#31 - Gratitude Practice

Gratitude is one of the most powerful states of mind which you can recognise, cultivate and live according to.

Gratitude turns what we have into - enough. Gratitude is being able to appreciate what gifts and benefits you presently have in life. It's an amazing warm sensation, which brings this feeling of importance to every moment.

One of the moments when this warm feeling occurs is when you give something and don't expect anything in exchange.

When was the last time when you actually felt the gratitude? When you were grateful for everything you have?

There are many benefits to practicing gratitude. Here are just a few facts about why gratitude is well shared by Greater Good Science Centre at UC Berkeley:

• Gratitude brings us happiness. It also boosts feelings of optimism, joy, pleasure, enthusiasm, and other positive emotions.

• Gratitude reduces anxiety and depression, and could be a helpful part of therapy.

• Gratitude is good for our bodies and strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure, reduces symptoms of illness, and makes us less bothered by aches and pains. It also encourages us to exercise more and take better care of our health.

• Grateful people get more hours of sleep each night, spend less time awake before falling asleep, and feel more refreshed upon awakening.

We can consciously cultivate gratitude by transforming it to an everyday habit.

It's important to fully experience what does gratitude feels like. It's truly a magical moment. It's like warmth in the heart, feeling as if touched by angels, presence, and fulfillment with the excitement of being alive.

It is an antidote for anger and fear, as they cannot simultaneously co-exist in the present moment.

I recorded your gratitude meditation. You will be able to focus your mind on and be able to attract more circumstances that will trigger this feeling spontaneously.

Regular practice is a life-changing experience.

You can play it just before falling asleep, it will comfort you as well, and will invite beautiful dreams.

You can practice gratitude in many different ways. We can placegratitude practices on top of activities we’re already doing each day. As we try to improve our everyday routines, I would suggest putting attention to mealtime.

Often we eat unconsciously. In my opinion, food time is one of the best times. We can tune into the goodness surrounding us during meal times. Of course, giving thanks over food isn’t exactly a groundbreaking concept - it’s a staple practice in cultures and religions around the world.

It can be as simple as taking a deep breath before eating and saying a silent thank you for the food. Consider your meals to be an invitation to pause and enjoy the present moment.

Remind yourself that a lot of unseen work happens before food can appear on your plate for dinner. Many different people have played a role in tilling the fields, planting seeds, harvesting the crop, and transporting food so that we can purchase it to eat. If you are dining with others, remember to appreciate your relationships and the time you are spending together. Feel free to share your gratitude out loud with family and friends, or simply pause for a few silent moments before starting your meal.

Mindful eating: no phone, slow chewing, focusing on the process of eating. When you see the food on the plate, take a moment to notice how it looks, the colours and the texture. Breathe in deeply and notice the pleasant smells of the food. You may even notice your mouth watering. When you bring the food to your mouth, notice your lips and tongue, and how it feels to chew and swallow. Reconnecting with these physical sensations promotes ease in our daily lives and makes it easier to cope with much stress of a student life. Mindful eating offers us the opportunity to enjoy these many sensations and reconnect with our feeling of body.

Mindful eating can transform mealtime into a refreshing and stress-relieving act. To eat mindfully is to bring non-judgemental awareness to the act of eating, to notice both the food and our body’s sensations and responses to food while consuming. It’s an invitation to slow down in order to relax and appreciate our food.

One of the very powerful grounding exercises which will help you to fall asleep with this warm feeling is keeping a gratitude journal.

A gratitude journal is, quite simply, a tool to keep track of the good things in life.

Even more than that, regularly journaling will help you to prepare and strengthen if some challenging times will come.

Benefits of a gratitude journal:

• Lowers your stress levels;

• Let you feel calmer;

• Helps you deepen the connection with your true core;

• Gives more clarity of what we want more in life;

• A great reminder in challenging times;

• Makes you more mindful, so you are able to attract more of it;

• It makes you powerful, you know who you are;

• It makes you appreciate accomplishments;

• You stop feeling worried about the future;

• Transforms feeling of not having enough;

• Cures fear of being lost, missing out;

• Helps you accept, being more acceptive and less judgemental towards yourself and others.

Few rules to keep in mind:

• Keep away distractions. Make sure you are in a quiet space, where you can really dive into your heart.

• Keep away any negativity from this exercise. If something traumatic happened during this day - look for what did you learn through it.

• Make it a habit.

I made a template for you. You can print it as many times as you wish. There are special support questions, which if you feel you can follow.

You can also consider an online Gratitude Journal on MySpiritWay Forum. Focus on what good happened to you this day.

Developing this feeling inside is one thing, practicing as a separate practice is another, but what about living according to it?

Apply them into your everyday routine:

• Tell someone you love them and how much you appreciate them,

• Nurture meaningful relationships,

• Smile more often,

• Include an act of kindness in everyday routine,

• Focus on positive images, avoid negative mass media pointless babble, destructive music, movies, and games,

• Stay connected to your family, call them more often,

• Engage in everyday activities with love in the heart, especially if it comes to cooking ;)

• Get interested in volunteering or other ways how to help others,

• Instead of complaining or backbiting about somebody, it's better to keep things for yourself,

• Schedule quality time with your beloved ones,

• Truly complimenting. Learn to make honest compliments,

• If you are in a negative thinking process, break it and find what is positive in this situation,

• Challenge yourself and try to not complain about anything,

• Learn to pay back for other people's efforts. If somebody does something good for you do something good for this person in return,

• Live in the present moment, not being worried about your future, nor regretting your past,

• Understand that everybody has their own important role in society,

• Stick reminders,

• Forgive yourself and your enemies, what is done is done, it shouldn't matter anymore, be grateful for the experience you gained through,

• Slow down and notice the beauty of nature,

• Always look for lessons in challenging circumstances,

• Help others to see the deeper meaning of life,

• Focus on your strong sides.

Do you have any more ideas? Maybe you would like to share them with others on the MySpiritWay Forum.

What happens whenever we hear this magical word gratitude? It's full of love, warmth and acceptance for me. Also, we all have understanding what it is in reality, but how deeply we engage into this feeling for our own sake? Many say a phrase "I'm grateful for everything I have" just to tick off or solely to let others show how mindful and good they are. But it shouldn't be short lived. It should be present, experienced and regularly practiced.

In reality, gratitude is more than just a good positive feeling, or state of mind. In many ways, it makes one's life easier or better. Helps to accept and cope with different situations, various events that occur during our life, but also different people that we encounter one way or another. Being grateful would surely uplift your mood and improve your day, brighten you up a little bit.

Keep your gratitude journal, keep gratitude in your mind and heart not only during meals and relaxing sessions.

After some time of practice, it become your nature. You would have a grateful personality and make a good company for someone else who's on this path.

It's better to feel happier being thankful and living your life to the fullest than complaining and feeling sorry for yourself for things that you don't have.

Remember to be grateful for yourself as well, and know that you can do it even if it seems harder for you to start.

I'm grateful for you being here with me on this journey, and I would like to wish you the best of luck furthermore.

See you next week.

Love.