A moment of gratitude
As a meditation coach who lauds the benefits of gratitude, I frequently get the question “What does a gratitude practice actually do for me?”
So, I’ll give you my take on the benefits of a healthy gratitude practice here, and suggest some tips on how to incorporate gratitude into your own routine.
Why Gratitude?
While researchers continue to track changes in mood and electro-chemical processes in the body when participants express gratitude, studies have found that saying thank you or even thinking about practicing gratitude changes how the brain processes information. Participants who wrote thank you letters to others showed activity in different parts of the brain than those who looked at neutral pictures. What is so interesting is that this activity remained three months later, indicating that gratitude may create different pathways in our brains. While there is much work to be done, the initial science suggests long-term and positive effects when using gratitude for happiness.
How Gratitude?
To incorporate gratitude into your daily routine, I recommend three simple steps.
Wake Up with Gratitude
When you wake up in the morning, sit up in bed and take a good stretch- arms out, hands open to the sky, feet flexed. Really feel your muscles wake up and wish you Good Morning. Repeat to yourself, either out loud or silently, for 30-seconds:
“May all that I see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and think help me to cultivate thankfulness and appreciative joy today.”
2. Own Your Gratitude
Grateful people love themselves on several levels. Choose one of these affirmations and focus on it for a full day. Repeat as often as you like.
I deserve and receive massive amounts of love every moment of every day.
I am one with The Universe. The Universe is awesome and so am I.
My heart is open. Love pours in and out.
I receive all the good that life has to offer me.
3. Share Your Gratitude
A grateful person shares that gratitude with others whenever they can, and knows this sharing enhances the world by spreading thankful, good, powerful energy!
Give a compliment - whenever the gratitude strikes you, speak it aloud!
Reach out randomly - ditch the calendar and call or Zoom someone just because.
Contribute - Consider your resources - money, time, energy - and put that out to the community. Call a neighbor to check in. Donate to your favorite charity. Write an email to a local organization to tell them they are doing a good job. Put that grateful energy out into your community and watch it grow.
More helpful resources for further reading on Gratitude:
B.H. Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English, WisdomPublications, 2002.
J. Sincero, You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, Running Press, 2013.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier#:~:text=In%20positive%20psychology%20research%2C%20gratitude,express%20gratitude%20in%20multiple%20ways.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain
