Gratitude as a powerful Force of Positive Change

Lightworker Global Call to Action

Gratitude as a Powerful Force of Positive Change

Hosted by: Geneva Robins – LunaHolistic

Facilitated by: Kyla Shepherd
Kayla Young

Podcast Air Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Episode: S01E08

GENEVA ROBINS: Hello, and welcome to the Lightworker Global Call to Action podcast series. I’m Geneva Robins. I’m your host, and I’m a Reiki Master here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. And I am so glad that you are joining live or later. It’s really amazing to have all of you here, especially at this time in the world. And our call today, we are going to be talking about gratitude, one of my favourite topics.

And before we get into that, I just want to send a heartfelt thank you and wave of gratitude to the indigenous peoples of the world and the indigenous peoples of wherever you happen to be sitting on Mother Earth. And if you are an indigenous person, thank you very much for joining us today.

And I have some helpers with me. I have Kyla Shepherd, who’s a Reiki Master here in Calgary. Say hi, Kyla!

KYLA SHEPHERD: Hello, everybody!

GR: And I have Kayla Young, who is also a Reiki Master here and yoga teacher and say hi, Kayla.

KAYLA YOUNG: Hello!

GR: Thank you both for joining me. They’re going to be supporting people joining live on the calls. And yes, we’re happy to have everybody here. And if you are joining live, you can type in your messages to us in the chat feature in Zoom. And you can also raise your hand and ask a question anonymously in the Q&A section. Yeah, wonderful. How are you, Kyla? How are you feeling?

KS: I am kind of tired tonight, so I am very much looking forward to all the meditation. So, yay!

GR: Yay. And you, and thank you. Thank you for being here with me. And Kayla, how are you feeling today?

KY: I’m kind of feeling the same. I’m a bit tired a bit, still riding the waves up and down, but not too bad. And I’m super excited also for all the meditation. I think it’ll be just what we all need.

GR: Yes, yes. Yes, there’s, there is a lot that we are all collectively dealing with. It’s unprecedented, really – the amount of information that we’re having to absorb, the stressors, just, even things that used to be simple things, like going for a walk, going, getting groceries, all of those things have been disrupted. Our daily commutes, every single area of our life is in upheaval.

And that’s a lot of things to process, first off, and then we’re also in this energetic soup of overwhelm, anxiety, stress in our collective sphere. So, if you’re a sensitive person, it’s really important to get into your energetic bubble. So, we call in Reiki our aura, which is that electromagnetic field around the body, and then also grounding. So, plugging into the Earth below us, and really having that energetic support below our feet.

Those are tools that, what I call energetic hygiene, that keeps us, sort of, within our container so that we can manage our own feelings without, sort of, tossing our energy everywhere, and then also managing and cope with the feelings in the world around us as we’re sort of, you know, interacting with people who are in various states of overwhelm and dealing with all of the things which are many.

But yeah, it’s, in Calgary, it’s a bit sunnier today. There’s been some pretty grey, dismal weather the last couple of days, and definitely noticed the link between sunlight and mood for me. So, I’m really glad that there’s a little bit of sunshine poking through today. It makes all the difference.

The topic for today is Gratitude as a Powerful Source of Positive Change. And gratitude is a topic that we cover a lot within Reiki in general, because it is one of the Reiki ideals, which is what I cover in my book, The Secret Art of Happiness: Change Your Life with the Reiki Ideals. And gratitude is one of them and being grateful for your many blessings is a really important part or basis of not just Reiki, but everything.

And it’s hard, though, to tap into that gratitude feeling when everything is going sideways. But even the tiniest little bit can shift your state and put you on this magnetic track of law of attraction. So, with our energy fields, we become these magnets for all of the things that are in our highest good, everything that we need. And gratitude is this energy that brings those things to us. And I’ll get in a little bit more about that as we go on.

But before we get into all of that, I’d love to do a meditation with you that will help you, sort of, clear off the energetic static, maybe ground you a little bit into your seat, and clear your energy field. I’m calling this one the Lightworker Energy Activation Meditation.

So, it helps you ground, which is that energetic technique of really visualizing roots going down into the Earth, and that connection of that Earth energy below your feet. When we’re connected and grounded in that way, that energetic visualization, it helps us feel safe, stable, and supported. It helps us navigate things through our lives and, sort of, put order to the disorder.

And with our aura, we need that energetic bubble around us. So, not only do we need that social distancing, you know, that two metre bubble around us for safety; we also need to be in this energetic container as well. And when you’re in that energy field, or in your own energy container, you feel way more calm, you feel peaceful, you feel like you can manage things.

It gives, it slows the pace of all of the things that are happening around you. Even if you’re moving quickly, you can still, kind of, take that calm with you wherever you go. So, you can move fast without rushing. And so, this meditation is a guided one, and it will just walk you through it. So, if you’re new to meditation, you can just follow along.

There’s two things that will really help you with your meditation practice. And you’ve probably heard a lot about meditation over the last few days, and how important it is for calming yourself and calming your nervous system and dropping out of that fight or flight.

So, the first one is to close your eyes. When you close your eyes, you send a signal deep inside you that you’re safe. When we are frightened or in that panic mode, our eyes just want to stay open, wide open, all of the time. And so, when you close your eyes, you basically trick your brain into telling your nervous system that you’re safe.

And then the other thing that you need that will help your meditation practice is to breathe slowly. When you breathe slowly, your heart rate slows down, and when your heart rate slows down and your eyes are closed, you can basically trick your body – it’s like a life hack – you can trick your body into being in that calm, restful state. So, we’ll do that one now.

