B126: How to express your gratitude (guided visualization)

Time for a guided visualization exercise: I want to simplify how to express your gratitude and give thanks. The autumn season is upon us and as we roll into Thanksgiving and the holidays, it’s a perfect time to step back and recognize all the goodness in your life, currently.

Therefore, I’ve chosen the theme of GRATITUDE + GRACE for the month ahead. That will be our focus for all episodes on the podcast this month. As the outer world is slowly amping up the pace for the holidays, let’s intentionally slow down this month and give thanks to all things that are so good in our work and in our lives. Let’s do the radical thing and consciously choose to do less, express our gratitude in an authentic way and do it all with grace.

 So to kick off the month, today is another guided visualization episode, which we’ve decided to release on the first Tuesday of every month this season. How does it work? Simple! Let my voice be a guide for you as you focus inward to help you tap into your inner wisdom and Intuition for answers.

Listen and participate in a guided visualization exercise: how to express your gratitude and give thanks.

Before we get started, here are a few things that you’ll need to do in order to get the most out of this.

1) Create a safe space – no distractions or interruptions

First off, you’ll need to create a safe space where you won’t be distracted or interrupted… and also, keep in mind that during this exercise, you’ll have your eyes closed. So yeah, probably not best to do this one while driving. 

Silence your phone notifications… The world can wait for the next few minutes.

Then, get comfortable in a seated position or lying down, if that feels better. You get to decide. As with all visualization and breathing exercises we do together this year, you always get to decide what is best for you… take what you need, bless and release the rest.

Okay, now close your eyes or avert your gaze to the ground.

2) Take 3 intentional breaths together with me

Let’s take three intentional, life-affirming breaths.

• Deep breath in through the nose, expand the belly, hold at the top, and then slowly release through the mouth. (Do this three times.)

Now, let your breathing come back to a normal pace, whatever feels right for you.

3) Do a body scan and feel your feet

It’s time to do a body scan… imagine you are slowly scanning your entire body from the tip top of your head, slowly down like molasses, all the way to your fingertips, and then to your toes. 

What sensations do you feel? Knots, sore spots or sourness… or on the flip side, any feelings of harmony, joy, or flow…. just notice what you feel in your body, without judgment or trying to fix it. Just scan down, ever so slowly until you’ve done your entire body.

Once you’re at your feet, really take notice of what it feels like to have your feet make contact with the ground. To be firmly rooted down, the safety and security of that sensation. What do your feet feel like right now?

4) Time to visualize and learn how to express your gratitude and give thanks

I want you to imagine you’re seated next to a roaring campfire at sunset. There’s a crisp breeze but you remain warm and cozy by the fire. You’ve got your favorite cardigan or hoodie on and you’ve got both hands wrapped around a tasty hot beverage. Life is good. You feel a sense of calm and deep contentment at this very moment. And you notice the stars are slowly starting to emerge in the night sky above.

Breathe.

Bring to mind someone in your life who is easy to love. 

Maybe a child or your best friend. Someone whom you’ve got a thriving, beautiful friendship or relationship with in life. They walk towards you, smiling, and take a seat across from you by the campfire. You smile back and send them a beam of love and gratitude from your heart space. You notice them receiving your gratitude and you thank them for being in your life.

Breathe.

Bring to mind someone who has made your life easier this week. 

Big or small, this act of kindness is worth appreciating. It could be a stranger at the grocery store recently  or someone at your office… maybe a neighbor down the street or a dear friend. They walk towards you, smiling, and take a seat around the campfire. You smile back at them and thank them for whatever they have done to help you out recently. They receive this love and smile even bigger.

Breathe.

Bring to mind someone who is a role model for you, someone you look up to. 

Maybe they were someone you leaned on recently for advice or guidance… maybe they helped you spark a new idea on how to get unstuck or help you to make forward progress on your goals.  Choose one person now. They walk towards you, smiling and take a seat with the rest around the campfire. You smile back at them and thank them for guiding you in your recent journey and adventure. They receive this gratitude and make loving eye contact.

Breathe.

As you look around the campfire, you take a moment to give thanks to this beautiful community of people who love, appreciate and support you. 

By seeing their faces, feeling the warmth from the fire and giving thanks, you realize that the amazing people in your life are such a blessing and they enrich your life experience in immense ways. 

Take this last moment to say thank you with your full spirit and remember that you can revisit this gift any time you wish. It’s yours forever and ever. 

You are never alone and you are always fully supported.

Take a moment to gather yourself with a deep, belly-filling breath. And when you’re ready, open your eyes.

—————–

So, who were the people that came forth in this visualization exercise? And how did it feel to focus on gratitude and giving thanks to them?

I want you to set a 7-minute timer, grab a pen and paper, and take this time to write down everything you remember from this visualization exercise. 

• What wisdom was shared? 
• What visual clues did you see? 
• What part of this exercise is sticking MOST in your mind and in your heart, that you can’t seem to shake?
• …and what’s one thing that you can do today (with courage and simplicity) to take action on this vision, in real life?

One final whisper

We may not always get to choose the pace of life we want to live, especially during the holidays… but we CAN choose to give ourselves a bit of grace when we feel overwhelmed or pinched.

Remember, when you make good choices at least 80% of the time, you also need to remember to give yourself grace the other 20%. 

Good choices include eating healthy, moving your body daily, getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water, focusing on joy and reducing stress every single day. I know in my 1000 daily choices, if 80% of the time I’m choosing wisely the things that help me thrive, I’m doing just fine.

And when we get overworked, overwhelmed or frazzled at the edges, a gratitude practice like today’s will help you get grounded once again. Focus on the good that surrounds you… realize how much in your day actually was pretty darn good and help quiet the monkey mind that just wants to focus on the bad.

At the beginning of this year, I started a daily gratitude practice of journaling for 5 minutes every night and I can say, unequivocally, that it rewired my brain and was the number one secret in all the success I’ve experienced this year when rebuilding my life. As cliche as I used to think it all sounded… this stuff works!

I hope this visualization sticks with you the entire week through. Do it again and again if you need clarity or fresh ideas to help your spirit feel refreshed once again… because when you tap into your deep inner knowing, you’re accessing the Divine. That electric energy that can be found inside all of us that connects us all together. It knows. You know. We all know if we are brave and we open ourselves to it.

You can do this, I believe in you.

It’s time to SIMPLIFY.