Thanksgiving!

This week is Thanksgiving in the US and it is by far my favorite holiday. One of my recent newsletters was about the importance of community and connection, and I think I love Thanksgiving so much because in many ways the focus is on those connections, minus the commercialism.

As the name implies, it is also a time for giving thanks; for gratitude. The statistics about gratitude speak volumes: From UCLA Health: a regular practice of gratitude can lessen anxiety, improve heart health, relieve stress, and improve sleep. I mean, sign me up! From the same source, some simple tips to form a habit of gratitude include writing down a list of things for which you are grateful, articulating fully what you are thankful for when you say "thanks," (for example, "thanks for the coffee" rather than just "thanks), redirecting negative thoughts to something positive, and sharing gratitude by telling people what you are feeling grateful for.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feeling some stress about the upcoming holiday season? Earlier this week I had a conversation with my friend, the author, speaker, and coach, Sara Corckran, about easing into the holidays. She wrote about this in her Substack:

https://substack.com/inbox/post/180030189rckran

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two of my favorite types of meditation are loving kindness and tonglen. In a loving kindness meditation we wish for all beings (including ourselves!) to be happy, healthy, safe and at ease. (there are other versions but they all point to essentially the same thing). In a tonglen meditation, which combines the Tibetan words "tong," meaning giving, and "len," meaning receiving, we picture someone or some people who are suffering in any way and we metaphorically "receive" their suffering, usually with an inhale, and then "give" them peace and healing with our exhale. It can be very powerful. What do these have to do with gratitude? Over time, practicing these methods can not only increase our sense of compassion for others but also can increase our sense of gratitude for the blessings we have in our lives.

Intrigued? Here is a free one minute version of the loving kindness meditation: one minute of loving kindness

And here is a brief version of a tonglen meditation: one minute tonglen meditation

Here's a suggestion: this week, if in fact you celebrate Thanksgiving, take just a moment to offer kindness and compassion for all beings, for everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving!!