9:29 to 22:05:
So, you can just get settled. Just take a few deep breaths, gently closing your eyes. Just relaxing and letting any of that static charge be released gently by a sigh of relief. Just knowing there is a strong guiding presence here with us all.

Deep down in the core of everything, there is a steadiness and a flow. A deep inherent wisdom within the planet, gently guiding us and nourishing us. Supporting us in any way imaginable.

Just letting everything heavy melt into the tender arms of Mother Earth. She is prepared to receive it all. There is nothing too big. There’s nothing too painful. There’s nothing too overwhelming that she cannot help us with.

Letting that strong and nourishing guidance flow, feeling that ancient rhythm of energy, knowing that rhythm within the Earth, that slow and deep cycle of nature, lives within you. You can feel it in your bones. You can feel it in your heart. You know this to be true.

Take another deep sigh of relief, letting everything melt off of your shoulders, placing temporarily everything outside of your bubble, giving you the space and time to be within the stillness inside of you.

Letting anything that isn’t connected to your purpose in this lifetime go. Allowing your soul to decide what to keep and what to stay. Knowing that this is a process that happens deep inside of you, a knowingness in your heart.

Allowing the mind and all of its thoughts to step into service of your heart and your soul. Your heart is in charge, and it knows what to do. Your heart is in presence and full expansion of your spirit and your being in this moment, this beautiful and precious moment, with all of its grace and gifts, it’s yours.

A beautiful violet light, a beautiful purple colour, is descending to touch your crown. The violet light descends from the infinite heavens to the top of your head, your crown. This violet light shines and radiates through your whole body.

Filling the top of your head, the Crown, filling your forehead and your brain, your third eye, down through the throat, clear and flowing.

Moving in through the heart, filling and expanding, softening in through your shoulders, down the arms and out the palms of your hands, filling and concentrating the energy in your solar plexus, in your belly, gathering all of your solar plexus energy, keeping it inside you.

Bringing the energy down into the sacral, into your lower abdomen, bringing the energy right into your root, the base of your spine, all the way down your legs, shining radiantly out the bottoms of your feet and all the way to the center of the Earth, completely connected and rooted.

Take a few soft breaths into whatever you are feeling, knowing that all of your feelings are okay. Giving them space to be felt fully, breathing deeply into the sensations of it. Noticing how they naturally shift and move, very gently, one by one, being led into the light – into the light and grace of your soul.

Begin taking soft breaths into your energy field, noticing what’s there. Noticing with kindness and compassion, allowing anything in your energy field that isn’t yours to dissolve. Letting it go to the highest light, knowing that there is an immense, kind, and loving presence within the universe, looking out for all of us.

Surrender everything that is beyond your control to the light, allowing your aura to be swept clean and clear by your guides and angels, your immense divine team. Feel this light extend through your aura, your electromagnetic field, right around your body.

Feel it clear and cleanse the energy near your body with a beautiful and comforting red, all around you.
Just beyond the red, a beautiful, vibrant orange, all around you.
Just beyond the orange, a beautiful, radiant yellow light and energy, all around you.
Just beyond the yellow, a brilliant and compassionate green, all around you.
Just beyond the green, the cool and soothing blue, all around you.
Just beyond the blue, a serene indigo, all around you.
Just beyond the indigo, a protective and comforting violet, all around you.

Notice or feel or know the presence of loving, divine beings, your team, your spirit guides, your guardian angels, ascended masters, or the Universe itself.

Whatever you think the best is, they are here with you. Know that this divine, loving presence is maintaining your ground and maintaining your auric field, no matter what is happening. No matter where you are, they are there and supporting you, making sure you are completely contained within your bubble of light. It is all held in place by the divine.

Rest here for a moment.

And now, you can gently bring yourself back to presence, gently wiggling your fingers and your toes. Bringing your hands down your legs, letting the energy connect into the Earth below you, and sweep your hands around, through and over your aura. With your hands facing your body, just smoothing that field around you off, giving it a gentle pat. And when you’re ready, you can open your eyes.

Ahh. Ahh. I felt like I could have just stayed there for the rest of every moment of my life. [laughs] Yeah, that was wonderful. I’d love to hear from you. If you want to share your experience with that meditation, you can type it into the chat, and I can read it out for everybody. I’m always curious of how that sits with you and what you felt. Maybe go to Kayla. Kayla, what did you experience?

KY: It was really nice and calming and really grounding. I agree because I could have stayed there for the rest of the night. [laughs] It’s just what I needed, and probably what everybody else needed as well.

GR: Yeah, yeah. Thank you. And Kyla, what did you, what did you experience in that?

KS: That I feel very calm and just really nice now. At the beginning with the – or sometime, with the Violet Breath coming in, coming down to my crown – I saw it was like, shaped like a hand – like there was a violet hand on my crown, sending all the energy through, which felt really nice. And then I was just gone. And I, yeah, I could have stayed there. I could have just stayed there for a few hours. Or all night, or for a week [laughs]

GR: Yeah, that would have been nice! That’s beautiful. What a neat image of just this like, let’s just touch your head. Just calm everything. [laughs]

KS: Very, very comforting too, like, it felt very much like, you know? Like a ‘there-there’ sort of, like touch kind of would one maybe think of too. So, it was very nice.

GR: Yeah, that’s beautiful. Well, we’ll be doing another longer meditation, so you can, we can all hop back into that energy

KS: Great!

GR: Yeah. MALTIE says: “Very relaxing. I needed that. Thank you.” Thank you, Maltie.

BEA says: “I feel so calm. Thank you.” Thank you, Bea.

And SUNITA: “It was exactly what I needed, thanks Geneva! I feel very relaxed and light but also more energized. It felt like a warm hug, too.” Yes, thank you.

