Speaker 1: Welcome to this quiet moment, this sacred space you have
Speaker 1: chosen just for yourself. I am so glad you are here.
Speaker 1: Take a moment to settle into wherever you are, whether
Speaker 1: you're sitting in a comfortable chair, lying on your bed,
Speaker 1: or resting on a cushion on the four more, wherever
Speaker 1: you are.
Speaker 2: Let that be exactly enough. You do not need to
Speaker 2: be anywhere else. You do not need to do anything else.
Speaker 2: You have arrived and that is all that matters. This
Speaker 2: is your time, this is your practice.
Speaker 3: And today we are going to open our hearts. We
Speaker 3: are going to explore the beautiful, transformative power of gratitude.
Speaker 3: Not the kind of gratitude we rush through on our
Speaker 3: way to sleep, not the kind we mumble quickly before
Speaker 3: a meal or before a presentation, but deep, unhurried, heart
Speaker 3: expanse and in gratitude, the kind that shifts something inside you,
Speaker 3: the kind that changes the way you see your life,
Speaker 3: not just in this moment, but in every moment that follows.
Speaker 3: Gratitude is not just a feeling.
Speaker 1: It is a practice. It is a skill, and like
Speaker 1: any skill, it deepens with attention and care. Tonight we
Speaker 1: are going to give it the attention it deserves. We
Speaker 1: are going to explore it from any angles. We are
Speaker 1: going to let it work on us in ways that
Speaker 1: may surprise us. So let us begin. Let us begin
Speaker 1: by simply being here, right here, in this breath, in
Speaker 1: this body, in this moment. Nothing to fix, nothing to solve,
Speaker 1: just presence, just awareness, just a quiet miracle of being
Speaker 1: alive and choosing to be fully here for it. Take
Speaker 1: one deep breath in and let it go. You are here,
Speaker 1: and that is beautiful to as arise. If that feels
Speaker 1: comfortable for you, and if it does not, soften your
Speaker 1: gaze toward the floor or toward a point in your
Speaker 1: room that does not move, Let your eyelids grow heavy.
Speaker 1: Let the world outside this room, outside this moment, become
Speaker 1: a distant tone. You are here, Now, you are safe.
Speaker 1: You are held. Begin to notice your breath, not to
Speaker 1: change it, not to control it, not to improve it,
Speaker 1: simply to notice it. Feel the air as it ends
Speaker 1: through your nostrils, Feel the gentle coolness as it travels
Speaker 1: down your throat, past the base of your tongue, filling
Speaker 1: your lungs from the bottom up, and then feel the
Speaker 1: warmth as you release it back into the world. The exhale,
Speaker 1: the letting go, the soft quiet release. Inhale through your
Speaker 1: nose one two, three, four, and exhale through your mouth one, two,
Speaker 1: three or five six again inhale, slowly, feeling your chest
Speaker 1: or eyes, your ribs expand, your bellies, soften, and exhale completely,
Speaker 1: feeling your shoulders, drop your jaw, loosen the muscles around
Speaker 1: your eyes. Relax with each breath. Feel yourself settling deeper
Speaker 1: into this moment. Feel your body growing heavier, not in
Speaker 1: a burdensome way, but in a way that says I
Speaker 1: can rest now. I do not need to hold myself up.
Speaker 1: The chair holds me, the floor holds me, the earth
Speaker 1: holds me. I can release your hands, resting gently in
Speaker 1: your lap or at your sides, your fingers uncurled and soft,
Speaker 1: your jaw unclenching your forehead, smoothing the space between your eyebrows,
Speaker 1: opening your entire body, beginning to trust that it is
Speaker 1: safe to relax here, that it is safe to let
Speaker 1: go of the day, that it is safe to be still.
Speaker 1: Take three more breaths at your own pace, and with
Speaker 1: each exhalispers silently to yourself, I am here, I am present,
Speaker 1: I am grateful, to be alive. Let us pause for
Speaker 1: a few breaths now, just to arrive fully to lend
Speaker 1: in this moment before we begin the deeper work of
Speaker 1: the hut. Good. You are here, and that is beautiful.
Speaker 1: Now I want you to bring your attention to the
Speaker 1: center of your chest, to the space behind your breast bone,
Speaker 1: where your heart beats. This is not just a muscle
Speaker 1: pumping blood through your veins. This is the seat of
Speaker 1: your emotional life. This is where joy lives, where love lives,
Speaker 1: where grief lifts, where hope lifts, and where gratitude begins.
Speaker 1: Imagine now that there is a warm, golden light glow
Speaker 1: softly in the center of your chest. It is small
Speaker 1: at first, no bigger than a candle flame. Notice its color,
Speaker 1: Notice its warms. It flickers gently, steady and persistent. It
Speaker 1: is not loud, It is not demanding. It is simply there.
Speaker 1: It has always been there, waiting for you to notice it.
Speaker 1: This light is the light of your heart. It has
Speaker 1: been with you your entire life, through every joy and
Speaker 1: every sorrow, through every triumph and every struggle, through every
Speaker 1: quiet morning and every restless night, through every moment of connection,
Speaker 1: and every moment of loneliness. This light has never gone out.
Speaker 1: It has flickered, yes, it has dimmed at times, but
Speaker 1: it has never gone out. It is here now, steady
Speaker 1: and warm, inviting you closer.
Speaker 4: With each breath.
Speaker 1: Imagine this light growing just a little larger. Breathing in,
Speaker 1: it expands, breathing out. It glows brighter in out, expanding,
Speaker 1: brightening in helle, and the light pushes outward a little further.
