Category: meditation techniques

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Meditate on Gratitude

 

Susan Morales, M.S.W.

Reprinted from Huffington Post Healthy Living Nov. 22, 2011

A few years ago, our British guests were touched and in awe at our Thanksgiving dinner tradition of telling each other why we are grateful. My 3-year-old grandson’s “I’m happy for the movie, ‘Cars'” gave everyone a laugh. Some comments are funny, some sentimental and others thought-provoking. They certainly enrich the experience of dining together.

For me, getting in touch with gratitude is more than a cognitive exercise. It changes my mental and emotional state. Try thinking about something you deeply appreciate. Breathe into the sensation that results, helping it expand. Doesn’t it feel great? I notice that my body relaxes, too.

Meditate on What Is Working in Your Life

When I do this meditation I begin by remembering the people in my life who have supported and loved me. Then I move on to my health, acknowledging all the parts that are functioning, even if I’m sick or injured. I continue by recognizing all the different facets of my life that are working.

In your meditation posture, use the above exercise for a simple and effective way to relax your mind and body and lift your spirits. I find that I can also shift how I’m feeling at any time of the day by repeating this process. Especially if my spirits are low, I redirect my attention to recognizing the small details that I appreciate: the hot water in the shower, the book I’m reading, the lovely colors in my yard brought out by that day’s lighting. The smaller the detail, the more I slow down. Sometimes the details are so small they seem ridiculous. This makes me laugh. Then my spirits soar even more.

Thank Yourself: A Guided Meditation

From my perspective as a Midwestern native, having worked with clients all over the U.S., one of the deficits I have found in our culture is lack of gratitude for ourselves. Our bodies and minds are with us constantly. They are the instruments at hand to serve our needs and the needs of others. Why not spend time being grateful for ourselves? In this guided meditation we thank the many parts of us that contribute to who we are.

Start in your meditation posture with your eyes open. Take a couple of deep breaths and watch your chest rise and fall with each inhalation and exhalation. Take a moment to appreciate the automatic functioning of your lungs. Thank your lungs.

Next, close your eyes and become aware of your thoughts — without judgment. Your mind might be evaluating this experience, or associating it with something pleasant or perhaps unpleasant. Whatever they are, thank your thoughts for the great job they do in keeping you aware and aligned with what is important to you.

Now scan your body and take time to thank the parts that you’re particularly grateful for — perhaps your feet for taking you where you want to go, perhaps for your hands for their strength. Whichever part you feel drawn to, thank it briefly and move on to another. Continue until you feel the gratitude surging.

Finally, connect with all the effort you give in creating your life. With the energy you put forth for taking care of yourself, taking care of others, contributing to our world. Feel the immensity of this energy in your heart. Breathe deeply into your heart center and allow your chest muscles to relax in the awareness of your good effort.

If your mind wanders to negative characteristics within yourself, gently return to the feeling of gratitude in your heart — for all that you have, all that you give, all that you are. Meditate on this wonderful feeling of gratitude.

When you finish with the meditation, you may want to jot down what was helpful. Perhaps write out a gratitude statement you’d like to share with others either at Thanksgiving or on another occasion. As we get in touch with our gratitude and share it with others, our appreciation grows.

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A meditation method: Notice what you notice

 

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Image by aigledayres via Flickr

You’ve had the experience, haven’t you, of becoming aware of something that’s always been there but hadn’t caught your attention? A photograph on the wall of your favorite restaurant, a colleague’s shoes, a tree limb sticking out over the road. Or as the bird in the photo, your shadow on the wet sand. Why do you all of a sudden notice?

I think of these instances as little reminders to be in the present moment – to shift thoughts from the past or future. Letting go of such thoughts opens up a stream of possibilities. My heart quickens and I sense an excitement as if I’ve just met a new love. Often these moments hold a phrase or image that becomes a poem. Just being aware creates newness, a creative inspiration.

When we meditate, we are not waiting for those random moments; we are creating the environment for them to happen. A very simple method of meditation is to notice what you notice. As you sit in your favorite quiet spot, begin by being aware of your surroundings. Take in the colors and textures, the sounds and smells. A squirrel scratching at the earth to dig up a nut; the dusty odor of the furnace coming on; a soft warmth on your cheek from the sunlight filtering in through the blinds. Whatever you notice, just catalog it in your mind as something interesting. Don’t do anything. In fact resist the temptation to swipe at the cobweb, or adjust the thermostat.

With each new sense that you notice, watch where your thoughts go. Maybe you remember something painful. If so, then notice the pain. Where is it located in your body? What stories does your mind start telling you? Be curious about the pain as if it is the first time you’ve experienced it.

Whether the dusty odor of the furnace makes you want to go down and change the air filter, or you associate it with a visit at nasty Aunt Beulah’s, the key is to be inquisitive about what you notice and not judgmental. Judgment is what takes us out of the present moment and squelches our relaxation. So, allow the mind to roam freely. Just keep noticing where it goes and what impact it has on your body and your emotional state.

Be a pioneer within yourself. Each thought is new. Each sense experience is new. Each breath is as new as the infant’s first breath. Enjoy the wonder and meditate.

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Breath to brain meditation technique for slowing your thougths

This is a transaxial slice of the brain of a 5...
Image via Wikipedia

This technique came to me one day when I was meditating and trying to soften the clatter going on in my mind. Especially when I wake up at my usual time 7 – 7:30am and go to sit in my meditation chair, my thoughts are already in high gear with my plans for the day. I’ve disciplined my body to sit anyway, before my cup of tea, before getting on the computer to check messages.

So, I sit and watch my thoughts. One day, feeling particularly frustrated, a new idea popped into my head, “Fog up your brain with your breath.” Of course, I don’t think this is possible physiologically, but I thought it an interesting exploration. In yoga classes, and in bodywork sessions, I was often instructed to “direct my breath” to an area that needed soothing or relaxing. Well, most mornings, that’s my brain.

I took a deep breath and imagined the exhalation going up and clouding my head. Instantly, I sensed my thoughts slow down. I took another breath and did the same. The result was almost dizzying. The thought I’m on to something snuck out from the fog and I continued meditating, focusing on the light, fluffy sensation inside my skull. Within moments my sense of time disappeared. I automatically came back to awareness of the room when my usual twenty minutes had passed. I felt refreshed and my mind calm for all the day’s events.

One of the participants in a meditation workshop gave me feedback that the technique didn’t completely work for her. She couldn’t get past imagining carbon dioxide floating around in her brain. So, not wanting the pollution, she “sent” the breath out through the crown of her head. She was then able to relax and allow the experience to unfold. This is a great example of allowing meditation to teach you how to meditate. Take your experience and make it your own.

 

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