Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today,
I want to talk a little bit about gratitude,
And I also want to talk about perspective.
Recently,
I read this article on MSN,
And it's something I want to share with you.
And here's what it said.
In 100 years,
Like in 2124,
We will all be buried along with all of our relatives and friends.
Strangers will live in our homes that we fought so hard to build,
And they will own everything that we have today.
All of our possessions will be gone,
Including the car that we spent a fortune on,
And it will probably be scrap,
Or preferably in the hands of an unknown collector.
Our descendants will hardly know who we are,
Nor will they remember us.
Think about how many of us know anything about our grandfather's father.
After we die,
We will be remembered for a few more years,
And then we are just a portrait on someone's bookshelf or wall.
And a few years later,
Our history and our photos and whatever deeds we accomplished
Will disappear into history's oblivion.
We won't even be memories.
And if we paused just one day to analyze these things and think about them,
Perhaps we would understand how ignorant and weak the dream to achieve it all was.
If we could think about this,
Surely our approaches and our thoughts would change.
We would be different people,
Always striving for more,
But with little time for what's really valuable in this life.
To enjoy walks that we've never taken.
To give hugs that we didn't give.
To give kisses to our children and loved ones.
Those jokes that we didn't have time for.
Those would certainly be the most beautiful moments to remember.
They would fill our lives with joy.
And some of us waste day after day with greed and selfishness and intolerance.
Every minute of life is priceless and will never be repeated.
So take time to enjoy,
Be grateful for,
And celebrate your existence.
That descriptive article really made me think again about how important it is to stay in the present moment.
To be grateful for all that we have.
To cherish all the people in our lives.
To appreciate others who help make our lives easier.
To be thankful for all that we have.
Please make sure that you're someplace where you won't be disturbed.
And make sure your devices are silenced.
This is your time.
Set yourself up for success.
Close your eyes now.
And let's get in touch with our breath.
As always,
It doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Lying down,
Or standing.
The only thing that is important is that you are comfortable and alert.
Always remember that this is your meditation.
I'm just a guide.
You need to breathe so it's comfortable for you.
You don't need to follow my breath,
You need to follow your breath.
Just breathe normally and don't force anything.
Breathing in and breathing out,
Just one breath at a time.
All of us forget to give ourselves time.
We forget to be kind to ourselves.
I'm constantly reminding people around me,
My daughters and others,
To be kind to themselves.
You've heard me say it before,
But forever is now.
All we have for certain is this moment.
And then the next.
And then the next.
You can be perfectly fine in this moment and be dead in the next moment.
Our lives can change in an instant.
That was made abundantly clear to me when I was 29.
I was healthy and productive and strong and happy and fixing the storm door on my house.
And in the next instant,
My left side was tingling and going numb and I was having my first stroke.
That's why I say forever is now.
Our lives are just a series of moments all strung together.
A bunch of breaths all strung together.
And we can live our best life if we learn to breathe in and breathe out,
Just one breath at a time.
Each of us needs to dedicate some time to ourselves.
To care for ourselves.
To care for our health and our mental state.
All of us have our own personal issues.
And we need to give ourselves time to deal with those things.
Time to relax.
You need some time to focus on yourself.
And I've said before that to me,
That's what meditation is all about.
It's being able to focus your mind.
Meditation is not about stopping your mind or making it empty.
It's about learning to focus your mind.
And I know that each and every one of you can do this.
How do I know?
Because I was able to do it.
Meditation will change your life.
It just takes commitment and time.
Practice.
There's nothing in this life that can be great at without practice.
And just continue to breathe normally and don't force anything.
Remember,
You're just trying to breathe like you.
Just breathe like you normally would.
Let's start to scan our body.
We're just looking for any tension or tightness.
Unfurrow your brow and unclench your jaw.
Relax your face.
Scan down to your neck.
It's a common place of tension in our world today.
Down to your shoulders.
Ease any tension that you find.
Moving down to your chest and belly.
Your hips and legs.
Your ankles and toes.
Down your arms and fingers.
