マウイ島~涙がでるほど美しいといわれるラハイナ近くの夕日
チョプラ博士の21日間メディテーションの13日目です
https://chopracentermeditation.com/
第13日感謝に生きる
「もしも人生においてあなたの祈りが感謝であれば、
その祈りだけで十分であろう」マイスター・エックハルト
今日は、あなたの幸せを広げる感謝の役割について探求しましょう。
良いことに感謝するという気持ちは、
あなたは幸せであり、
人生がより良いものであると
感じさせてくれる
とてもパワフルなものではありますが、
この種の感謝は、
その時のあなたの気分によるところがあります。
それはまた、
何がポジティブで
何が良いことであるかという
あなたの基準で制限された感覚なのです。
あなたの概念と善悪の価値判断を超えた深い感謝というものがあります。
人生は不完全であっても完全であるという、
今のありのままの人生に喜びをもたらす感謝の感覚です。
呼吸をしたり日の出を見ただけでも感謝の気持ちが湧いてきます。
人が人生において経験するありとあらゆること、
例えば、混んだ道、濃い珈琲、愛する人を失う・・・といったことなどにも自分は恵まれているのだと感じるのです。
良いのか悪いのか気にすることなく、
ただ、ありのままの人生すべてを受け入れ感謝することができるほど、あなたのハートは寛大です。
この種の感謝は
今の創造の完璧なダンスへの敬意
と深い認識を持っています。
今日の瞑想は、
そういった視点での感謝の感覚を持つよう促します。
Day 13 – Living Gratitude
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” — Meister Eckhart
“Today we explore the role of gratitude in expanding our happiness. It’s obvious how feeling thankful for the good things in one’s life powerfully contributes to a greater sense of happiness and wellbeing, but this version of gratitude still depends on our mood at the time. It also is limited by our beliefs about what is positive, and our understanding of what is good.
There is a deeper kind of gratitude that goes beyond our conceptions and beliefs of good and bad. This expanded sense of gratitude rejoices in life exactly as it is, right now . . . life is perfect in spite of its imperfections. We find ourselves grateful to simply breathe and greet the sunrise. We feel privileged to engage in the full range of human experiences: busy traffic, strong coffee, and missing a loved one. Our heart is big enough to embrace and appreciate life as a whole, just as it is, without worrying about whether it is “good” or “bad.”
This gratitude has reverence and appreciation for the entire dance of creation right now. This is the perspective that today’s meditation will help foster in our life.”
Today’s Centering Thought
“I am thankful for all I have”
Sanskrit Mantra
“Shreem Namah – I honor the abundance of life” (Deepak pronounces Shreem Nah Mah)
Oprah
“I believe the single most important thing I’ve ever done was to begin paying attention to what I’m grateful for. No matter what is going on in life, if you focus on what you have, you’ll always – always, end up having more. Open up to the grace of all that’s been given you simply because you’re here and you’re breathing, and the energy of your every day begins to transform in astonishing ways. Welcome to day 13, Living Gratitude. Feeling thankful from the deepest part of yourself, knowing ALL that you’ve been blessed with, taps into the abundant essence of who you are. Your presence and awareness of that wholeness creates boundless happiness, deeper and wider than the word even contemplates. Imagine happiness that big, that rich, that full. It is yours for the having. Deepak will lead us there to a sacred gratitude meditation.”
Deepak
“Gratitude is a familiar feeling, one of thanks for the abundance and beauty of life. But when it becomes a state of awareness, gratitude is much more than a quick blessing at the Thanksgiving table or a silent thank you when a bad situation turns out well. That kind of gratitude comes and goes. When you have gratitude that is always present in your awareness, everything changes. You find yourself transformed. Here is how it happens.
Ask yourself what you are grateful for at this moment. Most people choose good health, a happy marriage, a secure family life. Whatever you choose, no matter how sincerely, there will be other things that you aren’t grateful for. It’s not natural for the mind to be grateful for illness and loss, for grief or violence, so we may assign thoughts and feelings of gratitude to the good things over the bad things in our lives.
How can we reach a higher state of gratitude? Through a new perspective that accepts life in its wholeness. This doesn’t mean taking the bitter with the sweet, a form of resignation. It doesn’t mean trying to be thankful for bad things. Instead, we can begin to cultivate an approach to each day that embraces life as it is – with all of its imperfections.
In India, this is the spiritual path known as Bhakti, or devotion. Ask yourself a question. When you feel thankful for something, who is your gratitude directed to? Some people offer thanks to God or the universe. Many don’t have a specific goal for their gratitude but this urge to express thanks is the essence of devotion.
You can’t help yourself, you are so happy to be alive, whatever the reason that your gratitude spills over spontaneously. Taking the perspective of gratitude allows you to see more and more things to be grateful for. You nurture the feeling which causes it to expand. With a little attention, every day contains passive moments of love, beauty, appreciation, kindness, altruism, honesty and truth. You become aware of the many blessings often overlooked but which deserve to be noticed and grateful for.
If you offer gratitude from the deepest part of your awareness, you’re shining a light into the darkness, allowing consciousness to unfold in you and in the situation you find yourself in. The more light you give, the more you receive. In time, your gratitude has transformed you, and everything around you. Then you have transcended duality. All you can see in every direction is light and when this happens, gratitude has united you with your true self forever. Every moment of gratitude can be used as a step to transformation which is what our meditation is dedicated to today.
As we prepare to meditate together, let’s take a moment to consider our centering thought, I am thankful for all I have. I am thankful for all I have.
Now let’s prepare for our meditation. Make yourself comfortable and close your eyes. Begin to be aware of your breath and just breathe slowly and deeply. With each breath, allow yourself to be more deeply relaxed. Gently introduce the mantra, Shreem Namah. This mantra cultivates a feeling of appreciation and gratitude for the abundance in life. Repeat it silently to yourself, Shreem Namah. Shreem Namah. Shreem Namah. With each repetition, feel your body, mind and spirit open and receive just a little more. Whenever you find yourself distracted by thoughts, noises or physical sensations, simply return your attention to silently repeating the mantra. Shreem Namah. Shreem Namah. Shreem Namah. Continue with your meditation. Shreem Namah. Shreem Namah. Shreem Namah. Just mentally. Shreem Namah. Shreem Namah. Shreem Namah. Release the mantra.
Continue to sit restfully, inhaling and exhaling slowly. When you feel ready, open your eyes.
As you continue with your day, contemplate the centering thought, I am thankful for all I have. I am thankful for all I have. I am thankful for all I have.
Namaste”
Journal Questions:
1. “Gratitude connects us with the abundance and goodness in our lives. List the major things you are grateful for. How does this gratitude enrich your life?”
2. “Today’s lesson talked about a higher form of gratitude that accepts and honors our life as a whole, just as it is—the good stuff as well as the not-so-good stuff. Are there any personality features you have that may not be sterling virtues, but taken in the context of your whole person could be seen as traits which you are grateful for?”
3. “Have you ever felt grateful for simply being? It’s not a gratitude for anything in particular. It’s gratitude in itself. Gratitude for everything. Describe what that experience was like.”
4. “Reflect further on today’s experience.”
ナマステ
