How to Enter Experiential Doorways of Gratitude
Over the last few years, gratitude has become a central spiritual practice for me. It has moved through me like a song bringing tears of joy. I have felt immersed in gratitude so fully that it seemed my whole being was glowing with light. Peak experiences like these come and go. Most of the time I find myself feeling quite ordinary; taking care of daily life and following the routines that keep this life in rhythm. And yet, peak experiences are important touchstones on the path. They serve as an anchor and a reminder of the range of what’s possible in this life. They call us to return again and again and find our way back to gratitude every day.
Gratitude is one of the most obvious and simple doorways home to the expansive you. It can focus in any direction on any given experience. In a recent workshop, a student said, “I don’t feel gratitude because I worked for everything I have.” I was startled to hear this limited idea of gratitude. Gratitude is so much bigger than being thankful for what you have. For example, relative to what this student said, I immediately thought of one of my favorite ways to enter gratitude, which is to offer thanks to past versions of myself that did the work to provide me with what I now enjoy freely.
Whether you are grateful for your own efforts, the efforts of others, the abundance of the earth, or support from a Universal Beneficence; you can enter gratitude in a simple way through five experiential doorways: physical, emotional, mental, energetic, and spiritual.
To enter the physical doorway, I invite you to gently rest your attention on the pleasure you are currently experiencing from any of the five senses. For example, as I sit and write this, my bunny is sitting up washing his face with his front paws. It is a true delight to simply gaze upon him. In which of the five senses do you feel comfort or a simple pleasure right now? Let your attention rest there, noticing the pleasure and inviting an easy sense of gratitude.
To enter the emotional doorway, give your attention to anyone or anything in your present environment or a moment in the past that naturally brings a smile to your heart. Rest your attention on the feeling of joy, warmth, contentment, humor, delight; or whatever the emotion may be. Invite a happy dance of gratitude in your heart that you have the opportunity to feel these feelings.
To enter the mental doorway, give your attention to anything you enjoy knowing, learning, or engaging with mentally. Perhaps you enjoy mental puzzles like sudoku or perhaps you have interesting mental challenges in your work. Maybe you are learning something new and enjoy the experience of discovery and understanding. Rest your attention on this and notice a sense of your mind expanding and stretching. Invite words or images of gratitude to tumble forth.
To enter the energetic doorway, rest your attention in the spaces in between. It’s okay to use your imagination here if that helps. Guide your attention through your body with a light focus, imagining the space in between your cells. Then, guide your attention around your body, noticing the space immediately around you. Rest your attention on what’s pleasurable for you energetically; perhaps a sense of lightness, rhythmic movement, groundedness, or vibrancy. Let your attention expand to a sense of gratitude for the energy that constantly flows supporting life.
To enter the spiritual doorway, rest your attention in your heart center and invite a sense of love. If a sense of love doesn’t appear immediately, bring to mind an animal, place in nature, or a person that easily connects you with love. Invite love to deepen and expand. Offer a prayer of gratitude for love.
At this moment, I am imagining you! I imagine you reading this as a small manifestation of your dedication to growing, evolving, staying awake, and living fully into an expansive life with love and care for yourself and all living beings.
Thank you for your practice.