Gratitude Meditations
From 16Guidelines
8 minutes reflection on Gratitude
Sit comfortably with a straight back, relaxed hands, arms and shoulders. Keep your eyes closed or half open. Relax your mind. Take 3 deep and relaxed breaths. On the exhale you let all thoughts of where you just came from and where you are going to, leave your mind. Be mindful of your breath. Pay full attention to the sensation of the air passing through your nostrils. Sit like this for 2 minutes.
- Think of a situation where you have shown heartfelt gratitude. Towards one of your parents, a colleague, a friend or someone else. A gratitude that was based in thankfulness and appreciation for something he or she had done for you.
- Remember the situation clearly. How did it feel for you in the moment? How did it feel in the time after? And what was the reaction of the other?
- Realize that the benefit of showing gratitude is big. For yourself it can be a relieve. A symbolic way of paying back. And it is a way of developing the same quality as the one you show gratitude for in yourself. For the other your gratitude is an appreciation, a recognition, an encouragement and inspiration.
- Rejoice in having shown gratitude and thereby benefited yourself and the other.
- Consider that gratitude often arises spontaneously, but it takes courage to show it. That you can train and thereby develop a beautiful quality.
- Make a resolution that you will be aware of the benefits of gratitude and develop courage to show it when possible. By doing so you will create happiness for yourself and others and contribute to a more happy world.
--Rasmus 20:58, 6 November 2007 (EST)
