Blessings: Where Mindfulness Meets Gratitude [article]

All the Many Things We Rely Upon

How many objects do you think you use every day? How many plant and animal substances do you consume? 

Okay, before your head explodes, let’s just say a lot, because it is too great an amount to count.

Of all those myriad objects and organic matter, how often do you really acknowledge them and give thanks for them?

We take so much for granted. We feel entitled to have all these objects, barely even aware of how much energy was used to extract them and prepare them for our use. 

We already know how valuable gratitude is for our psychology and well-being. Well, I’d like to take it a step further and introduce you to the practice of offering blessings. 

To me, “blessing” means taking a moment to honor something—both acknowledging how much we value it, and also imbuing it with an intention for its highest use.

Where Mindfulness Meets Gratitude

Giving blessings is such a beautiful practice for so many reasons. 

For one, it takes mindfulness to pause and do this. Otherwise, we are just unconsciously, habitually consuming, as we normally do. To offer a blessing, we must catch ourselves and exercise awareness in the present moment.

Secondly, we are giving gratitude for this object, acknowledging our interdependence and our reliance upon things outside ourselves. We do not exist in a vacuum; we cannot survive without the many things that support us in every moment. 

Then, in the moment of offering the blessing, we must quiet our minds and open our hearts. It may be for only the time it takes for our heart to beat three times, or the length of one beautiful breath, but in this precious moment, we are fully focused. A mini meditation. A moment of expansion. Our blessing becomes an offering, an offering of our calm mind and open heart. 

And then comes the intent. What would be the highest good of this object? If we are to consume it, can we bestow honor upon it by using it for good? What is our true desire for this object? In this step, we are focusing our energy and consciously directing it.

So much happening, in three beats of that beautiful heart. 

Blessing Inspiration

One place this is already familiar is a blessing before a meal. How many of us actually do this though? 

What if you commit to saying “thank you” to your food every single time you sat down to eat, including breakfast and snacks? Before you lift that fork to your mouth, can you remember to pause and reflect on the long road that organic matter has traveled to nourish you? And what will you use the energy of that food for? 

Many, many years ago when I first decided to do this, I composed my own special blessing prayer. My mother recently reminded me how I kept it so close to my heart that when she asked me to write it out for her (after liking what she heard when I did it in front of her), apparently I made her promise not to show it to anyone because it felt so personal. 

I don’t feel that way now; I openly share it with others. While I encourage you to come up with your own blessing that comes from your heart, perhaps mine can spark some ideas. It's evolved a bit over the years, but here is the current iteration:

I thank the stars, the moon, the soil and the rain,
And all the beings that played a role in this food. 
May they all achieve happiness.
May this food nourish me,
And I offer its energy to the universe’s highest good. 
Om Ah Hung

This blessing is an ingrained habit for me now, so I’ve gone on to expand my blessings to other things. 

The next idea, super powerful, is to whisper a blessing into your water. 

For sure, do it with the first water of the day, but more power to you if you can be mindful enough to do it with all the water you consume. (I’m still working on developing more mindfulness for this.)

What a gift water is! 

Of all the elements, water is what makes our planet so special. Our bodies are 60% water. And did you know that your lungs are 83% water? Wow. When the water is gone, we will really wish we honored it more. Why wait? 

Water has also been shown to be easily imprinted. This water you are about to consume is going to go into your cells and become you. How lovely to speak a blessing of love and respect into it. 

For my morning water, I often invoke something having to do with clarity. “Thank you for this gift of water, this gift of life. With this clear water, may I see clearly, listen clearly and act clearly.”  What would you like to imprint your water with? 

Here are some other ideas of things to bless and cultivate awareness and gratitude for:

• Your bed

• Your computer

• Your car

• Your internal organs

• Your shower water

• A tree giving shade in your yard

• And of course, your loved ones.
  

Your Personal Practice

And now you must decide. Decide to weave blessings into your life. With this one commitment you are creating a mindfulness and gratitude practice. 

And I believe your objects will respond. You will digest your food better, you may have more restful sleep and be more protected in your vehicle. 

Do not underestimate the power of the mind and intent! We are in a living, responsive world. All is in flux and we must actively participate and give direction to the energy around and within us. 

So choose right now where you will add blessings into your life. Start with your food. Commit to saying a blessing before digging in—for every meal. And I also highly recommend the first water of the day. 

Compose your own blessing prayer. It will be a communication from your heart straight to the beautiful world around you on which you depend. 

As you open your heart and practice mindfulness and gratitude habitually, soon your every act will be a blessing. 

Here’s to this beautiful planet of the five elements! Our glorious garden that gifts the greatest grandeur. We are forever grateful to you.