Dear %%FIRST_NAME%%,
Today there’s a little hint I’d like to share with you, if you want to take your gratitude experiences to the next level.
If you’re anything like me (i.e. vaguely human!), you’ll find that some of the gratitude techniques are easy and flow for you – you’ll keep returning to them, time and time again. Others will feel harder, less flowing, and you might even find yourself avoiding them. There’s a hidden gift in this:
By all means keep playing with the techniques you enjoy, but the real gifts lie in those (if any!) that you have been resisting.
When the unconscious mind (the bit that runs the show, that keeps you safe while you’re driving and hides your car keys in the fridge – or is that just me?) hits a block or meets with a technique that could release old pain, baggage or fear, it tends to run.
We have spent decades, training it to do just that. 😉
So avoiding a technique will often come with a post-rationalised discussion about how it “doesn’t work for me” or “isn’t as good as such-and-such a technique” or “it takes too long” or “it’s not my kind of thing.”
If you hear that kind of self-talk going on, then it’s a clear sign that the technique involved holds the key to you letting go of an old pattern and moving on.
Dive in!
Lovingly let it go!
Move on! Woo hoo!
How about giving it a go, right now?
Have you got any questions so far? Any insights you’d like to share at this stage?
We’d love to hear from you over at the online community – that’s what it’s there for.
And maybe you have already started your Gratitude Jar? If you’re ready to share a photo of your jar – or if you’re still looking for inspiration – you can check out the Gratitude Jar forum thread and people are also talking about it on our Facebook Page.
If you are having any techy issues or have any questions that aren’t answered in the forum threads, please let us know by replying to this email and a member of my team will get back to you, to sort things.
I really hope that you have been enjoying The Miracle Of Gratitude. Tomorrow we move on to the week four project!
Wishing you a wonderful day.
Köszönöm!
Namaste,
Week 3 Gratitude Project & Useful Links
Mindful Breathing – With Gratitude
[audio:http://]
Here’s a transcript of the meditation:
The Gratitude Breath Meditation
Start by sitting with your back fairly straight. Imagine a thread pulling through the crown of your head, gently lengthening your spine, allowing a space to form between each vetebra. You’re not looking for ramrod straight; you’re looking for gentle, natural curves, with a relaxed stretch. And as that thread draws up through the crown of your head, gently lengthening the lumbar spine, all the way up to the thoracic spine, and the neck… tucking the chin under slightly, to elongate the back of the neck and release any tension… Then we’ll start with three deep sighing breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, with an ‘ahh’ sound.
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3 sighing breaths.
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Feeling the tension melting away…
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For the next few moments, I’d like you just to let your awareness – focus – your attention – rest on your breathing; accepting your breathing and not trying to change it in any way…
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And if your mind wanders, how about giving it a job? Bringing your awareness back to your breath… and this time, as you breathe in, consciously choosing to think: Thank you for my life-giving breath; and as you breathe out: Thank you for my life-giving breath…
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And for the next few moments, I invite you to really connect with the organs and the muscles and other bits and bobs in the body that allow you to breathe; and as you breathe in and out, saying a silent ‘thank you’ to your diaphragm… to your lungs… all of the muscles and the tendons… and everything else that allows you to breathe… whether breathing is effortless for you… or whether sometimes it’s more of a challenge… Thank you diaphragm… Thank you lungs… Thank you body… Thank you breath…
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And allow that sense of gratitude to grow… as your breath fills your body with life-giving energy… and the out-breath carries away the old by-products and toxins… allow that thank you to flow through every oxygenated cell in your body…
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And when you’re ready… it’s time to release today’s practice… making sure your feet are flat on the ground, imagine you’re growing roots from the soles of your feet, deep into the earth… and these roots are connecting you with the earth beneath you… breathing in from the earth… breathing out into the earth… and you might see those roots; you might feel them physically; you might even hear them as they grow… and when you have a strong sense of those roots, anchoring you into the earth, take a deep sighing breath… a little stretch, keeping your eyes gently closed… rubbing the palms of your hands together, creating some warmth… and when you can feel that warmth, cupping that warmth over your gently closed eyes… opening your eyes behind those hands and gently spreading your fingers, to let the light in, bit by bit… rubbing your face… a good stretch and a good yawn! Thank you… That’s your “Thank you breath” meditation. I wish you a wonderful day!
When you have had a chance to play with the week three Gratitude Project, please remember to pop by the forum and share your experiences: Week 3 Discussion Thread