G'day,
My name is Rachel Grace.
Thanks for joining me for this practice entitled Attitude of Gratitude.
Gratitude is the feeling of thankfulness for something that we've received,
And much of the time it's mixed together with a general sense of gladness or being happy about something.
Feeling grateful depends more on our mood and attitude than it does on what's been done for us or the circumstances we're in.
This is readily evident when we contemplate how gratitude comes more easily when we're feeling happy and confident,
Compared to when we're feeling defensive and preoccupied,
Where it's all too easy to not even notice what someone else is doing to support us.
But we can consciously practice cultivating an attitude of gratitude by directing our attention to noticing even just a few of the things in our life that there is to be grateful for in any given moment.
At times when we're overwhelmed,
Under pressure,
Or caught up in a trance of negativity,
It can take effort to connect with what there is to be grateful for,
And I suspect that we can all get that way sometimes and there's no shame in that.
But the great news is that not only can we turn our attention to gratitude in any given moment that we choose to,
But that the moment we do,
Typically we feel a bit better in that very moment,
Even if the outside circumstances have remained the same.
And also,
The more often we practice an attitude of gratitude,
The more likely we are to spontaneously and effortlessly start to spot things to be grateful for in the future.
It really creates an upward cycle of increasingly feeling appreciation and gratitude once we start to practice.
And that's really helpful for our well-being and everything else that relies on our well-being,
Like our work and our relationships.
So let's practice cultivating an attitude of gratitude together.
To prepare for this practice,
I invite you to find a sitting posture where you're comfortable,
A posture that supports you to be both alert and also relaxed.
And then I invite you to join me in taking a deep breath in,
Filling the lungs right up,
And then exhaling gently and slowly.
For this practice,
I invite you to keep your eyes open for the time being,
As the start of the practice will involve us looking around with our eyes open.
And we'll make a start for the practice with the ring of the gong.
So to begin this gratitude practice,
I invite you to look around at the environment you're currently in and notice one or more things that you can be thankful for.
It could be an object,
Something you've been given that's really useful or beautiful and you're grateful for that.
Look around,
See what you can notice.
Or you can even turn your attention to being thankful for the efforts of others that have produced the things around you that you rely on or that you appreciate.
The farmers who have grown the food you have,
The engineers who have designed the computer you use,
The people who assembled the smartphone you're listening to this practice on.
It could be the nature around you,
The breeze,
The beautiful tree or birds outside.
Whatever it is,
Just look around and notice what you can be grateful for.
Having taken a moment to notice the objects or nature around you,
I now invite you to gently close your eyes or just gently downcast them with a soft gaze towards the floor as I now invite you to take your attention inward.
So I invite you now to bring to mind the people that you're most grateful for.
It might be friends or loved ones who make you laugh,
The people who are kind or friendly towards you when you get your coffee or groceries.
It can also be the pet you love who lights up when you get home or at least when you feed them.
So continue bringing to mind whoever or whatever other beings spring to mind that you're really grateful for.
And as you bring each one to mind just notice how it feels as you see them in your mind's eye.
And as these ideas and people,
Pets spring to mind,
I invite you to silently repeat to yourself now phrases that reaffirm your gratitude.
Silently repeating,
I'm thankful for that.
And I'm grateful for that.
Or I appreciate this.
Continue reaffirming what you're grateful for silently to yourself using these phrases or phrases like these.
I'm grateful for this.
I'm thankful.
I appreciate this person.
Now let this awareness of what you're grateful for become a feeling of thankfulness.
And as you continue to bring to mind,
You're grateful for this.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It's alright if other things come to mind that you wish were different,
You wish you had more of,
That's okay,
It's totally natural.
And alongside that you can continue to choose to also focus on that which you're thankful for.
Continuing to say thank you as each thing that you're grateful for springs to mind.
You can also broaden what you're thankful for by becoming aware,
Bringing to mind the people,
Places,
Information,
Opportunities or things that might be outside of your immediate current circumstances but which have been a source of help or support,
A source of joy,
Love or adventure in the past.
Just bring those things to mind now.
Bringing to mind a person who you're grateful for who has positively impacted you in some way,
Even if it's just in a small way.
And as you let yourself be aware of your gratitude for this person,
Let that felt sense of gratitude for them sink in.
Really be with that sense of appreciation,
Noticing what it feels like in your body.
And of course you can also be grateful for grateful for the impersonal but truly inspiring and amazing things in this world,
Such as the gift of life itself,
The gift of having a human body and a human mind,
The gift of the planet and the gift of the universe.
Connecting with a sense of gratitude for the big things and the small things that support you.
And allowing any related feelings of gladness,
Relief or happiness for example to be here too.
And if feelings of sadness show up,
Perhaps for a moment of joy that has passed or a memory that is bittersweet,
It's making room for those feelings too.
Feeling it all with a gentle kindness.
As we start to approach the end of this practice,
I invite you to let this experience of gratitude sink in even a little bit more.
Letting the sense of appreciation fill you up and sink down all through the body,
Allowing this feeling of gratitude to get established all throughout your very being.
And to prepare for the end of the practice,
I invite you to join me in taking a big breath in,
Filling your lungs right up and then exhaling gently and slowly,
Releasing all the air from your lungs,
Relaxing the body and the mind as you breathe out.
And we'll finish the practice with the ring of the gong.
Allowing your eyes to open,
Gently bringing your attention back up into the environment around you.
Just taking a moment to notice and savour the impact of this practice on the state of your body and mind.
May mindfulness and an attitude of gratitude positively impact you,
What you do and all of those around you.
Thank you for practicing with me.
I hope you'll join me again.