But yes, I agree. I always feel like sometimes a really great meditation is like that very first moment when you get into a hot tub (if you like hot tubs). And it’s just this like, ahh! Like everything just settles right through and right down.

Yeah, it’s, that meditation is really an active visualization of essentially a Reiki session. It feels a lot like a Reiki session to me. But it’s one that you can do yourself just by visualizing. And yeah, I’ve had people say that Reiki feels like a hug for your soul. So, and I agree, and that meditation feels very similar to that energy for me. Thank you, everybody.

25:50 to 33:43
Yes, so gratitude is this magic secret sauce that you can sprinkle on everything and make everything in your life taste better, even when it’s, like, in the middle of a worldwide disruption. It still works, and it works in so many different circumstances.

The, it’s really about this, cultivating this energy of appreciating even the tiniest things, and when it’s, the times that are the toughest is when we need gratitude the most. When we don’t want to do gratitude is usually when it’s going to have the biggest effect and shift things for us. And it’s so powerful because that energy and frequency of gratitude and appreciation is in alignment with the energy of the Universe.

The Universe is grateful for us being here now, connecting with everybody, shining our light, being these big, open-hearted, compassionate beings holding space for all of the work that is happening to restructure and reorganize our entire society, from the ground up. And that is really being driven by this this heart-centered, focused energy.

And when we can get into the same frequency as the Universe itself, by tapping into love and gratitude and appreciation and compassion, it puts us in this amazing harmony with everything we need. Synchronicities open up. I don’t know how many of you have been seeing repeated numbers. So, like, 111, or 333, or 444, on the clocks, that is all little signs and guides that you are on the right track, that things are lining up for you.

And part of that is this idea of the Law of Attraction, which is something that Esther Hicks and Abraham, or Abraham Hicks work, talk about a lot and many other spiritual teachers and authors talk about this idea that the Universe itself is consciousness. It is aware of us as we are aware of it. And we interact with that deep, loving nature of the world through meditation, through prayer, through staying in this heart-centered, guided energy.

And when we’re in that state of appreciation and gratitude, we line up our frequency with that big, powerful energy. And one of the things that my guides have been telling me is that is that when you, when we’re in this state of upheaval, and we’ve had to let go of everything, let go of structure and routine and life as we knew it, and the, all of the things that have been caused by this disruption, we’ve taken our hands off the wheel in some ways of our lives, and we’ve been put into the state of surrender.

And when everybody is in the state of surrender, whether you go there willingly or not is besides the point, we’ve had to let go of a lot of things that used to be normal. And in that letting go, if you are in a state of gratitude, it means that there’s this, it’s like the things were very entrenched before – they were all in very orderly packages, and there was this rigidity to the system we were living in.

And now there’s not that same rigidity. There’s this flexibility and flow. And there’s this flow of energy that’s available to us now. And when we’re, when we’re tapping into even the tiniest little thing, gratitude, it means that all of that potential creative energy, this unformed creative potential, is now flowing towards us.

And my team is, my divine team says that anything you’ve ever put out there to the Universe that you would like is on the verge of manifesting for you now. In fact, it’s probably already happening, and you’re just sitting in it right now.

And so, it, that’s massive. If what you’ve put out there to the Universe benefits you and one other person, it means it’s on its way. If it’s a positive thing that’s going to uplift and connect and support other people, then it’s happening. It’s happening right now. And it’s in those states of surrender and being in that receptive ‘yin’ mode of letting things come to you, waiting and being patient and trusting in a force greater than you – that all puts you into this powerful receiving mode.

And it’s, it’s so much bigger than just the changes for you individually. But it creates this ripple – if you do well, we all do well. And there’s this flow and change within all of the things. It’s phenomenal, actually, the amount of energy and support that is available to us. And it doesn’t take very much, even the tiniest little movement towards gratitude will start shifting things in a really big, powerful way.

And, yeah, I, it’s pretty tremendous actually. And not only does all of those amazing things happen for you, which absolutely they do, but you feel better! You end up actually feeling better. And even if you come to a gratitude practice or gratitude journal, and just writing down tiny little things, and it’s like, I am grateful for toast, or you kind of, you can do it really petulantly, and it will still work. So, which is really nice!

And that you can also be grateful for big things and tiny things, as long as it’s something that you appreciate, that you feel good about. It puts you on a track, and as soon as you start getting on that track, there’s so much potential energy behind it, it will just carry you. It’ll carry you towards a better feeling, it’ll carry you towards whatever place that you need to be.

It puts you in this flow of positivity and positivity will gain more energy of positivity around it. And then all of a sudden, you’re feeling better, you’re getting different kinds of experiences. What you need is starting to appear. And yeah, it’s, I highly recommend it! [laughs]

33:43 – end of gratitude explanation section

Kyla, do you have anything to add? I know you’ve explored gratitude. Do you have anything to add about that, of how does it enhance your experience?

KS: I agree with that, the, that when you practice it, it just like, I find that when I start practicing gratitude, I can always find more and more and more to be grateful for. But a thing, something that I feel might be important to mention, based on how my last few days have been, like, tougher with feelings and things like that, is that you can feel gratitude at the same time as all the other things.

So, that’s fine to still be feeling all the other things. And as you were saying, even if you’re only grateful for just one tiny thing and you’re in anxiety or overwhelm, overload, resistance is a big one, fear, anything else – even if there’s just one tiny thing you can be grateful for, it’s still significant, and do your best to celebrate that. If not in the moment, later. Like, it’s so, it’s significant.

And sometimes, sometimes you might be expressing all the gratitude and, like, going and doing a big, getting more and more into the flow and finding more and more things, and sometimes you can only find the one little thing. Just keep it in a corner of your heart, and along with everything else, and that is still really huge, maybe even huger, because you’re also dealing with all of the feelings at the same time.

