#149: SPECIAL EPISODE: A Guided Meditation on Gratitude
Just in time for Thanksgiving, I’m releasing a guided meditation on gratitude.
Given how strange and unsettling this year is, I thought intentionally focusing on something positive in our lives—all things we’re grateful for—could help make this time a little easier to stomach.
My hope is that this will offer a few minutes of peace and calm. Just recording it, offered that to me.
It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed right now, and for those celebrating Thanksgiving without family, this can be a deeply lonely time.
I feel it myself. I miss my parents and my normal life desperately.
May this meditation help us all remember and cherish the blessings in our lives, as we invite them to our Thanksgiving table.
If you enjoyed this meditation, please reach out to me at jillian@milotree.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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Guided Meditation on Gratitude
Given that it’s Thanksgiving week, and this year is a little unusual.
Instead of talking about business and blogging, I wanted to offer up something a little different to help with maybe some of the unsettled feelings we’re all having.
This is my second guided meditation. I did my first meditation on perfection a few months ago, and I’ll link to it in the show notes.
If you’re interested. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, this meditation is on gratitude.
Find a comfortable place where you can sit down or lie down and close your eyes. And let’s start breathing. Breathe in and out. And in and out. On this breath, picture, a giant wave crashing over you.
So, ready, breathe in. A giant wave crashes over you. And as you exhale, the water retreats, and so does a little bit of the tension you’re holding in your body.
So, let’s try that again.
Breathe in, let the wave crash over you. And as it retreats, exhale feel a little more tension, leave your body. Let’s do that one more time, breathe in. Feel this wave crash over you. And as the water retreats, a little more tension leaves your body.
And now, let’s scan our bodies because there are usually some extra places where we hold tension.
When I mentioned a place, see if you can relax it just a little bit more. Let’s first focus on our eye sockets. Can you feel them relax just by focusing on them?
And now let’s move down to our jaws. We tend to hold a lot of tension in our jaws. Oh, feel it relax. And now, let’s move down to our throats and to our shoulders.
And to our solar plexus which is the spot right under your ribs. Like if you got punched in the stomach. That’s where your solar plexus is and just put a little softness there.
Let’s move down to our bellies. We tend to hold a lot of tension in our bellies. So, see if you can soften it so, that you have soft belly. Ah.
Let’s move down to our hips and to our thighs and to our calves.
And now focus on your feet and see if you can flex them really hard. And then point them really hard. Oh, and then let it go. Let them just melt.
So, now, as we start talking about gratitude, I want to invite you to open yourself up to receive guidance, wisdom, almost like you’re an empty vessel.
Let’s start with the breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. And now please repeat these words in your head.
And I want you to see what shows up. Ready. I am grateful for, what materialized? What popped into your mind?
So, give it a second. Visualize it. Is it a certain person, pet, thing, event experience, maybe a circumstance?
Who or whatever it is, please welcome that into your heart. Surround it or them with love. And give thanks for playing such an important role in your life. Then invite it or them to your Thanksgiving table.
Let’s do it again. Please repeat the words, I am grateful for in your head and see what materializes. Was it another person? Again, a pet, experience? Whatever it was, welcome this person or this thing into your heart.
And invite it to take it or them to take a seat at your Thanksgiving table. And let’s do it one more time. Please repeat these words I am grateful for and whatever pops into your mind, hold it or them in your heart. And again, invite them or it to join you at your table.
Now think of a challenge in your life that you have overcome. It could be an illness, a circumstance or relationship. Feel your bravery. Build your inner strength for getting to the other side. And welcome that challenge into your heart.
Thank the challenge, thank your strength. This has helped transform you, helped you evolve. So, invite this experience to your table. Now, think of someone in your life. Who could use a little grace, a touch of kindness.
A little bit of love and warmth right now. Who in your life is struggling? And in your mind, hold them tight. Send lots of love their way and invite them to your table.
Are there other people who might need that little touch of grace? If so, invite each one to your table, surround them with love.
And now as our final act of gratitude. Please welcome yourself into your heart with all your strengths, and all your weaknesses. Your fears, your loves your foibles, your best qualities, your worst qualities, the whole package of who you are without judgment.
Please thank yourself for being uniquely you. Nobody else is like you. And thank yourself for hanging in there in this unusual time. Thank yourself for showing up in whatever way you’ve been able to.
Please, place your hand on your heart. And feel the lifeforce inside you as you breathe in and out. And in and out. Feel how alive you are in this mysterious incarnation.
Now, sit yourself at the head of your Thanksgiving table and look around at all that you are grateful for. And those that you love. And please take this in. So, let’s breathe together. Let’s breathe in and out. And in and out.
Notice the abundance people experiences, challenges. Know that this is life and it isn’t always easy. And a lot of times, it’s messy. And it’s also a deep and beautiful mystery. And we keep showing up. For that, let’s give thanks and let’s celebrate.
When you’re ready, wiggle your fingers and your toes. Feel yourself coming back into your body. And when it feels comfortable, open your eyes and notice the subtle shift that has taken place.
I wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving, and I’ll see you again next week. ❤️