Speaker 5: Exhale and intensiface becomes richer, more vivid. This is your
Speaker 5: heart space. This is where we will practice tonight. And
Speaker 5: this golden light is the light of gratitude itself. It
Speaker 5: is fed by appreciation. It grows with awareness. It shines
Speaker 5: brightest when we pause long enough to notice the gifts
Speaker 5: that are already ours. Feel the light growing now as
Speaker 5: you breathe, warm, golden amber, rich, expanding with each inhale,
Speaker 5: radiating outward with each exhaling, until it.
Speaker 6: Fills not just your chest, but your entire body. Your
Speaker 6: arms warm with it, your legs glowing with it, your head,
Speaker 6: your face, your scalp, all of you bathed in this warm,
Speaker 6: golden glow of the heart. Stay here for a moment,
Speaker 6: just feel it, this warmth, this openness. This is your
Speaker 6: heart space. This is where we begin before we go deeper.
Speaker 6: I want to invite you to notice something, something that
Speaker 6: is easy to forget in the rush and noise of
Speaker 6: daily life. You carry so much with you every single day.
Speaker 6: You carry responsibilities and worries, tasks and to do less,
Speaker 6: expectations from others, obligations to yourself, fears about the future,
Speaker 6: and regrets about the past. Some of these are heavy,
Speaker 6: some of them are light.
Speaker 1: And sometimes in the middle of carrying all of this,
Speaker 1: we forget to notice what else we carry. Because you
Speaker 1: also carry beautiful things. Carry memories that make you smile
Speaker 1: without warning. You carry the voice of someone you love,
Speaker 1: the way they set your name, the way they laughed
Speaker 1: at your worst joke. You carry the warmth of a
Speaker 1: kindness that was shown to you, perhaps years ago, that
Speaker 1: you still hold close to your heart like a secret treasure.
Speaker 1: You carry the ability to feel, to love, to care,
Speaker 1: to be moved to tears by a sunset or a song,
Speaker 1: or the sight of a child sleeping peacefully.
Speaker 7: These are gifts.
Speaker 1: These are the treasures hidden in the ordinary fabric of
Speaker 1: your life. They are not flashy, They do not announce themselves.
Speaker 1: They live in the quiet spaces between the big events
Speaker 1: and the loud moments, and tonight we are going to
Speaker 1: notice them. We are going to honor them. We are
Speaker 1: going to hold them up to the light and let
Speaker 1: them shine. So take a moment now, without.
Speaker 8: Trying too hard, without straining or reaching, just let a
Speaker 8: memory flow to the surface, A small moment, a quiet moment,
Speaker 8: something that happened recently or long ago, something that made
Speaker 8: you feel glad to be alive. Perhaps it was a
Speaker 8: meal you shared with someone, the way the food tasted
Speaker 8: and the way the conversation flowed.
Speaker 1: Perhaps it was the feeling of warm sun light on
Speaker 1: your skin in a cool morning. Perhaps it was a
Speaker 1: conversation that made you laugh until your stomach cart and
Speaker 1: you realized afterward that you had not laughed like that
Speaker 1: in months. Perhaps it was simply a moment of peace,
Speaker 1: a moment when everything was quiet and still and you felt,
Speaker 1: for just an instant that the world was exactly as
Speaker 1: it should be. Whatever it is. Let it come, Do
Speaker 1: not chase it, do not force it. Just receive it.
Speaker 1: By catching a leaf drifting down from a tree, gently
Speaker 1: soft frey, without effort. As you hold this memory in
Speaker 1: your awareness, notice how your body responds. Notice if you
Speaker 1: feel a warmth in your chest, a softness, a gentle expansion,
Speaker 1: a tingling at the edges of your heart space, that
Speaker 1: is your heart recognizing a gift that is gratitude, unbidden
Speaker 1: and pure, rising up from the depths of you. Stay
Speaker 1: with this memory for a few breaths. Let it fill
Speaker 1: the golden light in your chest. Let it become part
Speaker 1: of the light good Now gender release it.
Speaker 9: Let the memory fade back into the landscape of your mind.
Speaker 9: We are going to explore gratitude in many forms harms today.
Speaker 9: This is just the beginning, just the first step through
Speaker 9: the door.
Speaker 1: Gratitude is one of the most powerful forces available to
Speaker 1: the human heart. It has been studied by scientists, explored
Speaker 1: by philosophers, practiced by spiritual traditions across the world for
Speaker 1: thousands of years, and what they have found is remarkable.
Speaker 1: Regular gratitude practice literally rewires the brain. It creates new
Speaker 1: neural pathways that make it easier to notice the good
Speaker 1: in your life. It reduces cortasol, the stress hormone. It
Speaker 1: lowers blood pressure, It improves the mean function, It enhances
Speaker 1: sleep quality, It strengthens relationships, It eases symptoms of depression
Speaker 1: and anxiety. It deepens overall happiness and life satisfaction. But
Speaker 1: beyond all the science, beyond all the measurements and cities,
Speaker 1: gratitude does something even more profound. It connects you to
Speaker 1: life itself. When you are grateful, you are not wishing
Speaker 1: for something else. You are not changing the next thing.
Speaker 8: You are not measuring your worth by what you like,
Speaker 8: or comparing your life to someone else's.
Speaker 1: You are here, You are receiving. You are noticing the
Speaker 1: extraordinary abundance that already surrounds you, much of which you
Speaker 1: have simply never had the time or the stillness to see.
