PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION 203Gratitude Meditation
Gratitude is a high-vibrational place. Begin to focus on all the things you
are grateful for. Feel a surge of gratitude swelling within as you give thanks
for the blessings that exist in your life, such as your home, access to food,
clothes, the planet, the beautiful places you’ve experienced, the amazing
people in your life, and, most important, the miracle of you. What you give
gratitude toward, you attract more of into your life.
Dedication Meditation
Summon within your heart a person or place facing significant challenges—
a person battling a life-threatening disease, a region of the planet going
through a war, a place that has experienced a natural catastrophe, or even a
family pet struggling with an illness. Visualize the object of your dedication
being showered and bathed with good vibes. Maybe repeat a prayer several
times. This is a form of karma yoga, the yoga of selfless action, and you can
be assured that your subject will benefit from your thoughts and prayers.
Bring-Your-Own-Mantra Meditation
The things you think are the things you become. Choose a quality that you
would like to strengthen within yourself. It could be forgiveness, compassion,
creativity, health, or love, so long as it has resonance for you. Once you’ve
chosen your quality, plug it into the sentence, “I am ____.” So,
if you selected health, it would be “I am health.” Now, internally recite the
quality over and over, keeping the mind focused on the mantra.
Repetition Meditation
Repetition meditation is similar to BYOM meditation, except that you repeat
the chosen quality by itself, stripping away the words “I am.” For example,
“Health. Health. Health.” Each time you repeat the quality, you are driving it
deeper into the soil of your consciousness. Imagine every cell in your body
illuminated as the total embodiment of your chosen quality.