Loving Gratitude

Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“Another instance of concept-stacking [<link; short read]?”

“Yes. But, more importantly, practice-stacking. You’re practicing both at the same time.”

“How do you practice it?”

“Whenever I express Gratitude for something, I also express Love for something related to it.

The basic pattern is:

Thank you, I love you.

I might look at an object that reminds me of a past experience, good or bad, say ‘Thank you for the experience’, and send Love in the present to those involved in the experience – this is a beautiful practice called Active Love, which I know from Brian Johnson.

Or I might say ‘Thank you for the beautiful idea’, and send Love to the author.”

“Even if the author is no longer alive?”

“Yes. What’s important is accessing the feeling of Love and Gratitude.

Going the other direction. whenever I express Love for something, I also express Gratitude for something related to it.

The basic pattern is:

I love you, thank you.

I might say ‘I love you my dear parents’, express Gratitude to them for giving me the Gift of Life, for raising and supporting me all these years, and send them Love.

Or I might say ‘I love Learning’, and reclaim what’s usually a verbal-empty [<link; short read] by expressing Gratitude for my many resources and to my many teachers, and send all of them Love.”

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Gratitude Practice 3

Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“What is the highest end of the Gratitude practice?”

“Taking NOTHING for granted.

This is a practice in itself.

By default, we tend to take everything for granted. To counter this tendency, it takes deliberate directing of the attention, by constantly asking yourself:

What am I taking for granted?

As they come into your Awareness, savor their simple Beauty, and express Loving Gratitude for all these Gifts.”

On Love and Gratitude: Stacking

Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“What’s your most powerful practice?”

“Loving Gratitude [<link; short length], or Grateful Love.“

“Is this an instance of practice-stacking, so that whenever you practice one you also practice the other?”

“It is that, and more. It’s an instance of concept-stacking [<link; short]. I’ve fused the two concepts together, so that whenever I think of one I also think of the other.”

“Can you give a practical example?”

“Each practice has an associated mantra. 

For Love it’s ‘I love …‘ 

eg

I love x. (Template [<link; medium])

I love climbing.
I love learning.

I love you x.

I love you Dani.
I love you Dani-who-I-was. 
I love you Dani-who-I-will-be.
I love you my dear Body.
(Self-Love)

I love you Life.
I love you Day.
I love you Moment.

I love you x for y.

…

For Gratitude it’s ‘Thank you …‘

eg

Thank you.

Thank you for y.

Thank you x.

Thank you x for y.

…

Whenever I express Gratitude by saying ‘Thank you …‘, I also express Love for something related to it by saying ‘I love …‘

Whenever I express Love by saying ‘I love …‘, I also express Gratitude for something related to it by saying ‘Thank you …‘”

On Centering 2

Nowhere can you find a more peaceful retreat than in your own soul. Treat yourself often to this retreat and be renewed. (Marcus Aurelius)

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Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“How can I optimize Centering?”

“Make it deeply meaningful.

Make it the most important practice of your life. A deep ritual of reconnection with your Self/BodyMind. 

Think/Feel it as an inner journey into a safe sacred space. The most beautiful place in the whole world. Your Inner Sanctuary. Home…

Think/Feel it as renewal.

Increase its density by integrating multiple practices into it. (Stacking)

Memento Mori: Remember that there is an end.

Deep Breathing + Alignment: Breathe deeply, and as you inhale, stand tall (Posture). 

Loving Gratitude: Express Love and Gratitude for your Self and your many Gifts. Feel your Heart expand, and smile.

Awareness: Savor the beauty of Awareness by running a quick inventory of all your senses (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Olfactory, Gustatory), and of your BodyMind (Body Scan).

Embodiment: Make the practice embodied by creating a physical stance for it. It can be placing a hand on your heart, or an expansive power pose, or something else.

Resetting + Relaxation: Let go, and relax…

Let go of the past. Every moment is a fresh beginning.
Let go of desires.
Let go of expectations.
Let go of judgments.
Let go of assumptions.
Let go of tension.
…

“

On practicing Tranquility

Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly. (Gilbert Keith Chesterton)

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Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“What are the key points in the practice of Tranquility?”

“Start by painting a vivid mental map of it using metaphors.

Peace (war model; peace is absence of war)
Stillness (water model; stillness is absence of turbulence)
Lightness (air model; lightness is absence of burden, which allows you to fly)
Home (safety, comfort, The Sacred)
Inner Sanctuary (safety, ritual, The Sacred)
…

Pick one or more based on how they make you feel.

The key points of the practice are Relaxation and Loving Gratitude [<link; medium read].

Relaxation has 3 components:

Conscious Deep Breathing

Slow down and be aware of your breathing. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system which has a calming effect.

Releasing Tension

Tension is created by resistance to what is. Releasing tension is the practice of Non-Resistance, and of releasing physical tension.