Speaker 1: And tonight we are going to practice this not as
Speaker 1: a one time exercise that ends when this meditation is over,
Speaker 1: but as a doorway, a doorway into our way of being,
Speaker 1: a way of seeing, a way of carrying yourself through
Speaker 1: the world that you can take with you long after
Speaker 1: this meditation ends. So let us begin the practice, and
Speaker 1: we will begin with the simplest and most fundamental thing,
Speaker 1: the thing that is so obvious, so constant, so ever present,
Speaker 1: that most of us never think be grateful for it.
Speaker 1: Your breath. The fact that you are breathing right now,
Speaker 1: without effort, without thought, without even a conscious decision from you,
Speaker 1: Your body knows exactly what to do. It has been
Speaker 1: doing it since the moment you drew your first breath,
Speaker 1: the moment you entered this world. In hell, exhale again
Speaker 1: and again and again, sustaining you, keeping you alive, keeping
Speaker 1: you here, without you ever having to ask, without you
Speaker 1: ever having to remind it. Let us offer gratitude for
Speaker 1: this in hell, and as you breathe in silently say
Speaker 1: thank you for this breath. Exhale, And as you breed out,
Speaker 1: feel gratitude flowing from your heart into your entire body.
Speaker 1: Feel it in your fingertips, in the crown of your head,
Speaker 1: in the soles of your feet. Again in hell, thank
Speaker 1: you for this breath.
Speaker 4: Ex Hell. Feel the gratitude expand, feel it grow. Breathe
Speaker 4: for several cycles. Now, let us expand this further. Let
Speaker 4: us move from the breath to the body itself. Because
Speaker 4: your body has been with you through all of it,
Speaker 4: every single day, every single moment. It has been your
Speaker 4: constant companion, your faithful partner, your home.
Speaker 1: Let us begin with your feet. They may be tired,
Speaker 1: they may carry aches and pains, They may not be
Speaker 1: the prettiest part of you. But they have carried you
Speaker 1: forward every single day of your life. Every step, every journey,
Speaker 1: every walk to the car, every climb up a staircase,
Speaker 1: every dance in the kitchen, every run to catch a train,
Speaker 1: every slow, tired shuffle back to bed. They have connected
Speaker 1: you to the earth, keeping you steady, keeping you balanced,
Speaker 1: keeping you upright. Without them, you could not go anywhere.
Speaker 1: Without them, you could not stand. Thank your feet silently.
Speaker 1: Now send them on from the golden light in your chest.
Speaker 1: Send them gratitude and appreciation for their tireless service. Now
Speaker 1: move you your awareness up to your ankles and your caps.
Speaker 1: These connective tissues, these working muscles, have supported you through
Speaker 1: every season of your life. They have grown with you.
Speaker 1: They have strengthened as you grew, and adapted as you aged.
Speaker 1: Thank them for their quiet, uncompleting work. Move your awareness
Speaker 1: now to your legs, strong and steady. They have carried
Speaker 1: you uphills and downstairs. They have run and walked inside,
Speaker 1: and stood and knelt and jumped, then sprawled across couches
Speaker 1: on lazy afternoons. They have given you independence, freedom and do,
Speaker 1: ability to go where you choose, when you choose to
Speaker 1: walk beside the people you love.
Speaker 10: To stand tall when you needed to, to bend when
Speaker 10: you needed to rest. Thank your legs for their strength,
Speaker 10: Thank them for their service. Your hands. Take a moment.
Speaker 10: Take a moment to really think about your hands, these
Speaker 10: remarkable instruments. They have held the hands of people you love.
Speaker 10: They have written words that mattered. They have cooked meals
Speaker 10: for people you care about. They have wiped tears your
Speaker 10: own in others.
Speaker 1: They have built things and created things, and held babies,
Speaker 1: and turned pages and picked flowers and typed messages and
Speaker 1: wrapped gifts and smooth sheets. They have done so much,
Speaker 1: and they have done it all, day after day, year
Speaker 1: after year, without complaint. Look at your hands now, if
Speaker 1: your eyes are open, or picture them in your mind.
Speaker 1: Thank them now. Send them love your arms. They have
Speaker 1: embraced the people who matter most to you. They have
Speaker 1: helped you up when you felt like falling. They have
Speaker 1: reached out in kindness. They have pulled you forward in strength.
Speaker 1: They have crashed themselves over your chat when you needed comfort.
Speaker 1: They have waved hello and waved goodbye, and held on
Speaker 1: when letting go was the last thing you wanted to do.
Speaker 1: Thank your arms your torso, your core, the center that
Speaker 1: holds everything together. Your stomach, which has processed every meal
Speaker 1: you have ever eaten.
Speaker 11: Your back, which has supported your upright posture through thousands
Speaker 11: of hours. Your chest, within which your lungs and your
Speaker 11: heart have worked tirelessly, faithfully, moment after moment. So much
Speaker 11: happens here, so much invisible, so much unnoticed. Your heart
Speaker 11: beats approximately one hundred thousand times a day, one hundred
Speaker 11: thousand faithful beats, asking nothing in return. Your lungs expand
Speaker 11: and contract about twenty thousand times a day, twenty thousand
Speaker 11: breaths each on the gift. This is a miracle of engineering,
Speaker 11: this body of yours. Thank you tosso, Thank you core.
Speaker 11: Thank your organs for their tireless, invisible work. Your neck
Speaker 11: and shoulders wear so much. Tension gathers where you hold
Speaker 11: the weight of your days, your responsibilities, your worries. Tonight,
Speaker 11: let those shoulders soften, let them drop away from your ears,
Speaker 11: Let them release, and thank them for bearing so much
Speaker 11: without complaint.
