“Happiness is when what you say, what you think, and what you do are in harmony.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Transcript:
Hi, This is Oakley Ogden, professional counselor and teacher of transformation. I’ve been in the space of mindfulness and tools for personal development for about 20 years now and I want to share with you some of my favorite tools for shifting emotion and influencing future outcomes. We’ll do this in three parts. Welcome to part 1: Today, we’ll begin with cultivating the FEELING of gratitude…
Let’s close our eyes together, relax our bodies, and breathe. Inhaling and exhaling. Relaxing the crown of the head, the forehead, the jaw, the shoulders, roll them back and let them drop down toward the floor. Relaxing and letting go of tension in the arms, elbows, forearms, hands and fingertips; relaxing even the trunk of the body, down to the hips and thighs, knees, calves, shins and ankles, all the way to the feet and tips of the toes.
And now become aware of the breath, lengthening the inhale, lengthening the exhale.
From this place I invite you to consciously choose a person, place, or thing in your life that brings a smile to your face. It could be a relationship, a pet, an activity that you love to do, even a memory of something that brings a smile to your face. Take a moment and let that person, place, or thing come to surface.
Now, lets use the power of imagination… The power of imagination is SO influential that the brain itself doesn’t the difference between a feeling felt due to something that is really happening or something that is being remembered or imagined. For example, laughing with friends in real time can have the same effect on the brain as remembering laughing, or visualizing laughing with friends. The same chemical reactions are produced in the brain and body.
So now that you understand this power you have, use your imagination to visualize that person, place, or thing in front of you. Really see it. And now, as you look, allow yourself to feel the natural feeling of happiness or joy that arise, let a little smile happen. And now let’s say together, Thank you, Thank you, I’m so grateful for, and you name this person, place, or thing. . . Feel your heart swell, allow it to grow bigger as you breath in and out. I’m so grateful for blank (fill in the space) b/c (and allow a few reasons to surface). I’m so grateful for . . . . b/c . . . Go ahead and repeat this phrase, filling in the blanks to yourself.
Okay, now rest the mind, and lengthen the inhale, and lengthen the exhale. Allow the person, place, or thing to return to where it came from, and simply continue to rest and expand in the frequency of gratitude that you’ve created for yourself.
Take a moment just to notice what’s different for you. Do you feel more relaxed? Slightly more at ease?
Yes, every feeling we feel lives on a scale of frequency. Love-based feelings like joy, gratitude, and peace are quite high on the frequency scale, while fear-based feelings like anxiety, depression, or anger vibrate at a slower pace and can feel a bit heavier when we check in and scan the body. So now you know the difference.
Congratulations, you have created your emotional state using the power of your own mind! Imagine what would be possible if we took time every day to consciously create our emotional state of being?
Well, we’ll find out soon!
See you in part 2!