Grateful Meditation

 Meditation is the tongue of the soul and the language of our spirit. - Jeremy Taylor

The power of meditation has been touted for centuries across many different cultures as a proven method for finding inner peace, relaxation, easing stress, and so on.

In my own experience, I have valued meditation for its powers of facilitating introspection. There is something to be said for tuning out the world, worry, responsibility and focusing solely on finding peace and balance within yourself. 

This is where I am challenged. I can never completely shut down all of my cylinders. My mental engine, in spite of my best efforts, will only allow me a few minutes at best of what I consider unpolluted clarity. But I have found a way to use this urge to continually process thoughts to my advantage. 

Grateful Meditation is something I do about twice a week. Typical with most mediation, I sit alone in a quiet space, relax my posture and breath deeply. My goal is not to clear my mind, but rather to fill it with thoughts and images of what I am grateful for. For thirty minutes at a time, I deliberately flood my mind with nothing but positivity. This focused thinking combined with the stillness and serenity of traditional meditation literally jolts my emotional fortitude and gives me a tremendous sense of comfort and security in light of whatever uncertainties I may be facing. It functions as a nutrient to my will power, allowing me to stave off negativity more efficiently and with an enlightened sense of logic. 

In truth, the experience was incredibly humbling the first time I approached grateful meditation seriously. I realized very quickly that there was more to be grateful for than I could process in thirty minutes. I was also reminded again and again of my various travels where I encountered people who subsisted--gratefully--on a fraction of a percent of what I require to maintain my home and life. 

If you open yourself to the power of grateful meditation, your life will be put into perspective. 

Meditation alone is a wonderful practice, but I encourage you to try meditating gratefully. The affects will be positive and you will be grateful.