Speaker 1: Your face, your eyes that lets you see the faces
Speaker 1: of those you love. The color of the sky at dawn,
Speaker 1: the pattern of rain on a window, the expression of
Speaker 1: a dog tilting its head. Your ears that let you
Speaker 1: hear music and laughter and bird song and the voice
Speaker 1: of a friend calling your name. Your mouth that lets
Speaker 1: you spear truth and taste the sweetness of fresh fruit
Speaker 1: and smile at a stranger. Your nose that lets you
Speaker 1: smell rain on warm pavement and flowers in a garden,
Speaker 1: and the skin of someone you hold clothes. Thank your face,
Speaker 1: Thank your senses. Thank your body for the gift of perception.
Speaker 1: And your brain, that extraordinary, mysterious organ that lets you
Speaker 1: think and dream and imagine and solve and create and
Speaker 1: remember and love. It works so hard for you every
Speaker 1: second of every day, even now as you lie here
Speaker 1: in meditation. It is processing my words, creating images in
Speaker 1: your mind, guiding your breath, maintaining your heartbeat, regulating your temperature,
Speaker 1: filtering out the sounds that do not matter, and implifying
Speaker 1: the ones that do. It never rests, it never takes
Speaker 1: a vacation. It serves you with total dedication. Thank your brain.
Speaker 1: Take a deep breath now and feel gratitude for this
Speaker 1: incredible body, this besl.
Speaker 12: That has carried you through every moment of your life.
Speaker 12: It is not perfect, it never will be, but it
Speaker 12: is yours, and it is remarkable, and it is worthy
Speaker 12: of your love.
Speaker 1: And your thanks. Inhale, thank you body.
Speaker 12: Exhile, I honor you, I appreciate you, I am grateful
Speaker 12: for you.
Speaker 1: Now let us turn our attention outward. Let us bring
Speaker 1: to mind the people in your life. Because so much
Speaker 1: of the beauty, the richness, the meaning of this life
Speaker 1: comes not from things, or achievements or accolades, but from connection,
Speaker 1: from love, from the simple, profound gift of knowing and
Speaker 1: being known, of being seen and accepted.
Speaker 7: Of belonging.
Speaker 1: Think of some one right now who has made your
Speaker 1: life better simply by being in it. Someone who has
Speaker 1: shown you kindness when you needed it. Some one who
Speaker 1: has stood by you when things were difficult, someone who
Speaker 1: has celebrated your victories, even the small ones. Someone whose
Speaker 1: presence in your life is a gift you did not
Speaker 1: own but receive every single day. Perhaps it is a partner,
Speaker 1: the person who shares your home, your bed, your morning coffee,
Speaker 1: the person who knows your moods and your habits and
Speaker 1: your fears and loves you anyway. Perhaps it is apparent,
Speaker 1: the one who gave you life and tried their best
Speaker 1: with whatever tools they had to give you a good one.
Speaker 1: Perhaps it is a child, the one who makes you
Speaker 1: laugh and makes you worry, and makes you realize what
Speaker 1: it truly means to love someone more than yourself. Perhaps
Speaker 1: it is a friend, a true friend, the one who
Speaker 1: calls just to check in, the one who remembers what
Speaker 1: you told them weeks ago, the one who shows up
Speaker 1: without being asked. Whoever it is, bring their face to
Speaker 1: your mind now.
Speaker 13: See them clearly. See the details of their face, the
Speaker 13: way their eyes cringle when they smile, the way their
Speaker 13: hair falls, the way they tilt their head when they
Speaker 13: are listening. Hear their voice, the particular sound of it,
Speaker 13: the way they say your name. Feel the warmth of
Speaker 13: their presence, whether they are near or far, whether they
Speaker 13: are here now or here only in memory. Now, from
Speaker 13: the center of your heart, send them gratitude, not words,
Speaker 13: not a message or a text.
Speaker 1: Or a phone call, just pure silent gratitude, a wave
Speaker 1: of warmth flowing from your golden heart space to theirs.
Speaker 1: Imagine the light from your chest extending outward, wrapping around them,
Speaker 1: holding them in your love. Silently, say thank you for
Speaker 1: being in my life, thank you for your kindness, Thank
Speaker 1: you for your patience. Thank you for loving me as
Speaker 1: I am, not as you wish I were. Feel how
Speaker 1: this gratitude opens something in your chest. Feel how it
Speaker 1: softens something that was tight. Feel how it warms something
Speaker 1: that was called. This is the power of relationship, the
Speaker 1: power of love. Acknowledge the power of grad to express
Speaker 1: from the heart. Let us do this for three people, now,
Speaker 1: one by one, slowly, giving each one the time and
Speaker 1: space they deserve. Because each person in your life is
Speaker 1: a universe unto themselves. Each one teares their own story,
Speaker 1: their own struggles, their own quiet heroism, and each one
Speaker 1: deserves your full, unhurried attention. The first person, the one
Speaker 1: you came to mind first, perhaps the most obvious choice,
Speaker 1: the person you think of when you think of love.