GR: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. It’s, I’ve been really struck with how, like, complex the feelings are, you know, and then how many feelings you can have at the same moment, you know, and how quickly you can cycle between them all. You know, from feeling completely devastated and in a state of grief and dismay and anger and frustration, irritation. And then, like, a breath later, you’re feeling completely overwhelmed with compassion and joy and comfort and love. And then right back to like, bah!

You, know, just, it’s, you know, when people ask how you are, it’s like, I don’t know if there’s a name for that feeling. Like, it’s not one word. It’s like, all of the feeling words, you know, when I when I start, you know, all of the emojis, just button mash all of the emojis, that’s kind of how I’ve been feeling. And yeah, and that’s, that’s a huge thing.

Thank you. I love that, putting it in the little corner of your heart. That’s such a great, it’s like, just like just tuck it away. It’s there. And it’s like the little flame, the little candle. It’s, it adds up. And if you, if you keep lighting that candle, then, you know, sooner or later, you’ll be in the light. It’s inevitable. And the tiniest little bit is all you need to keep going.

KELSEY says: “I kept a gratitude journal for two years, and it pulled me out of a dark place in my life and started me on a much lighter path.” Beautiful. Absolutely. It’s magical. Yeah, that’s wonderful. Thank you.

Kayla, did you have anything to add, to share?

KY: I don’t think so. You guys, you guys nailed it. Totally agree with everything, and I’m definitely feeling the emoji mashing lately. [laughs] All the emotions, all at once. But yeah, I think you guys know. Yeah.

GR: Yeah, yeah. And it’s, it’s not, we’ve never experienced anything quite like this in, definitely not within our lifetimes. And really ever, because [there] really hasn’t been anything like this and certainly not in the way that it’s happening and how it’s all unfolded. It, we’re really pushed into this state of vulnerability and uncertainty.

And there’s real, genuine concerns, you know, and struggles and things, and huge problems that we individually and collectively have to work through and figure out. And it’s not easy, it’s certainly not easy. There’s no single person that I talk to is having just a good old time with this. Zero out of zero people. Every single person is affected deeply by this in many, many ways. And it may be different for each person.

Some people might be really struggling with loneliness and isolation. Other people might be like, “I am craving loneliness and isolation! I would love to just go and hide in a cave somewhere and emerge like a grizzly bear, you know, in six months’ time,” you know? Some people have so much time on their hands that they are going stir crazy because maybe they can’t leave their house and all of the things that would have supported their wellbeing are now that not there. And then other people are run off their feet and have never been busier in their lives and are dealing and facing this day after day after day.

And just even the simplest things are wearing, so it’s a lot, and it’s okay that it’s a lot, and it’s also okay, that’s the beautiful thing about any of the stuff that we recommend is that you can do this completely imperfectly and it still works, and it still will have a resonant effect within you that will bring a lot of beauty and joy and lightness into your life.

So, I always like – I’ve been kind of combing through my bookshelf, and really connecting in with authors and men-, you know, book mentors, that resonate with me. I always like to look at, for people who have persevered and overcome really great struggles. And not in a way of comparing – that’s very important not to compare. Or rank your suffering with another person’s suffering or diminish how you’re suffering because other people had it worse than you, it really – or better.

There’s no weight to suffering. Suffering is suffering. If it hurts for you, it hurts. And that’s it. And I find that to be a very relieving thought that it’s okay – if it’s sore, if it’s painful for you, that’s just fine. I like looking at people who have overcome big adversity. I like reading their stories. I find it really helps me. And it helps me not because then I can go, “Oh, my problems aren’t so big,” or diminish my own.

It’s because I want to know how they did it. I’m reading it because if they got through something that was really big and massive, then maybe I can do what they did. I can follow in their footsteps. You know, it’s like the footsteps in the snow. You know, they’ve broken the trail for us. And so, if we follow that, maybe we can follow our way out into the light.

So, I’d like to read a bit from Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. He’s a concentration camp survivor in the Second World War. He was a psychiatrist as well. And he noticed that the people who had meaning or purpose, they pulled through and they survived. And then he noticed after the war that how important that is in any time. But there was a section that I had a bookmark in. And it really resonated with me. So, I’d like to read that to you now.

42:54 to 49:55
A few days previously, a semi-starved prisoner had broken into the potato store to steal a few pounds of potatoes. The theft had been discovered and some prisoners had recognized the burglar. When the camp authorities heard about it, they ordered that the guilty man be given up to them or the whole camp would starve for a day. Naturally, the 2500 men preferred to fast.

On the evening of this day of fasting, we lay in our earthen huts in a very low mood. Very little was said, and every word sounded irritable. Then, to make matters worse, the light went out. Tempers reached their lowest ebb. But our senior block warden was a wise man.

He improvised a little talk about all that was on our minds at that moment. He talked about the many comrades who had died in the last few days, either of sickness or suicide. But he mentioned that what may have been the real reason for their deaths – giving up hope. He maintains that there should be some way of preventing possible future victims from reaching this extreme state. And it was to me that the warden pointed to give this advice.

God knows I was not in the mood to give psychological explanations, or to preach any sermons to offer my comrades the kind of medical care of their souls. I was cold and hungry, irritable, and tired. But I had to make an effort and use this unique opportunity. Encouragement was now more necessary than ever.

So, I began by mentioning the most trivial of comforts. First, I said that even in this Europe in the sixth winter of the Second World War, our situation was not the most terrible we could think of. I said that each of us had to ask himself what irreplaceable losses he had suffered up till then. I speculated that for most of them, these losses had really been few.

