I hope you have found Session 1 to 9 helpful in developing more calmness and clarity. We end this program with Mindfulness of Gifts, a gratitude practice helping us stay anchored, helping us navigate the noise in our lives.
Even if the mind tends to go on an overdrive, and if it is difficult to stay focused on a particular part of the body, or it has been a difficult day, we can return to what we can be grateful for in our lives and use that to keep us steady and compassionate.
Transcript
In our final session of this 10-Week Program, we are acknowledging and being mindful of the feelings of gratitude.
Taking a breath.
Allowing the mind to be in the present moment, rather than getting lost in thoughts.
Feeling the breath, the body.
Noticing how you are sitting, standing or lying down.
(Pause)
While keeping the breath in awareness, begin by bringing to the mind a person you are grateful for.
So saying I am grateful for, or I am thankful towards
Acknowledging the feelings that arise as you visualise this person.
(Pause)
Next, bringing to mind a place you are grateful for or where you are most happy, for example in your warm bed.
Acknowledging the feelings that emerge as you visualise being in this place.
(Pause)
Now, bringing to mind an experience you are most grateful or where you were the most joyful, for example having a delicious meal in your favourite restaurant.
Allowing yourself to feel these feelings that arise as you visualise being in that experience.
(Pause)
Before we close this practice, noticing what are you most grateful for right this moment.
Perhaps it’s the fact that you’ve completed this 10-Week Program.
Perhaps it’s the fresh, cool air around you.
Perhaps it’s the fact that it is the weekend.
Immersing in this experience, feeling the moment.
(Pause)
I read you this poem A Gift, by Kathryn Starbuck.
Who is that creature
and who does he want?
Me, I trust. I do not
attempt to call out his
name for fear he will
tread on me. What do
you believe, he asks.
That we all want to be
alone, I reply, except when
we do not; that the world
was open to my sorrow
and ate most of it; that
today is a gift and I am
ready to receive you.
(Pause)
With this, we conclude this 10-Week Pause program. I hope you found it helpful. If you have not gone through some of the sessions, I would encourage you to do so.
Thank you and take care.
Guide: Noelle Lim
Image credit: Motoki Tonn, Unsplash
Find Session 9 – Silence (Retreat) at https://kindermind.center/2023/05/22/10-week-pause-session-9-silence-retreat/
Kindermind Center 