Speaker 1: Bring them back to your awareness. Now send them a
Speaker 1: wave of golden light from your heart. Thank them for
Speaker 1: who they are, not for what they do for you,
Speaker 1: not for what they provide, just for who they are,
Speaker 1: their existence, their presence, their particular, irreplaceable, unrepeatable way of
Speaker 1: being in the world. There is no one else like them,
Speaker 1: there never has been, they never will be. And your
Speaker 1: life is richer because they are in it. Good Now,
Speaker 1: a second person, perhaps someone you have not thanked enough,
Speaker 1: someone you see often but appreciate silently, someone you have
Speaker 1: perhaps taken for granted. The coworker who always asks how
Speaker 1: you are and actually waits for the answer. The neighbor
Speaker 1: who waters your plants when you are away, the friend
Speaker 1: you have known so long that you have forgotten to
Speaker 1: say thank you for staying. Bring them to mind and
Speaker 1: send them gratitude. Let them feel, even from a distance,
Speaker 1: the warmth of your appreciation. And a third person. This
Speaker 1: one might surprise you. Perhaps someone who is no longer
Speaker 1: in your life, someone who has passed on, someone you
Speaker 1: miss deeply and ache for in quiet moments. Or perhaps
Speaker 1: someone who has simply moved on, a friend from another
Speaker 1: chapter of your life. If that person has come to mind,
Speaker 1: it is because they still live in your heart. Their
Speaker 1: love did not end when the relationship did. Their impact
Speaker 1: did not fade when they left the room. Send them
Speaker 1: gratitude now. Thank them for what they taught you, for
Speaker 1: the love they gave you, for the memories that sustain you,
Speaker 1: for the ways they changed you for the better. Breathe
Speaker 1: deeply and feel the fullness of your heart after this
Speaker 1: practice gratitude for the people who make your life worth living.
Speaker 1: It is one of the most beautiful things you can feel.
Speaker 1: It costs nothing, and it means everything.
Speaker 14: Now, this part of the practice may surprise you because
Speaker 14: we are going to be grateful for something that does
Speaker 14: not usually feel like a gift. We are going to
Speaker 14: be grateful for our challenges, for our difficulties, for the
Speaker 14: hard things.
Speaker 1: I know.
Speaker 14: I know that this feel difficult, and I want you
Speaker 14: to know that this is not about pretending that painful
Speaker 14: things are actually good. This is not about toxic positivity
Speaker 14: or forcing yourself to smile when you are hurting.
Speaker 1: This is not about denying the reality of suffering. This
Speaker 1: is about recognizing something true and deep and real, that
Speaker 1: our greatest growth very often comes from our greatest challenges.
Speaker 1: Think about a difficult time in your life, a time
Speaker 1: that tested you, a time that hurt, a time that
Speaker 1: you are not sure you would survive. And now think
Speaker 1: about who you became because of that experience. What strength
Speaker 1: did you develop that you did not know you had.
Speaker 1: What wisdom did you gain that you could not have
Speaker 1: learned any other way. What compassion did you develop, first
Speaker 1: for yourself and then for others who struggle, What clarity
Speaker 1: about your own values and priorities emerged from the fire
Speaker 1: of difficulty. More often than not, the qualities you are
Speaker 1: most proud of in yourself were forged in difficulty. Your
Speaker 1: resilience was born from things that tried to break you.
Speaker 1: Your empathy was born from old suffering. Your debt was
Speaker 1: born from your dark as nights. Your ability to sit
Speaker 1: with others in their pain and say I understand, I
Speaker 1: have been there too was born from the times when
Speaker 1: no one could say that to you. So let us
Speaker 1: offer a quiet, honest gratitude for the challenges that shaped you.
Speaker 1: Not for the pain itself, never for the pain itself,
Speaker 1: but for who you became through it, for the strength
Speaker 1: that grew in the cracks, for the light that found
Speaker 1: its way in. If there is a specific challenge that
Speaker 1: comes to mind, Holy gently in your awareness, do not
Speaker 1: re live it, to not re enter the suffering, simply
Speaker 1: acknowledge it. See it from a distance. Like looking at
Speaker 1: the mountain you once climbed. You do not need to
Speaker 1: climb it again. You just need to see how far
Speaker 1: you are calm, and then silence you see. Thank you
Speaker 1: for what your tody. I am stronger because of you,
Speaker 1: I am wiser because of you. I am more compassionate.
Speaker 1: Because of you. I would not choose you again, but
Speaker 1: I would not undo you either. And if nothing specific
Speaker 1: comes to mind, that is perfectly fine. Simply hold the
Speaker 1: general truth that your life, with all its ups and downs,
Speaker 1: its joys and its sorrows, has made you the person
Speaker 1: you are today, and that person is worthy of gratitude.
Speaker 1: That person is a work in progress and a masterpiece
Speaker 1: at the same time. Brief deeply, and released any tension
Speaker 1: that arose during this part of the practice. Let it
Speaker 1: go with the excel. You do not need to hold
Speaker 1: anything tightly here. You have acknowledged it, you have honored it,
Speaker 1: you have thanked it, and now you can let it rest.
Speaker 15: We have practiced gratitude inward for your body, for your breath,
Speaker 15: for the people you love, for the challenges that shaped you.
Speaker 15: Now let us practice something even bicker. Let us send
Speaker 15: gratitude outward into the world, into the universe, into the
Speaker 15: vast web of connection that links or living things. This
Speaker 15: is not wishful thinking, This is not naive optimism. This
Speaker 15: is a practice of expanding your awareness beyond yourself, of
Speaker 15: recognizing that your life is part of something, largely.
Speaker 16: Something vast and beautiful and interconnected. Imagine now that the
Speaker 16: golden light in your chest is growing. It has been
Speaker 16: fed by all the gratitude you have generated to night.
Speaker 16: It is warm and bright and full and pulsing with life.
Speaker 16: And it is ready to overflow, ready to radiate, ready
Speaker 16: to reach beyond the boundaries of your skin. With your
Speaker 16: next ex hail, imagine this light radiated outward from your
Speaker 16: body in all directions, First to fill the room you
Speaker 16: are in.