And please,
Don't be afraid to move.
You're not putting yourself into a coma.
You're just trying to relax and scan your body.
If you need to,
Wiggle your fingers.
Rotate your neck.
Shrug your shoulders.
Do whatever you need to do to get more relaxed.
And as we settle in and get more comfortable,
Let's focus more on our breath.
Notice your breath as it comes in and as it flows out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Just one breath at a time.
I've said before that you need to observe your breath.
Don't let it just happen without any thought being given to it.
Focus on each breath.
And then the next.
And then the next.
Just listen to the sound of my voice and follow your breathing.
That's all there is.
My voice droning on and on and your breathing.
Breathing in and breathing out.
One breath at a time.
Don't try to control your breath.
Just observe it.
Let your breath do what it does all by itself.
If you notice thoughts,
Just let them go.
It's perfectly normal in meditation.
Your thoughts will begin to quiet the more you focus on your breath.
Breathe in some cool,
Refreshing air.
And exhale any tension you have.
Feel your body getting heavier with each and every breath.
Every time you exhale.
And breathe.
Just breathe.
In 54 years of meditating,
I found that meditation can change your life.
It can help you to find calm when you need it.
It can help you to concentrate.
It can help you to get through the toughest of situations.
And it can help you to relax.
Meditation is what got me through multiple strokes.
Meditation is what helped me when I was learning to walk again.
Meditation is what kept me calm during countless invasive procedures.
I've said this before,
But if meditation is something you only do once a day or three times a week,
Its true benefits will always elude you.
When everything changed for me was when I made the conscious decision
To make meditation an integral part of my life.
And I did that by taking advantage of all the little pauses in my day.
Time that would normally be wasted if you didn't take advantage of it.
We all have so many times like that in our days.
Like getting in touch with your breath first thing in the morning.
While you're sitting waiting in the doctor's office.
While you're in the car waiting for your friend to come out of the store.
While you're on hold with tech support.
And so many other times throughout the day.
Learning to just be really means taking advantage of moments to be exactly what they are.
It's altering your perception of a moment.
To view a moment as something precious instead of viewing it as something wasted.
To view the rainbow after the shower rather than your soggy shoes.
To take a moment that might have been wasted to look at the beauty and complexity of a flower.
To view every day as something special rather than as a day that's stormy or overcast or raining.
Taking time to just be means taking time to listen to the world around you.
Listen to the people around you.
To listen to the music that's in a rainstorm.
Each and every one of you is walking the path of mindfulness.
And with practice you will come to know this path.
I know I've said it before but I'm still a work in progress.
I've been at this for 54 years and I still have crazy days.
Be grateful for all that you are.
Take this moment in time to just be.
And in the process be kind to yourself.
Relax and just breathe.
Just breathe.
Breathing in and breathing out just one breath at a time.
When you truly acknowledge the fact that we all only have a limited time
You can begin to live your life more fully.
You can slow down and begin to appreciate all that you overlooked before.
You can come to see loved ones and partners and children and even pets in a new way.
When you live and have more time of stillness
You begin to prioritize and realize what's really important.
Think about that.
Please think about it.
Now as we come to a close open your eyes and come back into the room
Being aware of each breath.
Being aware of the birds in the trees and the flowers in the yard
And the needs of those around you.
And by doing this as best we can
By introducing stillness and calm
By being more in the present moment and following our breath
We can live our lives more fully.
Wiggle your fingers and toes and stretch
And feel how good it is to be alive.
And this moment is the only moment we can be sure of.
It's the only moment that matters.
Remember forever is now.
The past is unchangeable
And the future doesn't exist except in our minds.
This here now.
This is all you can be sure of.
And that's why I always say
We are breathing in and breathing out
Just one breath at a time.
Take time to get in touch with your breath throughout your day
So you can appreciate your life more fully.
I really hope this has been a beneficial and calming session
And I want to thank each and every one of you
For taking the time to join me in this practice.
If you're interested,
Please join me in our group
On Insight Timer Meditation with Michael.
We'd love to have you.
Till next time.
