Our experiences in life depend upon how we think or feel about things. It’s the lens through which we view the world. If there’s gratitude, we often feel happy, even in difficult situations. If there is no gratitude, or presence of negative thoughts, then we find problems everywhere.
As long as we blame our parents, society, or other external factors, we’ll never find any satisfying solutions to our problems. The main cause of our suffering lies within our own mind. So, we need to take responsibility for changing our way of thinking where it is mistaken, that is, where it brings unhappiness to ourselves and others.
This can be done through meditation, by gradually becoming aware of how we think and feel, distinguishing correct from incorrect attitudes, and finally counteracting harmful attitudes by the appropriate ones. And that’s where Meditation on Gratitude adds a lot of value.
Benefits
- Brings positive mindset
- Antidote to negative mental states
- Behaviour towards ourselves and others improves
- Helps in building relationships
- Experience of joy
The practice
Sit comfortably with your back straight. Keep your eyes closed, partially or fully, depending on which helps you focus better. Relax your body and let any tension dissolve and flow away… Spend a few minutes calming and settling your mind using the meditation on the breath (click here to read). Now follow the below points.
- Begin the meditation by contemplating that the nature of your consciousness is clear and pure. All the thoughts or feelings that arise, they arise in consciousness and disappear. The consciousness remains the same.
- Observe the activity in your mind — different thoughts arising and vanishing, each moment.
- Our negative thoughts, feelings that are causing pain, they are not permanent. They are transient, like clouds that pass through the sky. Observe this flow of a thought in your head. Don’t hold on to it. Just let it flow on its own.
- Imagine a thought, an idea, a feeling that brings a smile on your face. Now, smile.
- Spend time with this thought. This too, is transient in nature. But see, how it is entirely up to us, which thought do we want to spend our time with.
- Say ‘Thank You’ to that which brings a smile on your face.
- Turn to your consciousness. You are the experiencer, not the experience. You laugh, you cry, you experience pleasures or suffering — but the real you, the consciousness, is untouched. It goes on. And it can always find a way to experience joy.
- Spend some more time thanking all the good things that you are grateful for. It could be the smallest of things. All kinds of creatures are suffering on this earth. You have so much that many of them would give their life for. You are lucky in so many ways that you don’t yet see. Simply thank the universe.
See if you can feel a sense of joy and appreciation for life. Resolve to use your life wisely — doing your best to avoid harming others, and instead helping them as much as you can, and developing your love, compassion, wisdom, and other positive qualities that will enable you to actualise your highest potential.
Kalampedia 