Benefit: Primed for positivity. Brighter face and energy. More likely to have resting-smile face.
Instructions:
1. This can be done anytime and in any position. At home, on the road, on a walk. Try for around 5 minutes, but you can extend that, or shorten it, based on what you want and how much impact you would like.
2. Intentionally draw a smile to the face. Raise the eyebrows a little to indicate a sense of optimism.
3. As the face wants to move back to its neutral position, your focus, your meditation, is to maintain the smile. You will likely need to "reset" several times -- and that's just fine.
4. Encourage the felt sense of a smile on the inside, perhaps around your heart, or throughout your body. "What would it feel like if my whole body could smile"
5. Maintain this position. If you wish to increase your smile here and there, pulling in more cheeks, then do so. There is no wrong way to do this as long as you keep the smile on the face and tune in to the smile of the heart.
Bonus: You can send you smile out into the world, or think of people you know or have seen, and send them your smile.
Benefit: Grounding. Feeling nourished, connected. Primed to appreciate life a little more.
Instructions:
1. This can be done daily. In any setting. Neighborhoods. Nature. Cities. Malls. The living room.
2. The goal is to stay as present as you can (make it a game), and don't get lost in thought. Thinking is natural, don't try to clear your mind. Just focus your attention on the walk itself. Be present.
3. On your walk, see how much of your body you can feel walking, sensing the wind, sensing temperature, pressure of the foot hitting the ground. Notice sounds, trees, etc. Be present.
4. Intentionally savor the sights, sounds, feelings without getting lost in thought about them. Expect that you will think a little bit, just return back to the present moment and cultivate a sense of appreciation.
5. Notice, again and again, when you start thinking about the walk too much. You'll know what thinking feels like versus just appreciating.
Benefit: Countless benefits.
Instructions: Write down or draw to mind several mundane, or even special, things that you are grateful for. Gratitude is an incredible practice. that we tend to neglect or forget to do. It's so important to remind ourselves, over and over again, to find thankfulness in the simple, wonderful, beautiful things in our day. Here are few to get you started. The more you sit with each thing you are grateful for, the more impact it will have on you.
Having a bed. Clean water. The feeling of sunshine. The gift of hearing.
Benefits: Sense of connection. Positive intentions. Friendly, good energy.
This is built on the premise that how you think, what you imagine, the thoughts you practice and cultivate, can impact both how you feel and, by way of your body language, how people perceive you. In this exercise, we imagine a friendliness between ourselves and others.
Instructions:
1. This can be done anytime you are around people. The store. The road. The gym. Walking around. It does not require any actual interaction. This is an imagining exercise.
2. When you see other people, no matter what their style is, or how different from you they appear, or who they remind you of, can you imagine them being kind or friendly?
3. Can you imagine a high five with that person? A handshake? A friendliness. It's up to you how you want to imagine in. Try not to stare at people. (They might think that's creepy.)
4. It should go without saying, but just to be safe: Don't linger on one person or force any interactions. This is only a thought exercise and is meant to create better people vibes for you, internally.
Benefit: Lighter energy. Healing in every way. Positivity. Increased warmth.
For this exercise, we will keep it relatively light, but you can go as deep as you are able to go (and maybe a little more!) to forgive.
1. Think of a couple people that are good people, but that you just had a miscommunication with. It could have been this week. It could be years ago. It shouldn't take long to think of a situation. Whatever comes up. Draw it to mind, see the situation as a wiser version of yourself. You can now say "I forgive" or "I can forgive this." Repeat those words, a few times. Genuinely connect with the sense of forgiveness.
2. Remember to forgive yourself for holding on to anger or resentment. Forgive the harsh feelings that may have happened. Even if you didn't do anything wrong, just allow yourself to be included in the forgiveness process.
3. Think of someone that cares about you but maybe didn't do the right thing by you or someone else. Maybe they came up a little short somehow. Drawing that to mind, thinking of how, in their hearts, they care. If they could be better, they would be. They aren't perfect, and the struggle to do the right thing all the time like all of us. Repeating "I forgive" or "I can forgive and let go."
4. Think of some times in the last week you didn't meet your own expectations. This is the human condition. We aren't perfect, even though we often strive for it and certainly we expect it. Allow yourself to let go of the need to be perfect, to always be in control, to know everything. "I forgive"
Benefit: Cultivate feeling of assurance. Practice creating positive states.
Your imagination has a powerful impact on your state of mind, and your circumstances. Our imagination is running in the background most of the day, and we imagine outcomes of situations, we imagine conversations that might happen, we use our imagination to remember events a particular way. Not always positively.
The content of those mental projections affect you emotionally.
So let's use that to our advantage. With some intentionality.
1. Come into this moment, the present moment.
2. Drop thoughts around the future, the past. Drop narratives about "how things are."
3. Engage as STRONGLY as you can, project a sense of CONFIDENCE into your space. Out of thin air. You might do this on a walk. Consider what confidence feels like, the feeling the everything is not just fine, but, maybe even GREAT. You're good. Life is good. Everything, for this moment, is good.
4. If intrusive thoughts come up, just let them go. Re-project the feeling of confidence.
5. Hold that feeling for a few moments. You might even consider going on a walk and just "feeling confidence" as a meditation as you walk. Embody it. Feel it as fully as you can.
Note: This is by no means 'pretending' everything is okay. It's different than that. It's to embody and practice the kind of emotions and life we want.
Benefit: Make someone else's day. Feel good about making others feel good.
Although this is an exercise that is written to boost your happiness, and it will, it's important to approach this with a degree of selflessness. It just feels good to share positivity with other people, and for no other reason than to make them aware of everything they are to you and what they bring to the world.
Instructions:
1. Think of a few people you know (parents/guardians, mentors, friends, co-workers, pets, bosses,
2. Think of all the things you appreciate, like, admire, like love, respect. Build a genuine appreciation in your heart, and let yourself linger there for a moment.
3. Share the appropriate things with one or all of those individuals.*
*Some people can become a little uncomfortable with compliments, so use your social awareness to determine the best time and way to share this kind of thing. Make sure it is all shared in a way that leaves no room for the other people to think you want something from them, or need them to return the compliment. This is just for them.
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