Speaker 1: Let it touch every corner, every object, every wall, the furniture,
Speaker 1: the floor beneath you, the ceiling above you. This room
Speaker 1: has sheltered you, It has kept you safe. It has
Speaker 1: been a container for your rest and your meditation. Thank it. Now,
Speaker 1: let the light grow further beyond the walls, beyond the room,
Speaker 1: into the building, into the street, into the neighborhood. Let
Speaker 1: it wash gently over the homes and the gardens, and
Speaker 1: the paths where people walk. These are your neighbors. Fellow
Speaker 1: travelers on this planet, fellow dreamers, fellow sufferers, fellow seekers
Speaker 1: of happiness. They are all doing their best, just as
Speaker 1: zer R. They all have their own golden lad inside them,
Speaker 1: even if they have fragotten it. Send them warmth, Send
Speaker 1: them peace, Send them gratitude for the simple fact that
Speaker 1: you share deserve together. Now, let the light expand further still,
Speaker 1: across it so crags the country, wow.
Speaker 17: Across the oceans. Let it reach every corner of the world.
Speaker 17: Let it touch every living being, every person, no matter
Speaker 17: their nationality or language or beliefs, Every animal, from the
Speaker 17: smallest ant to the largest whale, every tree, from the
Speaker 17: youngest sapling to the oldest redwood, every flower, every blade
Speaker 17: of grass, every creature that crawls and swims and flies.
Speaker 17: We are all connected. We all breathe the same air,
Speaker 17: We all depend on the same sun and the same rain.
Speaker 1: We all yearn for happiness. We all wish to be
Speaker 1: free from suffering. We all carry our own cold and light,
Speaker 1: our own capacity for gratitude and love. From your open heart,
Speaker 1: send gratitude to the world. Not because the world is perfect.
Speaker 1: It is not, not because everything is fair it is not,
Speaker 1: Not because there is no pain or injustice there is.
Speaker 1: But because the world is here, because it exists, because
Speaker 1: it is beautiful and terrible and astonishing and heart breaking
Speaker 1: all at once, because you are a part of it,
Speaker 1: and because the simple fact of being alive on this
Speaker 1: spinning blue planet, in this vast and mysterious universe, is
Speaker 1: a gift beyond any measure we could ever calculate. In heale,
Speaker 1: and as you breed in, gather more alight, more.
Speaker 7: Gratitude, more love. Exhale, and as you breed out sended
Speaker 7: all outward to the world, to the universe, to all
Speaker 7: beings aware. Inhale and exhale three times.
Speaker 1: Beautiful, your being of light, You are a vessel of gratitude,
Speaker 1: and your heart is wide open. Plus. Now use the
Speaker 1: breath to ankle everything we have experienced tonight. We have
Speaker 1: opened our hearts. We have expressed gratitude for our bodies,
Speaker 1: our loved ones, our challenges, and the world. They Now
Speaker 1: let us seel the practice with a calming breath rhythm
Speaker 1: that will settle the nervous system and deepen the feeling
Speaker 1: of gratitude in every set of your body. The rhythm
Speaker 1: is this, Breathe in for four counts, hood gently for
Speaker 1: two counts, breathe out for six counts, hold gently for
Speaker 1: two counts, then repeat. This is the four dash two dash,
Speaker 1: six dash two breath. It activates your parsympathetic nervouses that
Speaker 1: it hols your body at the deepest level, that you
Speaker 1: are safe, that you are at peace, that there is
Speaker 1: nowhere to rush to, nothing to prepare for, nothing to fear,
Speaker 1: just this moment, just this breath, just this gratitude. The
Speaker 1: extendard exil longer than the inhale, since a signal to
Speaker 1: your brain to release serotonin and dope mean It slows
Speaker 1: your heart rate, it lowers your blood pressure, it relaxes
Speaker 1: your muscles, and when combined with the intention of gratitude,
Speaker 1: it creates a powerful feedback loop. Gratitude calms the body.
Speaker 1: The colm body amplifies the gratitude. Let us practice together.
Speaker 1: Breathe in two three four, hold two. Breathe out two three, four,
Speaker 1: five six, hold two again in two three four, hold
Speaker 1: two out two three four five six, hold two. One
Speaker 1: more time with me in two three four, hold two out, two,
Speaker 1: three four, five six, hold two.
Speaker 18: Continue this rhythm now at your own pace, and as
Speaker 18: you breathe, let each inhale carry gratitude into your body,
Speaker 18: and let each ax hail release any remaining tension, any worry,
Speaker 18: any heaviness, any shadow that you no longer need. With
Speaker 18: each cycle, feel yourself becoming lighter, more open more, at peace.
Speaker 18: The golden light in your chest pulses gently with each breath,
Speaker 18: steady and warm and eternal.
Speaker 1: Let us do eight more cycles of this breathing together.
Speaker 1: I will be quiet so you can focus on the
Speaker 1: rhythm and the sensation. Eat cycles four dush two, dush
Speaker 1: six dush two, breathing in silence. Good. Now, let your
Speaker 1: breath return to its rhythm. Do not force it, do
Speaker 1: not guide it, Just like a settle into whatever pace
Speaker 1: on depth feels comfortable and natural. Notice how your body
Speaker 1: feels now, Notice how your heart feels. There may be
Speaker 1: a sense of openness, warmth, softness, lightness, perhaps even tears.
Speaker 1: All of these responses are welcome. All of them are beautiful.
Speaker 1: They are signs that your heart is to regg your
Speaker 1: exactly what it was designed to do. You are exactly
Speaker 1: where you need to be. Let us now plant some
Speaker 1: seeds of gratitude that you will continue to grow long
Speaker 1: after this meditation ends. I will speak a series of affirmations.