Whoever was still alive, had reason for hope – health, family, happiness, professional abilities, fortune, position in society. All these were things that could be achieved again or restored. After all, we still had our bones intact. Whatever we had gone through could still be an asset to us in the future.

And I quoted from Nietzsche: “that which does not kill me makes me stronger.” Then I spoke about the future. I said that to the impartial, the future must seem hopeless. I agree that each of us could guess for himself how small his chances were, his chances of survival. I told them that, although there was still no typhus epidemic in the camp, I estimated my own chances at about one in 20.

But I also told them that in spite of this, I had no intention of losing hope, and giving up, for no man knew what the future would bring, much less the next hour. Even if we could not expect any sensational military events in the next few days, who knew better than we, with our experience of camps, how great chances sometimes opened up, quite suddenly, at least for the individual.

For instance, one might be attached unexpectedly to a special group with exceptionally good working conditions. For this was the kind of thing which constituted the luck of the prisoner. But I did not only talk about the future in the veil which was drawn over it; I also mentioned the past – all its joys and how its light shone even in the present darkness.

I again quoted a poet to avoid sounding like a preacher myself, who had written, “what you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you. Not only our experiences, but all we have done, whatever great thoughts we may have had, and all we have suffered – all this is not lost, though it is past. We have brought it into being. Having been is also a kind of being, and perhaps the surest kind.”

Then I spoke of the many opportunities of giving life a meaning. I told my comrades who lay motionless, although occasionally a sigh could be heard, that human life, under any circumstances, never ceases to have a meaning. And that this infinite meaning of life includes suffering and dying, privation and death.

I asked the poor creatures who listened to me attentively in the darkness of the hut to face up to the seriousness of our position. They must not lose hope but should keep their courage, and the certainty that the hopelessness of our struggle did not detract from its dignity and its meaning.

I said that someone looks down on each of us, in difficult hours – a friend, a wife, somebody alive or dead or a God – and he would not expect us to disappoint him. He would hope to find us suffering proudly, not miserably, knowing how to die.

And finally, I spoke of our sacrifice, which had meaning in every case. It was in the nature of this sacrifice that it should appear to be pointless in the normal world, the world of material success, but in reality, our sacrifice did have meaning. Those of us who had any religious faith, I said frankly, could understand without difficulty.

I told them of a comrade, who, on his arrival in camp, had tried to make a pact with heaven that his suffering and death should save the human being he loved from a painful end. For this man, suffering and death were meaningful. His was a sacrifice of the deepest significance; he did not want to die for nothing. None of us wanted that.

The purpose of my words was to find a full meaning in our life, then and there, in that hut, in that practically hopeless situation. I saw my efforts had been successful. When the electric bulb flared up again, I saw the miserable figures of my friends slipping toward me, to thank me with tears in their eyes.

GR: Which is just – I find that so incredibly powerful. I mean, it is powerful. It’s lighting this lamp of hope, this light, this tiny little thing. This, even in the midst of the most inhumane conditions, there was still cause for finding a tiny, little, tiniest little bit to be grateful for, the tiniest little sliver of meaning and purpose.

And for me, I find that incredibly inspiring. Because if he could do that, there, then I can do this here. If that can happen in those conditions, then I can find something in my conditions to be grateful for. I can look around me and I can find the tiniest, little, tiniest little light, the tiniest little thing. And that can be enough.

And it can be enough not only for ourselves, but to light a lamp first for ourselves, but then it also lights up other people. And that’s such a brilliant thing. Because that really, I find, can pull you out of the eve of a dark space, of feeling low, that you do your own inner self-healing work to find whatever joy, find whatever little glimmer of hope and light you can.

And then when you’ve lit that up for yourself, even if it’s just a little flicker, even if it’s just the tiniest thing, that light is powerful, and it will light up other people, whether you say anything or not. And it will radiate out like a ripple. And it will shift things and change things in this deeply profound way.

So, thank you for holding space for that really powerful story. I’m interested in what you experienced, what your thoughts are about that. Hopefully that made you feel better and not worse! [laughs] Kyla, would you like to share anything about that?

KS: Yeah, that was intense, but it was very beautiful. And for me, it really brought me back into our shared humanity and the compassion for everyone, which our circumstances are obviously completely different from their circumstances, but a big part of it is about unity and compassion for everyone and that we’re all in this together. So, it kind of brought me back to that feeling. Very, very great.

GR: Yeah.

KS: Thank you.

GR: Yeah, thank you, thank you. Kayla, do you have anything to share?

KY: Yeah, that was really, really nice. Almost like a little mini, like, wakeup call, like, kind of bringing you back to reality, like, there’s so much makes me think of, you know, because we’ve all been kind of in that up and down. And, you know, sometimes some days are harder than others. And it just makes you think of all the things that you actually do have to be grateful for. And, yeah, it was really nice. It’s powerful. I mean, the story itself, like what happened? No, but yeah, like listening to, hearing it was, yeah, was a little nudge.

GR: Yeah, it’s hard. It’s hard to hear and it’s not about comparing at all, it’s impossible to compare anything like that. It’s more this, it’s such a wonder of, like, when circumstances were that extreme, gratitude and hope and meaning were the difference between survival or not surviving. And when we put it in that, you know, and we’re, you know, hopefully we’re not in that extreme circumstance, but we’re not in that extreme circumstance.

And for me, it is, I find it so inspiring. And that I can dig deep. And I loved, I loved what he shared, where he was, like, “I am cold and wet and starving and irritable, and I don’t have an ounce of anything good,” you know? “I am grumpy and everybody around me is grumpy …” and there’s, you know, it’s the dark, you know. And that he was even in the dark, they, when he was sharing that story, you know, and he couldn’t see anybody’s faces.

