Sit in a quiet natural spot where there are plants, preferably leafy ones (grass is OK).
Breathe in. Inhale the oxygen that the plants are exhaling. The oxygen that keeps us alive and fuels the activity of our cells is a gift to us from the plants. Breathe it in with gratitude.
Breathe out. The carbon dioxide that we exhale could kill us, if we were locked in an airtight room with it. But it is the breath of life to the plants. They need it for photo-synthesis. Feel their joy, their thanksgiving, as you breathe out.
Breathe in the joy. The plants send their delight to us. It is part of every breath.
Breathe out in gratitude, we are thankful that the green nations create the air we inhabit.
Gratitude is in every breath. Every breath is a give-away dance. Asleep or awake, acting or contemplating, one can breathe with gratitude and joy.
Take off your shoes and put your bare feet on whatever is there: soil, sand, grass . . ..
Contact Mother Earth with the soles of the feet. (Sit on a chair or bench, or on the ground with your knees pulled up, so your bare feet are on the earth.) The non-organic soles of most shoes insulate us from the healing, nurturing, nourishing energy that is generated by planet Earth. Let Her energy pulse in you now. Let it beat in you; let it tingle and bubble in your feet. Let your heartbeat become as one with the heartbeat of the earth. Let your heart beat be in gratitude.
Stand up if possible (but sitting in a chair can work). Keep your knees slightly bent and lively. Imagine you are breathing the energy of the Earth up your legs, through your feet and your ankles, through your calves and your knees, up through your thighs and your private parts, and into your belly. Feel the warmth and trembling in your legs as the energy moves through them. What a blessing it is to be alive.
Fill your belly with Earth energy. Take it into your womb.
(Men: your womb is called the prostate. Really. In fetal development, the tissues that become a uterus in a girl, become the prostate in a boy. Breathe into your prostrate/womb.)
(Women who had have a hysterectomy: remember that your mind literally does not know that anything is gone. In fact, the more you visualize breathing into your womb, the healthier your whole body will become. )
Breathe in. Feel life force energy flowing from the Earth into your belly. You may wish to visualize the energy as flowing into the belly through the hara. (The Japanese name for the area of the belly about two finger widths below the belly button. This spot is the physical center of our body.) Let Earth energy spread through all the organs of your belly and your lower abdomen. Allow the loving, healing Earth energy to spread through your pelvic floor, bladder, ovaries/testes, clitoris/penis, uterus/prostate, and guts. Aaaah! So much to feel, so much to feel thankful for.
Breathe out. Send gratitude down to the earth. Feel fully supported by the ground. Sink into the acceptance offered by Mother Earth. Allow yourself to be loved and cherished by Her.
Gratitude is in every step. Every step can nourishes us right to the center of our being.
Breathe in. There are millions of new cells being born with every breath.
Breathe out. There are millions of old cells dying with every breath.
Gratitude is in every cell. Each cell that is born from gratitude vibrates with thanksgiving for its entire life.
Breathe in. There are trillions of bacteria being born in my body with every breath.
Breathe out. There are trillions of bacteria dying in my body with every breath.
Gratitude is in every bacteria. I welcome the multiplicity of myself. I honor the illusion of being in control of myself, even as I welcome the truth that “I” am the sum of a great many individual life forms, with their own needs and desires.
Breathe in. Feel yourself as a dynamic, ever-changing, sensate, conscious being.
Breathe out. Accept yourself as a foolish, clumsy, unaware human being.
Gratitude is in every act. Commit to loving and appreciating the wholeness of yourself, not just the parts your culture approves of. Be thankful for and love every bit of life. Be grateful for life as it expresses itself through you and through the myriad plants, animals, and people, seen and unseen, whose lives intersect with and interact with yours.
May we breathe in gratitude, walk in gratitude, live in gratitude, and die in gratitude. May we be the presence of gratitude.
About Susun Weed
