This gratitude meditation script will aid you in practicing the unique meditation technique of utilizing intentional feelings of gratitude to cultivate positivity and awareness. Have you been trying to become more present in your daily life? To be more positive? To be happy? You will learn to foster these feelings in your life as you continue to more intuitively assess the things you are thankful for.
All of these elements you are looking for start with being thankful for what we have. It is an age-old statement but as you dive into gratitude meditation with me you will find that the rabbit hole runs much deeper than the words.
Before You Start
Before beginning in the gratitude meditation there are a few things that you might consider to help you maintain a consistent and comfortable meditation practice.
These include:
- A meditation cushion, bench, or chair
- Either a meditation blanket or shawl
- A meditation timer to keep track of the length of your practice and have a soothing sound to alert you when you are done
You may want to include other optional and ambient items like:
- A meditation statue
- Aromatic element i.e: non-toxic scented candles, incense sticks, or different essential oils.
If you need additional back support for your meditation these meditation chairs with back support might be a perfect addition to your practice as well. If you don’t have these items yet, that’s ok! You can still continue with your meditation practice today.
Having a safe and quiet place to meditate privately will aid in creating a peaceful meditation experience. It is always ideal to have a dedicated space for meditation. This will serve to remind you of your meditation practice as well as bringing a peaceful ambiance to the area.
What is Gratitude Meditation?
Gratitude meditation is a combination of mindfulness meditation and following basic breathing patterns – inhaling and exhaling. Mindfulness is simply the practice of allowing yourself to be in the present moment without entertaining any distracting thoughts or sensations that might be occurring.
Taking it one more step to break it down is the breathing aspect. We use simple breathing patterns that we follow with our attention in order to create and then maintain a rhythmic meditation experience.
Gratitude meditation in and of itself is the practice of focusing our attention towards the elements within our life that make us feel good. Buddhist monks and nuns will traditionally have some form of gratitude meditation at the beginning and ends of their days. They pay tribute to all the energies of those that helped them survive and thrive throughout their days.
Practicing Gratitude Meditation
I will now move you through the steps of practicing gratitude meditation. You may also follow this guided meditation video below to be guided through this practice with Deepak Chopra. The script below is to aid you as a tool to foster your feelings of gratitude and also as a template to develop for yourself as you evolve.
Step 1: Sit.
As simple as sitting sounds, and it is, it is important to sit properly for the sake of your physical well being. There is no ¨right¨ way to sit for meditation – all spiritual practice is relative and our world of teachers will only ever serve to guide you. You cannot be given enlightenment by another, so to say.
That being said, it is important to sit properly and comfortably to avoid having physical problems in the future. If you´re just beginning in meditation you can review our Beginner´s Meditation Guide for tips on sitting in proper posture. It also includes beginning meditation poses and different breathing techniques and mantras to work with!
As you return your focus to continue your gratitude meditation practice, you sit comfortably. You may choose to sit upright or lie down depending on what is comfortable for you. If the room is cool this would be a good time to involve your meditation blanket or shawl to keep yourself warm.
Step 2: Breathe
Now, you will breathe in as you allow your eyelids to softly close. You may choose instead to leave your eyes open and focus on an object close to you. This is a viable option, but I find that the mind becomes too busy and easily distracted when the eyes are open.
If you prefer to meditate with your eyes open Trataka meditation is a great technique to train your mind to focus by keeping your eyes directed towards a singular point of interest.
Whichever you choose – eyes open or closed – return your focus to your breath. Allow your belly to expand as you breathe in and to grow smaller as you breathe out. Don´t force it to! Just allow your body to operate naturally. Continue focusing on your breath until you feel yourself become peaceful and centered.
Step 3: Scan Your Body
Next, we will go through the process of scanning your body. This part of the practice is to bring you fully connected to your physical body, grounding you.
Focus your attention at your head and allow your attention to flow freely through each individual body part.
Down your face and neck, to each arm, down your chest, hips and, legs. All the way to your feet. Pay attention for any tension or tightness as you travel through your body. Allow these parts of your body to relax as you become aware of them. Allow your breath to flow through these parts of your body as the tightness and tension are released.
Step 4: Tune into Your Emotions
Now, take a moment to turn into any of your worries or fears that you notice are present. All of your anxieties and stresses. Allow your breath to flow into them and expand. When you exhale allow all of these negative emotions to flow freely out of you with your breath.