And that, yeah, so I find I get drawn to those things like reading, you know, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and anybody who has really dug deep and overcome great suffering. I find that to be a balm for me because it shows me the way. It shows me how I can walk that path myself. So, when I get down, when I am grumpy and miserable, how can I look inside my heart and find just even the tiniest little thing, the tiniest little thing, to move forward through and to pull me through?

And yeah, and it creates this huge wave and ripple. And then all of a sudden, it’s like, oh, right, like, okay, I’ve got this, I’ve got this, I’ve got this, like, it’s okay, I can cope, I can manage, I can move through it. And I can still be in the discomfort, and the discomfort can be okay, because there’s no weight to suffering. And that’s also an interesting thing in this book is he’s very clear about that, like suffering is suffering.

And that, you know, and too, that there is no weight to it. It’s, if it hurts for you, it hurts. And that’s it. And, yeah, so, and this whole idea that by looking for the light, you find it, even when it feels like all the lights have gone out – there’s always some tiny little bright and inspiring thing. And when you start looking for them, you see more of them, and you see more of them, and you see more of them. And it just grows into this big ripple of positivity. That can be like this life raft to float you through whatever you’re in.

MALTIE says: “Powerful and inspiring. I am grateful for all my blessings.” Yes, absolutely. Yeah, thank you everybody, so good. Yeah, I think that’s probably a good time to go into a gratitude meditation. I don’t know if anybody has anything they’d like to share.

So, The Secret Art of Happiness is the title, or the description, given to the Reiki ideals. And the Reiki ideals are this, sort of, founding philosophy of Reiki, and there are five principles, right, or concepts, and they’re so super simple, but they’re not. That’s the spiritual work of a lifetime.

So, just for today, the first one is, ‘I will let go of anger’. The second: ‘I will let go of worry’. The third, ‘I will be grateful for my many blessings’. And the fourth is ‘I will do my work or my spiritual work honestly’. And the fifth is ‘I will be kind to myself and every living thing’. And, very simple but challenging, so challenging.

So, but what I noticed was, is that when people in the Reiki classes that I was teaching, they, when they dug into the Reiki ideals as a method for living their lives, everything started to change for them. And they got such huge, powerful shifts from the material.

And so, gratitude is one of the Reiki ideals, and I find it’s like this magic balm and antidote to all of the struggles. It’s quite a powerful one. They’re all powerful. So, I’ve got a chapter on gratitude, and I’ve got different affirmation ladders. So, even if you are feeling that is hard to reach for gratitude, you can repeat these affirmations, which are basically positive statements that help you acknowledge where you are in a very shame-free way. So, it’s like, it’s okay to be wherever you are. It’s okay to feel however you are feeling, and just bringing in that little drop of ray of light.

So, you know, the opposite of gratitude is feeling critical or depressed or just in that overwhelming chaos. So, the affirmation ladder, or the affirmation at the bottom is, “My life is in chaos right now. Nothing seems to be going right for me at the moment. Even though everything is going so badly right now, I’m still a good person.” So, that one, and then you can just work your way up.

So, number three is, “I appreciate my ability to breathe, to read, to learn, to live. I am alive. There is hope.” And then at the top, “I am filled with appreciation for every aspect of my life. I’m so lucky to be me. And I’m tremendously grateful for all my many experiences. Life grows and expands through me. I love my life.” So, no matter where you are, with any of them, you can just start where you are and then you just work on that one and you work your way up.

And I find there’s a real peace in just acknowledging and accepting each of your feelings when they’re, when your feelings are accepted and acknowledged, no matter how uncomfortable they may be. They start shifting and moving and moving through. And instead of trying to, like, smash the lid on top of our feelings and just keep on barreling through them, a lot of the work that, you know, we do with people and meditation and Reiki, is, a big part of that is to sort of acknowledge how you’re feeling with complete love, compassion, and acceptance. No matter how you’re feeling, it’s okay.

And then bringing in a little breath of kindness, of light, of appreciation, and then those feelings start to shift. They start, it might be small and subtle at first, but then it starts moving and shifting and changing. And then before you know it, it shifts you into this happy, content, peaceful, grateful space. And yeah, so I just thought I’d offer that to you. And we’ll go into a Gratitude Meditation, which is out of this book.

1:04:00 to 1:16:33: Gratitude Meditation
So, you can start by sitting up straight, closing your eyes. Take a very deep breath and let it all the way out. Take another deep breath and let it gently out. Once more, breathe in and all the way out. Very good.

Now bring your awareness to the tip of your nose. Just gently focus on this part of your body. Breathe easily. Breathe gently. As you focus on the tip of your nose, become aware of the purpose of this part of your body. Feel the air softly flowing around it as you breathe gently. Easy and relaxed, your nose and its precious tip are an important part of your biology.

The tip of your nose is an important part of your identity. Large or small, your nose rests easily on the center of your face. Your nose makes you recognizable to others. The tip of your nose is a precious place, a meeting point of the outer world and your inner world. It is the point where they stop, and you begin.

This is an important place on your body, where you can begin to redefine what it means to be you. This is the place where you decide what is right for you or wrong for you. This is the place where you’re able to distinguish where you choose to be and how you choose to behave. This is a very important part of your body.

Spend a few moments now thanking your nose tip for its valuable service and contribution to your life. Thank you, nose tip, for being part of my experience. Feel your gratitude and appreciation reflected back to you as your nose tip thanks you for your unique expression in this physical life.

Now, bring your awareness to your bones. Think about the 206 bones that are part of your skeleton. Recognize the contributions your bones make to your life. Feel the solidity of your bones. Recognize their ability to flow and shift, depending on the demands of your life. Your bones are strong and provide shape and support to your physical body.

