Hello and thank you for joining me for this meditation on Insight Timer.
Today we are going to focus on gratitude.
So bringing things into our heart center that make us feel peace,
Love and joy.
And fully embracing those things,
Whether they're people,
Objects,
Experiences,
Places.
Whatever it is and whatever comes to mind during the meditation,
I invite you to hold that in the heart space.
And to really feel it,
Really connect with it.
And then at the end of the meditation we'll also be observing how we feel after having done this.
So to start,
Get into a comfortable position,
You can stay seated.
You can also do this lying down,
Just make sure whatever position you choose,
Your body is comfortable.
There's no niggling sensations,
No pain anywhere.
We don't want the mind to be distracted by the body.
We want our mind to be focused on those lovely sensations that come from practicing gratitude.
So once you're sat comfortably,
I invite you to close the eyes and take a deep breath in.
And a slow breath out.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Bringing the awareness down to your seat or to your position if you're lying down.
Becoming aware of the parts of the body that connect with the floor.
And taking a moment to really feel what it's like to be in this position.
And as you allow your body to settle,
Your body to ground,
Maybe you can feel your shoulders softening.
And then we're going to take five deep breaths.
We're going to breathe in all the way down to the bowl of the pelvis.
And when we breathe out,
We're going to breathe from the base of our pelvis all the way up and out through the nose.
Okay,
So in through the nose and down to the pelvis.
Exhale from the pelvis out through the nose.
We're going to do that five times.
Guide it.
So as you inhale,
Feel the breath go through the nose,
Making its way all the way down into the bowl of your pelvis.
And exhale,
Feel the breath rise from that place up and out through the nose.
Inhale through the nose.
Keep breathing.
Feel as if your breath is going to the base of your pelvis.
And exhale,
Feel the breath rise and go out through the nose.
Inhale down to the pelvis.
Exhale,
Breath rises from the bowl of the pelvis out through the nose.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Last breath in this way.
Inhale.
Down to the pelvis.
Exhale from the pelvis and out through the nose.
Just observing how you feel.
Feel the space in the lungs,
In the body.
And then we're going to start to bring our awareness to the heart space.
If you feel inclined,
You can even place one hand or both hands onto this space as we do this gratitude practice.
However you wish to breathe is fine,
Whether that's slow breaths or more of a natural breath.
Just make sure it's comfortable for you.
And then I want you to imagine a white light at the heart space.
It's glowing brightly,
It's growing very gradually in size.
It's warming your hand or your hands if you place them onto the heart space.
And as this light glows as it grows very gradually in size.
Just allow one thing,
One person,
One place or one experience to come to your mind.
Maybe one that you wish to practice gratitude for,
That you wish to bring to the forefront of your mind.
Maybe it's just a statement.
Whatever it is,
Bring it to mind.
Stay connected with the light in your heart space.
Maybe you're visualising it,
Maybe you're repeating that statement.
And feel it move from your mind down into that light,
Into the heart.
Hold it there.
Really feel it.
Feel that gratitude for that thing,
That place,
The person or experience.
The light continues to shine at the heart space.
And that thing that you're practising gratitude for also stays there in that light,
In the heart.
And now bring another place,
Person,
Experience,
Whatever it is to your mind that you wish to practice gratitude for.
The light is still shining in the heart.
Repeat or visualise what you are grateful for in your mind's eye.
And then slowly allow that to travel from the mind down into the heart space,
Into that glowing light.
And really feel,
Really connect with what it's like to be grateful for that thing.
Maybe there is a smile creeping across your face.
Maybe your jaw relaxes,
Your forehead softens.
Hold it there.
Be there with it.
And let's do this one more time.
So we go back to the mind's eye.
Picture or repeat something that you are grateful for.
So intellectually bring it to your mind.
And then slowly as you keep repeating it,
As you keep visualising what that is,
Allow it to move down into your heart space.
And feel the emotions that you have from practising gratitude for it.
Allow yourself to smile if that comes up for you.
Allow yourself to cry if that's something that comes up for you.
Just be there with it.
Hold it in that glowing light next to the rest of the things you are grateful for.
And then slowly that light begins to fade,
But those things remain in your heart.
You remain grateful for them.
And as that light begins to fade from the heart space,
You can release your hands.
Take a deep breath in and a slow breath out.
And observe how you feel now.
What messages is your body feeling,
Receiving?
What are the messages in the mind and the brain?
Are you happy,
Grateful,
Calm?
Just observe.
And then whenever you do feel ready to continue with your day,
Take one more deep breath in,
Slow breath out.
And then you can blink the eyes open.
And just remembering that you can practice this whenever to bring joy,
Peace and love into your life.
Thank you for joining me.
