Tag: gratitude

I am Grateful for…

The following gratitude stems supplement the Gratitude and Appreciation Meditation (updated here at the post below). I created both the meditation and the gratitude stems as part of my collaborations at PeacefulDay.com, where I lead their program for Meditation Mondays.

As the meditation guide within PeacefulDay.com’s meditative oasis and peace playground, I share (just in time for the US Thanksgiving holiday) a five-minute time out for cultivating gratitude and appreciation.

The YouTube video of the Gratitude and Appreciation Meditation is here.

Gratitude Stems

When you finish listening to the gratitude/appreciation meditation, take some time to fill in these sentences. Fill a page. OR more. Do it daily. Consciously meditate on and write — filling the blank spaces….

 

You can copy and paste these gratitude stems into your own Peaceful Day Journal to do this powerful practice.

And/or you are welcome to leave your comments here!

 

I am grateful for:

I deeply appreciate:

I acknowledge the unseen blessings of:

Even though it looks like a challenge, I say thank you for:

I now express belated gratitude for:

I send appreciation to:

With many blessings,

Bobbye

Meditation for Gratitude and Appreciation

The following meditation was created as part of my collaborations at PeacefulDay.com, where I lead their program for Meditation Mondays.

As the meditation guide within this meditative oasis and peace playground, I share (just in time for the US Thanksgiving holiday) a five-minute time out for cultivating gratitude and appreciation.

The YouTube video of the Gratitude and Appreciation Meditation is here.

 

Here is the text if you’d like to follow along. (see the next post for a series of “Gratitude Stems” that you can use for journaling.)

Breathe in Gratitude…….Exhale all that is not gratitude

Breathe in Appreciation…..Exhale anything less than heart-felt appreciation.

Breathe in with Thanks…..Exhale and let go… let go… let go…

Breathe in……& Lean into inner alignment with — and appreciation for — your own Centered Presence.

 

Ahhh thank you.

 

From my heart and your heart — from every heart of every breathing being, we chant a chorus of appreciation.  Consciously bring into your heart’s awareness the feeling of deep appreciation — for the light –AND for what is not YET illuminated. Breathe into that appreciation — what has been freely given to you. Ahhhhh Thank you.

 

What If…

Imagine a wave of appreciation even bigger than you and your life — a wave of Divine Appreciation so enormous it encompasses everything. Yet it’s a gentle nurturing wave of Divine Appreciation. Imagine it washes over you, through you, picks you up in a warm and buoyant embrace. Feel yourself infused … enfolded by it. Imagine being tenderly held in this wave of Divine Appreciation for YOU — for all parts of you, inner and outer, for your life, your dreams, your contributions, your many kindnesses, even your slips of magnificence– your BEING, your very Presence on this planet at this time…

B-R-E-A-T-H-E into the nuances of gratitude and appreciation…

 

When you finish listening to this meditation, fill in these sentences. You will find these and more gratitude stems at my blog on PeacefulDay.com

Fill a page. OR more. Do it daily. Consciously meditate on and write — filling the blank spaces….

 

I am grateful for:

I send appreciation to:

Even though it looks like a challenge, I say thank you for:

 

And now with deepest appreciation for your presence in our Circle, I say in closing: Thank you. Mahalo. Namas Te.

 

Shangri-La in Autumn

Chicago’s extended autumn, with mild-ish weather for much of November, has allowed extra time for being in our garden (aka Shangri-La). I wrote in late June, in my Missive from Shangri-La experience, all about a retreat that literally opened my eyes to, as they say, “the diamonds in my own back yard.” That is, Shangri-La is present just outside my door. This outdoor space is where and how I’ve been rooted on many a day of inner journeys — whether writing, dreaming, dining, or conversing.

In this month for gratitude, with so much to be grateful for, I wanted to share some of the special gifts in my life. Our Shangri-La garden is one that I’m looking at with grateful (and grace-full) eyes. I’ve been out there most days barefoot and doing a simple Qi Gong practice, soaking up the beauty and energies from the earth, the trees, the sky, and crow flying over.

It looks different in autumn. The trees shed their leaves. The Tree of Heaven, also known as the ailanthus, loses its leaves first. The copper beach will be the last, hanging onto golden crisp leaves through the winter, only to release them once the new growth starts. Without the leaves, even with the sun arcing low in the Southern sky, the garden glows in the light. At least on the days when clouds don’t get in between us and the sun.

A climbing hydrangea, its leaves brilliant yellow, stands like a small sun against the fence. Virginia creeper on the fence and side of the house always fades to a delicious pale pinky yellow with bright red stems. Crunchy leaves under foot mark one of passages of the autumn symphony.

Past mid-November in Chicago, the autumnal symphony is in its final movement. With deep gratitude and appreciation, I say Mahalo to all that has unfolded so that this particular humble little garden Shangri-La is now passing its grace through my life.