And they are also dynamic, living tissues that house your bone marrow, the source of your immune cells. Bones protect what is most precious: your heart, your lungs, your brain, and they protect each and every cell in your wonderful body. Your bones support you without question – through all the decisions and experiences of your life, your bones are always there for you, lending their structure and wisdom to every step and choice you make.

Spend a few moments in deep reverence to the wisdom that lives in your bones. Honour that part of you that honours you. Thank you, bones, for your wisdom. Thank you for always being there. Feel your gratitude and appreciation reflected back to you as your bones thank you for your wise presence and graceful support in this physical life.

Now turn your attention to the strongest muscle in your body, your heart. For as long as you have lived, as long as you live, your heart beats. Become aware of this powerful and steady part of your body. Notice your heart’s gentle beat now. Just gently observe its rhythm. Notice its gentle wave, pulsing right in the center of your chest. Notice its devotion to you. Notice your heart’s natural ability to respond with ease to whatever experience your life has offered you.

Your heart can keep pace with you as you run and jump and swim and sprint. Your heart can alert you to love as it skips merrily when you meet your partner. Your heart lets you know when you have found safety and support with softness and ease. Your heart glows with courage and compassion with its every devoted beat. If you listen gently to your heart now, it will offer you the perfect advice on how to live a joyful and free life. Listen now.

Spend a few moments thanking your heart for all its love, courage, and strength. Thank you, heart, for each and every beat. Feel your gratitude and appreciation reflected back to you as your heart thanks you for your courageous journey in this physical life.

Rest here for a moment. Bask in the joy of it all. Take a deep breath. Thank you.

Wiggle your fingers and toes in gratitude. Rub your hands together, massaging your head and neck. Give yourself a big hug, bringing your hands down your legs, just connecting back in to the earth below you, and sweeping your hands through your aura, your hands facing your body, just smoothing off the energy around you, giving that energy a little pat. And when you’re ready, you can open your eyes.

Thank you, everybody. That was so wonderful. I’d love to hear what you experienced in that gratitude meditation.

In the middle, I felt this, I find it’s like, as soon as I go and start getting deeper and deeper, like with the bones, I felt very steady and supported, calm. And then in my heart, I just felt this big burst of gratitude. And I felt like this, it just felt like there was this warm energy in my heart.

And I felt this wave of gratitude for all of you who are here with me listening live, for Kyla and Kayla who are supporting me on the call, and all of you on the call, and for everybody who’s listening later. And just this, and it just ripples out from there of just feeling like, all of our hearts connecting. And in this like, ripple of this wave of gratitude all around the planet. I felt so amazing, and I just want to sit in that just as long as I can. [laughs] As long as I can.

NATASHA says, “Well, that was fantastic. I find the more grateful I am, the more grounded I become. Such a deep calm.” Oh, thank you for sharing that. That’s amazing. Yes.

Yes, Mona, you have your hand up. Does that mean that you would like to share your voice with us? You can type in the chat if you do. Oh, no. [laughs] If you’d like to share what you’ve experienced, I would love to hear that. That’s wonderful. No problem. Kyla, what did you experience in that?

KS: That felt so wonderful. Thank you. I agree with Natasha, I feel like it was very grounding for me too, really brought me back into my body and felt very centering and really connecting with all the parts of my body. And I loved all of it, but I felt very much in my heart space in particular, with the heart and, like, in my heart and comforted by my heart and surrounded by self love. And I mean, it was like that comfort and support I particularly needed. And then I felt, I feel even more grounded after that and centered so, yes, so lovely. Thank you.

GR: Oh, I’m so glad, I’m so glad. Yeah. It’s like, just so soothing, right? It’s just like this bath that your heart can take, you know.

MONA says, “Definitely feeling grateful and strong in my body.” That’s wonderful.

And SUNITA, “I felt very peaceful. Thank you.” Thank you. Thank you both for sharing.

MALTIE says, “That was wonderful. I felt a burst of gratitude, love and compassion.” Ah, that’s wonderful. Fantastic.

Kayla, would you like to share what you experienced?

KY: Yeah, 100% what everybody is saying! Definitely. I felt yeah, like, that felt super, super grounding. And like, super, like, I feel more in my body now, because I’ve been, the last couple of days, I’ve been very, like, out in my feelings, but not feeling like, in my body with them. More like they’re out. So, that really gave me a sense of like, yeah, just feeling more of my body and coming back into the body and really grounding and bringing a sense of like, cozy heaviness, kind of like a weighted blanket. Yeah, it’s wonderful. [laughs] It’s so good, so thank you.

GR: Yes, I, before all this happened, just before, because I had been thinking about buying a weighted blanket for a long time. And I sort of wasn’t sure, but I ordered one. And then I ended up getting another one. And it is amazing, yeah. But it’s so neat to me that, you know, that a meditation, something you just do, you know, that you can get guided into and for your mind and your energy and you can get that, like, cozy weighted blanket feeling without the heavy blanket, which is really neat. But yeah, that’s, thank you. Thank you both for sharing that. That’s amazing.

BEA says, “I felt like a wakeup call for me, like a reminder that life is right now, that each moment is a gift. I feel calm and peaceful.” Yes, thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, it is, it’s, it – especially, I like what you’re saying that, you know, that reminds me, Bea, of just how important being present is, through this, that I find, if I’m present, and I’m just on the task that I am on what I’m doing right in that minute, right where my feet are, then I’m usually okay, or I can manage. It’s when I get too far in the future or too far in the past that I just get swept along and it overwhelms my capacity for coping.

