Mindfulness Practices to Cultivate Gratitude

I was running an introduction to mindfulness event at Raven Housing Trust in Reigate recently, and as it was during the staff's lunchtime, I planned to include a mindful eating meditation.

I had planned to do the Raisin Meditation, which is a great way to explore what being mindful means. But company had arranged a great array of food, from grapes to hummus to Brownies, so we used those foods instead of raisins. By bringing just a little attention to what we are eating, we taste it so much more. This is a simple mindfulness practice. One woman discovered she did not in fact like the biscuits she always thought she had, and another that a grape was really delicious. Bringing greater awareness to our present experience is a simple way of cultivating gratitude. It is not so much that happy people have more to be grateful for, but grateful people discover they have more to be happy about.

A third participant explored a simple glass of water. Although plain water can seem ordinary at first, there is a range of ever-changing patterns and colours. if one but takes that moment to explore. Holding a glass of water up to the light, literally, enables the viewer to see far more sparkles and patterns than one might expect.

Ironically, when choosing a photo to go with this blog, I initially looked for an amazing picture. Then remembering my comment was about finding wonders in the everyday, I chose an ordinary one. Of course when I cropped it and zoomed in...…. it was no longer ordinary!