a time of gratitude

GRATITUDE

Gratitude is a super power that can be honed and developed to change the way you see your reality. When we practice gratitude and begin to live our lives from a vantage point of gratefulness and therefor wisdom, we adjust the vibration and frequency that we operate from. Why does gratitude require wisdom? Eventually in age comes the discovery of impermanence, that tomorrow really is not promised. If you can embrace this TODAY, you are able to soak in the blessings of what you have. You see these simple things, such as the roof over your head, the food in your belly, your family, for what they are... gifts. The day you are experiencing right now is a gift, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. When we adjust our mindset towards gratitude and away from complaining, away from negativity, we readjust our brains filter of our reality. Interrupt anxiety with gratefulness. The reticular activating system within our brains serves as the filter we create, and it filters information according to what we deem a priority. So, if you are consistently focusing on the fact that you never have enough, your brain will filter your reality to match this. If you are practicing gratitude and aware of the abundance of your life, your reality will be filtered to match this. After a three week study at Berkeley of 100 participants, practicing gratitude revealed a changed MRI scan. There was more activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, the brain area associated with learning and decision making. Gratitude = The secret key to a life of abundance!

---

How to practice gratitude:

​Gratitude Journal

Create a journal just to express gratitude and make note of things, people, places, anything you are grateful for! These can be small things, like the breakfast you had this morning or a kindness you experienced. They can also be big things and reflections from the past that make you smile!

Gratitude letters

​Write letters of gratitude to the people in your life who you cherish! Let the people in your life know you are grateful for them! Write a few letters a week for 3 weeks, this is the study that Berkeley used when measuring the impact of gratitude on the brain!

Meditation

​Create a safe, quiet space to meditate in a comfortable position. Reflect on simple things you are grateful for, such as the breath, and then reflect on your life and your many blessings!

Mindfulness

​Pause throughout the day and bring yourself into the moment you are in to be grateful for it and enjoy it! For example, when you are eating a meal reflect on the journey the ingredients took to nourish your body. Take a sip of water and practice gratefulness that you have clean water to drink. Soak in life as its happening!