In this season, we are reminded to pause and become more mindful of the ordinary gifts and blessings of our lives that we often overlook or take for granted. Both ancient teachings and modern medical research agree that one of the quickest and most direct routes to restoring harmony and balance in our lives is to foster gratitude and appreciation.
People who keep “gratitude journals” are more mindful of the good things in their lives and are happier than others. Recent research studies even tell us that school children who keep “gratitude journals” or write essays on gratitude show marked improvement in their grades!
The moment you shift from a mind state of negativity or judgment to one of thankfulness and appreciation, there are immediate beneficial effects at many levels of your being: brain function becomes more balanced, harmonized, and supple; your heart begins to pump in a much more coherent and harmonious rhythm; and biochemical changes trigger a host of healthful balancing reactions throughout your body.
In the healing ways of indigenous people, the restorative power of gratitude was well understood. Giving thanks was traditionally the first step for many indigenous communities in any meeting, celebration, or gathering. Many teachers reminds us that when we are grateful we complete the circle between ourselves and the source of that for which we are grateful, and this help ensure that those causes of gratitude will continue to flow in our lives.
Here is a mindfulness practice that is perfect for celebrating Thanksgiving. We often teach this as a way to remember the many gifts and blessings of our lives worthy of our attention in the spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving. It has been shared by many circles of friends, families, and communities around the world at times of Thanksgiving, and we invite you to share this practice with your loved ones and friends:
Reach up, touch your heart, and smile with a tender sense of deep connection and deep reflection. Allow your mindful awareness to blend with the natural rhythms of your breathing and settle into this state of openness and flow. As you become more fully present, open your heart and call to mind everyone and everything in your life that you are grateful for. As you inhale, gather these people or aspects of your life into your heart one by one and reflect upon your thanks and gratitude for them. Breathing out, let your heartfelt gratitude flow to them and through them. Continue for as long as you like, letting each breath bring to heart a loved one, a friend, or someone who has been kind to you, someone who is teaching you patience, or how to forgive, or something or aspect of your life for which you are grateful.
Allow each breath to shine from the depths of your being through the depths of their being in order to light up their life with your love. Taking your eyes, your ears, your hands, your intelligence to heart, bless them in a similar way with the heartfelt radiance of your gratitude and appreciation. Whoever or whatever comes to mind, gather them into your heart, one at a time or all together. Taking these many gifts to heart, complete and affirm the circle with gratitude, assuring that the stream of blessings in your life and in the universe will be unbroken.
– Adapted from Joel & Michelle Leveys’ books, Luminous Mind: Meditation and Mind Fitness – and Wisdom at Work ( http://web.me.com/levey1/Meditation/Levey_Books.html).
Photo by Seq