Continue this for a short while until you feel as if all these feelings have vacated you.
Step 5: Free Your Busy Mind
Next, tune into your thoughts. Your mind may be running through an itinerary of different things you need to do today, people to talk to, places to be.
Any of these erratic thoughts that are not related to being present in this moment – just breathe into them. Breathe and allow these thoughts to be released freely from your consciousness as you exhale.
Step 6: Gratefulness
Now that our minds and bodies are free from distracting thoughts and sensations we can focus more wholly on what we are grateful for in our lives. There will be things that you are grateful for in your own life but there are also many things you can send appreciation towards.
Life
- Appreciate the gift of life, of being birthed from the womb. That someone fed you and clothed you and cared for you if you fell ill.
- The gift of sound – the ability to hear and cognitively appreciate the beautiful song of the universe. The chirping birds in the morning, the running water of a creek or the howl of a wolf in the night.
- Appreciate your heart – working tirelessly every day to pump warm, life-giving blood energy throughout your body
Living Amenities
- We can appreciate the fact that we have running power at the flip of a switch
- Clean, drinkable water at the turn of a tap
- The ability to moderate the temperature within our homes and remain comfortable
- A home and roof to keep us protected and warm
- We have multiple mobility options, including vehicles, to travel around in a short amount of time compared to walking
- We have public libraries with a galore of books available to anyone and public schools for our children to learn
- There is indoor plumbing
The People Who Make Your Life Easier
Now think of all the people in your life that make life easier for you by working hard every day.
- There are people that toil in the hot sun to grow, harvest, and deliver your food
- Maintenance workers to ensure our public utilities remain operational
- There are people who build our houses, design our clothes, construct our refrigerators.
- Appreciate the people who deliver your mail to and from your home
- There are actors, comedians, athletes and more that exist with a sole purpose to entertain you
There is so much to be grateful for! Now you can take some time and think of those people in your life that have enriched your life personally. Appreciate them individually in your meditation and thank them for being in your life.
Continue this practice until you feel complete. Consider and reflect on your own reasons for feeling grateful. Appreciate yourself and love yourself.
Step 7: Relax
You may stop the practice when you feel ready or if you are using a meditation timer you may wait for the alert to sound. Whenever the time comes simply lie down and relax. Spend time appreciating the moment and rest as you get ready to return to your day.
Allow all the sensations of peace and relaxation to sweep over each cell of your body as you rest. Stretch out your arms and legs and let your body roll with the sensations. Turn over on your side or roll over entirely if you wish.
When you choose to stand, do so slowly and calmly – being entirely present. Be aware of your environment and return to your day with a gentle mind.
Reflect
It is important now that your meditation is over to take time to reflect on your meditation. This is best done immediately after the meditation and is most effective when done with a journal. Any sort of journal will work!
Simply write in the journal your meditation experience as you remember it. It is ok if some of it is missing or even if you don´t know what to write. Just write whatever you feel about the experience at that moment.
You will find through consistent practice of reflection that you will take a singular experience and be able to learn more from it by observing it with a new perspective. You can gain even further insight into the moment as time passes and you return to the entry to re-read it at a later date.
Why is it important to actively practice Gratitude?
Many things in our life we overlook or take for granted. To take our minds and focus in on our gifts in life and what we appreciate will lead us to into lives with increased gratitude and greater appreciation.
A study was also done by two scientists that took 165 participants to practice and study gratitude meditation.
These participants spent an hour learning mindfulness and gratitude meditation techniques and were given tips to apply the technique practically in their daily lives. The findings of the experiment documented that the participants were feeling more grateful and ultimately happier in their lives.
Allowing our focus to shift over to the multitude of things we are grateful for will distract our consciousness from being focused on the negative. What we don´t have and what´s not there. Energy flows where focus goes.
Focus on and appreciate the good things in your life and you will find many more things along the way to be grateful for!
Thank you!
I appreciate you reading and practicing with our gratitude meditation script! If you follow this script you will find yourself growing in appreciation for the gifts in your life. You will start to notice that you approach situations differently and handle problems with new energy. Focus on the gifts of your life and you will expand and thrive!
As you continue to grow in your practice remember to consider getting your meditation space setup. Having a dedicated meditation seat with your special blanket will only add to the excitement and dedication that you are nurturing around your practice. Be thankful and meditate well, my friends!