Speaker 1: After each one, pause for a moment and let the
Speaker 1: world sink into your bones, Let them settle into your heart,
Speaker 1: Let them become part of you. If one resonates deeply,
Speaker 1: repeat it silently to yourself and feel it as truth.
Speaker 1: I am grateful for this life, with all its gifts
Speaker 1: and all its lessons. My heart is open receive the
Speaker 1: goodness that surrounds me, even when I cannot see it.
Speaker 1: I choose to see the beauty and ordinary moments. The
Speaker 1: steam rising from my coffee, the sound of rain, the
Speaker 1: warmth of the blanket. These are not small things. These
Speaker 1: are everything. I am thankful for the people who love me,
Speaker 1: and I am thankful for the love I have to give.
Speaker 1: Gratitude is my compass. It guides me back to what matters.
Speaker 1: When I have wandered into worries, I release what I
Speaker 1: cannot change, and I'm grateful for the strength to let go.
Speaker 1: Every breath I take is a gift. I honor it
Speaker 1: with my presence and my attention. I am enough. I
Speaker 1: have enough, I do enough, and I am grateful for
Speaker 1: all of it. My challenges have made me stronger, my
Speaker 1: joys have made me lighter. I am grateful for both.
Speaker 1: The world is full of beauty, and I am part
Speaker 1: of that beauty. I carry gratitude like a flame in
Speaker 1: my chest. It lights my way through darkness, and it
Speaker 1: warms every life. It touches. Take a deep breath now
Speaker 1: and feel these words settling into you. You do not
Speaker 1: need to remember every single one. The ones meant for
Speaker 1: you have already found their home. They are seeds planted
Speaker 1: in the fertile soil of your open heart. They will
Speaker 1: continue to grow in the days and weeks ahead. You
Speaker 1: will find yourself noticing things to be grateful for that
Speaker 1: you never noticed before. That is the power of this practice.
Speaker 1: That is the gift you have given yourself. Tonight, we
Speaker 1: are nearing the end of our practice now, but before
Speaker 1: we close, I want to invite you on one final journey,
Speaker 1: a walk through an imagined garden. This garden is your
Speaker 1: gratitude garden. It exists within you, in the landscape of
Speaker 1: your imagination and your heart, and tonight we are going
Speaker 1: to walk through it together, slowly and with great tenderness.
Speaker 1: Imagine now that you are standing at the entrance to
Speaker 1: a beautiful garden. The gate is made of old, warm wood,
Speaker 1: weathered by years of sun and rain. It is open,
Speaker 1: and beyond it you can see a path winding through
Speaker 1: lush greenery, blooming flowers and tall sheltering trees. The air
Speaker 1: is warm, the light is golden, like late afternoon. Everything
Speaker 1: is calm and still. Step through the gate. Now, feel
Speaker 1: the soft earth beneath your feet. Feel the grass between
Speaker 1: your toes if you are barefoot, or the firm path
Speaker 1: beneath your shoes. Smell the sweet fragrance of flowers honeysuckle perhaps,
Speaker 1: or jasmine, or the clean green scent of fresh cut grass.
Speaker 1: Hear the gentle rustle.
Speaker 19: Of leaves in a warm breeze. Hear the distant call
Speaker 19: of a bird, clear and sweet. This is your garden.
Speaker 19: It has been growing here inside you for as long
Speaker 19: as you can remember. Every act of kindness you have
Speaker 19: received has planted a seed here. Every moment of joy
Speaker 19: has watered these flowers. Every act of gratitude you haveactist
Speaker 19: has added sunlight. As you walk along the path, notice
Speaker 19: the flowers. Each one represents something you are grateful for.
Speaker 1: Their bright yellowed sunflowers, tall and proud and reaching for
Speaker 1: the sky, standing for the people who have brought joy
Speaker 1: into your life. There are soft blue forget me nods,
Speaker 1: delicate and persistent carpeting the edges of the path, standing
Speaker 1: for the memories that sustain you. There are deap red roses,
Speaker 1: the petals open and vulnerable and impossibly beautiful, standing for
Speaker 1: the love that has transformed you. There are wild violets
Speaker 1: hiding in the shade, modest and sweet, standing for the small,
Speaker 1: unnoticed blessings that have quietly kept you going. Walk slowly,
Speaker 1: touch the petals gently with your fingertips. Notice how each
Speaker 1: flower responds to your attention, opening a little wider, glowing
Speaker 1: a little brighter, releasing a richer fragrance. This is what
Speaker 1: happens when you notice good in your life. It responds,
Speaker 1: It grows, it blooms even more beautifully because you stop
Speaker 1: to see it. As you continue along the path, you
Speaker 1: come to a small clearing, a circle of soft moss
Speaker 1: beneath a great tree. In the center of this clearing,
Speaker 1: there is a magnificent old tree. Its trunk is wide
Speaker 1: and strong, its bark rough and textured with age. Its
Speaker 1: branches stretch out in every direction, reaching like open arms
Speaker 1: toward the sky. Its leaves form a canopy of green
Speaker 1: above you, filtering the golden light into dancing patterns on
Speaker 1: the ground. This tree represents your life. Its roots go deep,
Speaker 1: drawing nourishment from the earth. Its branches reach high, touching
Speaker 1: the sky. He has weathered storms and droughts and yat stands.
Speaker 1: He has shed leaves and grown nu ones season after season.
Speaker 1: It has bends in the wind that never broken. And
Speaker 1: so have you. Stand before this tree. Now place your
Speaker 1: hand on its bark. Feel the roughness of it, Feel
Speaker 1: the light pulsing within, the slow, steady movement.
Speaker 11: Of sap from root to crown.
