
Inviting this sense of gratitude and seeing what it feels like in your body.
Maybe there's an opening on the forehead or a releasing of the neck and throat.
Maybe there's an opening on the forehead or a releasing of the neck and throat.
If you notice yourself getting distracted,
Just gently and kindly redirect your focus to what you've identified as something to be grateful for.
You can get curious about the sensations you're experiencing.
Are they identical to what you were holding earlier?
Are the sensations different and if so,
How?
Now gently let this image fade away.
Now I invite you to bring one more thing into your mind.
What's the third thing that you're grateful for recently for having in your life?
It could be a person,
An animal,
An event,
A situation,
A thing.
The possibilities are unlimited.
And again the size is not important.
Taking another moment to select.
And as you hold this image,
What does gratitude for this feel like in your body?
And whenever you're noticing in your body,
Is it more or less intense than earlier or the same?
And gently letting this image fade away.
As we bring our practice to a close.
Just taking a couple final moments to see how you feel and also just reflecting on the possibility that no matter how difficult life may get,
That there's always an opportunity to look for gratitude even if it's in the smallest and most unexpected places.
And that just by allowing yourself to hold the sense of gratitude for a little bit of time can really positively impact your brain and your being.
And to make your way back,
I invite you to wiggle your toes,
Fingers,
Notice the sounds around you.
And perhaps taking one last deep breath to signal the end of this.