And because the powerful present is where all of our energy is, and it’s the only moment that we can do anything or be anything and that’s massive. And that, it’s really about like, right where I’m sitting, right, from what I can see right around me, what is there to be grateful for? And then there’s so many things, you know, that it doesn’t have to be things that are really beyond this moment, you know.

And that’s another way of maybe cultivating that mindfulness or that presence is just, you know, right now, in this second, I am grateful for this breath that I’m breathing. I’m grateful for the earth below my feet. I’m grateful for a roof over my head. I’m grateful that I’ve got loving, compassionate beings who want to join me on these calls and listen to this and share a meditation space with me. That’s amazing.

Yeah, I feel so incredibly blessed to be here and be doing this with all of you. That’s, for me, it for me right now in this second is, I’m just amazed at how well this all works and all of the technological pieces and, you know, all of the coordination of everybody to join here and the amazing energy we can hold space for everyone.

It’s quite important and it’s amazing too, of just how that’s all you need to be doing, is just do what you can to stay within your heart – stay within that grateful, compassionate, caring, kind space inside you, for you. And then when you’re in that space, just go about your day, do whatever it is that you need to do in whatever order you need to do it in.

If you’re working or working at home, if you’re managing all of your kiddos, if you’re by yourself, you know, if you’re feeling healthy, if you’re feeling sick, it doesn’t matter. Wherever you are, really just knowing that when you do your work and light yourself up, it lights everybody else up too. And it creates this ripple, even if you don’t see anybody, even if you don’t interact with people, it creates a ripple beyond your walls. It creates a ripple that connects with others beyond, into the community. And it makes a huge difference.

And we don’t have to do it all, we don’t have to be like a big glaring spotlight of positivity all of the time. We can just light a tiny little candle in our heart. Like Kyla had said, we can just have a little bit that we tuck away in a corner of our heart, and we keep that gratitude and that love and that compassion safe, even though everything is in a swirl around us. And it makes such a big difference, because if we all do that, you know, just amazed at the power of the collective. If we’re all doing that, if we’re all shining in our own unique way, man, can we create a wave of positivity, not just for us, but for everyone.

And we can reach out and support each other through all of this and all of the things. And that becomes like a – I keep seeing these like, webs of light. We’re all lit up individually, but now we’re connecting in and we’re connecting, like a web or a matrix of all of these people, all around the world, working for the betterment of everybody. It’s beautiful. And everybody has a unique gift, talent to share.

And when you’re lit up inside, you light other people up inside. And that little spark of hope and positivity, it grows, and it shines, and it gets us all through this all together. So, we just want to thank all of you here that are joining here. If you have any final thoughts you’d like to share with us, please do type them in. Kyla, is there anything you’d like to share as we sort of close things out?

KS: I think the biggest thing, mostly for myself, honestly, is just to kind of reiterate what I said before about doing your best to celebrate yourself for even the tiniest, tiniest of wins. Because when I – I know that when I’m really swamped with all the feelings, it’s even when I still have that tiny corner of gratitude in there, it can still be hard to celebrate it. Like, the other voices can come up and say, “that’s not enough.” And it is enough, because no matter what you’re doing in the moment, it’s enough and just have to celebrate that as much as you can because it’s really hard in those moments. It’s really hard.

GR: It is, it is, and the tiniest little bit is all we have to do, like, it’s figuring out what is the tiniest little step, and just take that little step, take that little action, take that little rest, whatever it is, and know that it is enough. And that it’s more than enough, it’s everything. And because those little, tiny things add up, and so it doesn’t have to be big, it doesn’t have to be massive, and it can be done like that.

It’s like it can be done in the midst of a whole pile of other feelings that don’t feel like happiness and positivity and, you know. And it still is okay, you know, it still makes a big, big difference and like that, you know, get out little tiny pompoms and cheer your name and, you know, give yourself a sticker for showing up and doing your best, because that’s amazing.

And that’s, it is enough, it is enough. And usually that, when we feel that it’s not enough, that’s usually because we’ve been doing so much in so many different areas that we’re, you know, we’re doing lots and lots of inner work and lots of outer work. And even acknowledging that because it’s, yeah, there’s a bunch happening. So, thank you for that. Thank you. Kayla, would you like to share anything before we close it all off?

KY: Yeah, I just want to say thank you to you, because you’re amazing. And thank you for hosting these. And thank you for everybody for coming. You’re, yeah, this was really nice, and I really needed this today, so I really appreciate it. It was nice to sit in and be here.

GR: Yeah, thank you. Thank you both for being here and supporting each other and supporting me and supporting everyone else on the call. That was really wonderful.

MALTIE says, “Thank you, Geneva, for all that you do. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to attend and be part of this group. Stay blessed everyone.” Thank you. Such a beautiful … thank you, everybody.

This call, if you’re listening later, you’ll know, but all of our calls are recorded and they’re on the LunaHolistic.com blog, as well as any future events, you can find from the homepage, LunaHolistic.com. And on there as well, we do have resources to support you. We have online services, so we can give you distance Reiki sessions.

We’re also hosting online Reiki classes as well this season, so we can reach you and support you in expanding your gifts, skills, and talents with Reiki and meditation. So, if you’re interested in that, please do check it out. We’ve got a lot of recorded meditations including a bedtime meditation, and a waking meditation, so if you’re finding sleep difficult around now, those might really help you. So, thank you, everybody. Nice, big hug. Thank you so much.

KS: Take care, everyone. Virtual hugs!

GR: And we’ll have a nice global hug, and we’ll expand your arms out to embrace the whole world and just feel that hug back. Give yourself a nice big hug. And such a big dose of internal gratitude for each and every one of you for being here. You are an important person. You are a wonderful person, and I am so very grateful for each and every one of you. Have a wonderful next little while and take care, everybody. Stay safe and healthy.