Speaker 1: Feel the strength of it, the resilience, the patience. Silently
Speaker 1: say to this tree, to your life, thank you. Thank
Speaker 1: you for all of it, the storms and the sunshine,
Speaker 1: the losses and the gains, the quiet moments and the
Speaker 1: grand adventures, the people who stayed and the people who left,
Speaker 1: the dreams that came true and the ones that did not.
Speaker 1: I am grateful for every single chapter. Now look up
Speaker 1: through the branches of the tree. Through the leaves, you
Speaker 1: can see the sky. It is to a light. The
Speaker 1: last colors of the day are fading from orange and
Speaker 1: pink to deep purple and blue. The first stars are
Speaker 1: appearing faint and delicate, like the diamonds scattered on velvet.
Speaker 1: And as you watch, a shooting star streaks across the sky,
Speaker 1: a moment of unexpected beauty, a reminder that wonder is
Speaker 1: always possible, even on the ordinariest of evenings. Make a wish,
Speaker 1: not a wish for something you lack, but a wish
Speaker 1: for the continued ability to see beauty, to feel gratitude.
Speaker 1: To keep your heart open even when the world makes
Speaker 1: it hard, even when cynicism whispers that it is naive,
Speaker 1: even when pain tells you to close the gates. Keep
Speaker 1: your heart open. It is the bravest and most beautiful
Speaker 1: thing you can do. Walk back along the path now,
Speaker 1: back through the flowers, back through the warm golden light,
Speaker 1: back toward the gate. As you walk, you feel lighter
Speaker 1: than when you entered. The golden light in your chest
Speaker 1: is still there, warm and steady, perhaps even brighter now
Speaker 1: by the gratitude you have practiced, and the garden you
Speaker 1: have visited, and you know with a certainty that goes
Speaker 1: deeper than thought, that this garden is always here. You
Speaker 1: can return to it any time you need to remember
Speaker 1: what matters, any time you need to find your way
Speaker 1: back to gratitude. Before we step back through the gate,
Speaker 1: let us pause right here, in this threshold between the
Speaker 1: garden and the world beyond. Let us stand in the
Speaker 1: storeway and simply be no practice, now, no visualization, no instruction,
Speaker 1: no words, just a few moments of complete stillness, of
Speaker 1: pure being, of resting in the fullness of your open heart,
Speaker 1: of gratitude for the simple, extraordinary act existing. Feel the
Speaker 1: breath moving through you.
Speaker 13: Feel the gentle beating of your heart. Feel the weight
Speaker 13: of your body, grounded and supported and safe. Feel the
Speaker 13: golden light, steady and warm and eternal, glowing in the
Speaker 13: center of your chest. You are alive. You are conscious,
Speaker 13: You are here, You are breathing. Your heart is beating,
Speaker 13: and that, in itself is the greatest gift of all.
Speaker 13: Everything else is extra Everything else is bonus. You woke
Speaker 13: up this morning, and that is everything.
Speaker 1: No. Slowly and gently, begin to bring your awareness back
Speaker 1: to the room around you. Feel the surface beneath you,
Speaker 1: the texture of it, the temperature. Feel the temperature of
Speaker 1: the air on your skin. Notice the sounds of the space.
Speaker 1: You are in, the hum of a fan, the distant
Speaker 1: murmur of the world outside, the silence between sounds. Do
Speaker 1: not rush this. There is no hurry, There is no
Speaker 1: dead lafe, just a gentle, gradual, tender return to waking awareness.
Speaker 1: Wiggle your fingers gently, feel the tips of your fingers
Speaker 1: coming alive. Reconnecting with a world of touch. Wiggle your toes,
Speaker 1: feeling the surface beneath them. Take a deep breath, in
Speaker 1: the deepest breath of this entire practice, feel your lungs completely,
Speaker 1: and as you exhale, allow a small smile to form
Speaker 1: on your lips, not because you have to, not because
Speaker 1: someone is watching, but because your heart is full, because
Speaker 1: you remember tonight what matters, because you practiced gratitude with
Speaker 1: the deepest, most honest part of yourself, and that is
Speaker 1: a beautiful thing to have done. When you are ready,
Speaker 1: and only when you are ready. Gently open your eyes,
Speaker 1: let the world come back to you, slowly, softly, without urgency.
Speaker 1: The light in the room, the shapes of familiar objects,
Speaker 1: the colors of the world around you, all of it
Speaker 1: the same before, and yet perhaps seen with slightly different.
Speaker 20: Eyes, with eyes that have been practicing gratitude, with eyes
Speaker 20: that remember what matters. Carry this golden light with you
Speaker 20: as you move through the rest of your evening and
Speaker 20: into tomorrow and into the days that follow, Carry into
Speaker 20: your relationships, into your work, into your quiet moments and
Speaker 20: your loud ones. Let it remind you again and again
Speaker 20: and again that you have so much to be grateful for.
Speaker 1: That your life, exactly as it is, with all its
Speaker 1: imperfections and uncertainties and unfinished chapters, is a gift, an astonishing, unrepeatable,
Speaker 1: sacred gift. Thank you for practicing with me tonight. Thank
Speaker 1: you for your openness, Thank you for your willingness to
Speaker 1: sit with these feelings and to let your heart expand
Speaker 1: into something bigger and brighter and more generous than it
Speaker 1: was an hour ago. May you sleep well tonight, May
Speaker 1: you wait tomorrow feeling rested and grateful, And may you
Speaker 1: remember always in every moment that the most powerful and
Speaker 1: beautiful thing you carry is an open heart. Good night,
Speaker 1: and the must stay