As you’re breathing, scan your body for tension.

Accept,
let go/flow,
and as you feel the tension melting away, smile.

Wholeness

Wholeness is a sense of being enough and worthy just as you are. A sense that nothing is missing.

You might even repeat to yourself:

I am enough.
I am whole.
I am worthy.

As you go through this process, feel your Heart expand and open in Loving Gratitude.”

Life-Stackings 3

Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“I do a guided Wim Hoff breathing session every morning. 

What I like about it is that it visually shows you the rhythm of the breath.”

“You can increase the density [<link; medium read] of the practice by stacking multiple practices on top of it.

You can practice Peripheral Vision. Look at the screen with your peripheral vision instead of directly.

You can practice Open Focus. While focusing on a point other than the screen and on the the information on the screen, gradually expand your awareness to your entire field of vision, using all senses.

You can practice Loving Gratitude [<link; medium read]. End the session by celebrating your small win and appreciating all the Gifts related to the session (Wim Hoff for sharing his knowledge, your phone, having access to the internet, YouTube, your beautiful BodyMind, etc).”

Abbreviation-Stacking

Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“What is abbreviation-stacking?”

“It’s the practice of using the same abbreviation for multiple concepts.

For instance one abbreviation I use is MM.

MM
– Memento Mori
– Moving Meditation
– Macro-Meditation
– Micro-Meditation
– Micro-Moments
…

“

“What are the benefits?”

“An abbreviation-stack is an access-point for retrieving multiple things from memory.

In being unexplicit, it forces you to engage in active recall. In other words, it has a built-in challenge, which aids memory consolidation.

Another benefit is that you can resignify already existing abbreviations, turning them into reminders.

For instance the logo LG reminds me of Loving Gratitude [<link; medium read].”

Move beautiful

Seek perfection in your locomotion and training to achieve an exceptional quality and standard in your movements, regardless of what they are. (Chris Rowat)

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Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“What does move beautiful mean to you?”

“Move meaningfully.
Make movement meaningful.
Make movement identity. (Mover)

Move lovingly. (Loving Care, Embodiment)
Connect with yourself through your movement. (Centering)
Move serenely. (Peace)
Move joyfully.
Smile.

Move gratefully. (Loving Gratitude)
Celebrate your beautiful body with every movement. (BodyMind)

Move playfully. (Loving Play, Fun, Movement Puzzles)
Move creatively. (Improv)
Make stuff up.
Explore.

Move more. (Quantity, Movement Snacks)
Move continuously. (Perpetual Motion Machine)
Think while moving.

Move better. (Quality)
Move mindfully. (Loving Presence)
Move gracefully.
Move purposefully.
Every movement a meditation.

Move in all ways. (Variety)
Move holistically.
Move your whole body, not just parts of it.
Move all joints through their full range of motion.

Move opportunistically.
Move anywhere.
Adapt to your environment.

Move comfortably. (Relaxation, Stretching)
Move uncomfortably. (Challenge, Learning)

Move funny.
Move seriously.

Move with others. (Collective Play, Loving Connection)

Move on music.
Move on your inner music.

…

Among other things.”

The highest-order practice 2

Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“What is your highest-order practice?”

“Love

Loving Play [<link; short read]
Loving Meditation
Loving Kindness
Loving Compassion
Loving Gratitude [<link; medium read]”

On Implementation: Micro-Moments of Positivity

Fragments from imaginary dialogues

“How can I implement micro-moments of positivity [<link; short read]?”

“What is the essence of those moments?”

“Feeling?”

“Precisely. Every micro-moment of positivity is one or more feelings.

This suggests two aspects of the practice:

– amplifying those feelings when they occur
– generating them when they don’t

You can amplify them through emotional flooding [<link; short read] – or stacking, to use a different metaphoric-model.

Whenever someone makes you smile or laugh for instance, you can access the feelings of Love and Gratitude (Loving Gratitude [<link; short read])

To generate them, you need to get clarity on what they are.

How do you want to feel consistently?“

“I want to feel Joyful, Peaceful and Energized, Loving, Playful and Grateful.”

“If you were to make one of them central, what would it be?”

“Love.”

“You can use Love as a gateway to access all others, and you can use all others to find your way back to Love.

Back to your initial question.

What is the essence of the practice?”

“Having as many micro-moments of positivity as possible throughout the day.”

“We might say the purpose is to increase their density.

Local density – how many you access at once.
Global density –  how many times you access them in a day.

We’ve already touched upon local density with emotional flooding. 

To increase global density, connect it – stack it – with your Presence practice.

That’s another practice you want to do as often as possible during a day.

The core of the Presence practice is Centering – connecting with yourself, with your beautiful BodyMind and the Core of your Being. 

Whenever you Center, Breathe, Smile, Expand, and access one or more of those beautiful feelings. 

You’re thus turning every centering-moment into a micro-moment of positivity.”