I’ve listened to this course, IMPROVE YOUR LIFE & HAPPINESS WITH THE POWER OF GRATITUDE, as guided by Andy Grant, a few times now, and even did it while keeping notes and reflections in a physical notebook. This is my third or fourth time with this material and I’m going to make new notes and reflections here in this blog.
1.1. Overview
This course is broken down into the following topics:
Introduction
A Spiritual Look at Gratitude
An Energetic Look at Gratitude
A Scientific Look at Gratitude
Gratitude in all Areas of Life
Health
Money
Relationships
Career
Pets
Stuff
Gratitude for Everything!
Gratitude Practices
Going Forward
Conclusion
Do the exercises as you come across them - they will help make the information actionable.
1.2. Introduction
This course on gratitude is based on a workshop Andy Grant has taught for several years.
Grant is trained in energy modalities such as Reiki, and also in the field of positive psychology.
GRATITUDE - thankfulness, gratefulness, and appreciation… A FEELING OR ATTITUDE IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF A BENEFIT THAT ONE HAS RECEIVED OR WILL RECEIVE.
Traditionally it’s been the focus oh MAJOR RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD. It’s also been considered by philosophers.
It has received attention by POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY - happiness, success and overall well being.
GRATITUDE is short for GREAT ATTITUDE.
GRATITUDE:
A feeling of appreciation or thanks.
The state of being grateful - thankfulness.
GRATITUDE is also the quality of being thankful; where one has a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Gratitude is one of many positive emotions. It's about focusing on what's good in our lives and being thankful for the things we have. Gratitude is pausing to notice and appreciate the things that we often take for granted, like having a place to live, food, clean water, friends, family, even computer access.
Millacci, Christina. What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important? PositivePsychology.com. 28 Feb 2017.
Examples of expressing gratitude:
“Let me express my sincere gratitude for all your help.”
“We remember with gratitude those who died defending our country,”
“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” - Amy Collette
Synonyms for GRATITUDE: appreciation, appreciativeness, gratefulness, thanks, thankfulness.
Antonyms for GRATITUDE: ingratitude, thanklessness, unappreciation, ungratefulness. These are the opposite of gratefulness. Also:
Anger / Hatefulness
Complaining
Depressing
Disagreeable
Discontentment
Disheartening
Distasteful
Envy / Resentful
Frustration
Lamentable
Miserable / Misery
Sadness
Gratitude as APPRECIATION:
To say thank you for something. To be grateful for something.
To increase, to grow in value.
“Gratitude is medicine for the soul, and it is the cure for suffering, insecurity, worry and fear. Gratitude will, literally, change your life if you practice it.” - Scott Allan, from his book, EMPOWER YOUR GRATITUDE: OVERCOME YOUR SCARCITY MINDSET AND BUILD LIMITLESS ABUNDANCE
When you appreciate the good in your life, it grows. You can improve the quality of your life the attitude of gratitude,
The Bible has 66 verses related to the concept of gratitude! Prayer is often an act of gratitude.
Aa an energetic being, gratitude raises your vibration!
Daily writing about what you’re grateful for in a gratitude journal helps hardwire the practice in your life.
1.5. Gratitude Journaling
For 5 minutes write down what you are grateful for and why…
“I am so grateful for… because…”
“I am so grateful for… because…”
“I am so grateful for… because…”
Write this out in long hand, on paper with pen or pencil. Writing is much more powerful than thinking or typing. Let whatever you do be ok.
Once the 5 minutes are up, look at each item and say “THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” Say it with real emotion and energy… the more emotion you put into your gratitude, the more things that will come back to you to be grateful for.
Next, write a little about the process and how it was for you. Was it difficult or easy? What came up for you? Let whatever you wrote be okay - there are no right or wrong answers.
Whatever you wrote - keep it. It will be revisited later.
I am so grateful for my white Maltese-Poodle dog, Kira because she has such beautiful unconditional love and affection for me. She never judges me. And somehow she just knows when I’m feeling depressed, and will either lay close to me as if to say “it’s ok,” or she’ll become playful as if to try and get me feeling happy too.
I am so grateful for the love of my Mother because she has put up with my crap forever.
I am so grateful for my friend Jessie Smith because she’s been in my life since 2008 and because of the challenges and failures we had that I continue to learn from today… For the fun times we had. For the success we had. For the travels and adventures. For still being one of my closest friends after our romantic relationship came to an end. Thank you Jessie. Thank you. I’m grateful to know you, for all you’ve done to make me better and stronger in life.
I am so grateful for my friend Alanna Millar because she’s always there for me to talk with when I’m feeling depressed or lost or confused. She’s always willing to give an honest opinion about a situation too. She’s also a lot of fun to be around, with a great sense of humor and curiosity about life.
I am grateful for the green grass that grows in the garden at my Mom’s house because it feels soft and lush under my bare feet, helping me to feel grounded and secure.
The process wasn’t too difficult. I added to this the “because” part as I feel it’s important to acknowledge why you’re grateful. It helps cement the gratitude by making you think more deeply about it.
Notes from EMPOWER YOUR GRATITUDE….
The following are quotes from the INTRODUCTION to EMPOWER YOUR GRATITUDE by Scott Allan:
We complain, then complain some more, and follow it up with some more complaining. Eventually, because as Zig Ziglar once said, repetition is the mother of learning and the father of action, when we complain every chance we get, complaining becomes our attitude because, in the end, what we practice we eventually become (1).
Gratitude is medicine for the soul, and it is the cure for suffering, insecurity, worry and fear. Gratitude will, literally, change your life if you practice it (1).
Gratitude is medicine for the soul, and it is the cure for suffering, insecurity, worry and fear. Gratitude will, literally, change your life if you practice it (2).
The more grateful you are, the better your well-being and quality of life. You also have a fortified immune system, better sleeping habits, lower blood pressure, a lower likelihood of contracting life-threatening diseases, and a greater appreciation for your health and life (2).
Gratitude shifts your focus from what’s absent to what’s present in your life, something that allows you to start recognizing and acknowledging your blessings. This realization brings revolutionary changes in your life (2).
Every time you express gratitude for anything good and positive in your life, or whenever you feel thankful for someone, your brain triggers the release of dopamine into your body (3).
The more you practice gratitude, the more active these circuits become (3).
With time, the neural pathways, which are routes created by hormones and neurons, strengthen, and the practice becomes habitual. It then becomes easier for you to nurture gratitude at all times and focus more on the good and happy things in life (3).
Gratitude is more like a muscle that you need to exercise to strengthen (4).
When you practice something a fair number of times, its respective pathway becomes so strong that the practice shifts to autopilot mode (5).
“Thank is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” - Henri Frederic Amiel
Extra…
Gratitude
“So, high vibes are a natural state that we experience when we’re doing something we love or are surrounded by people we love. We also can move into this state by being grateful.
Gratitude is a miracle in itself. It’s a phenomenal recognition of what we have and it makes us feel full. And seeing that our cup isn’t full but overflowing will raise our vibrations even more.
When I work with audiences, I set the intention that whatever we gain from the experience will be to the benefit of all sentient beings through time and space. Through service we are raising our vibration because we are offering whatever kindness we feel or whatever blessings we receive to others.
I also encourage each member of the audience to think about someone or something in their life that they are grateful for. Through gratitude we are moving back to the heart and experiencing love. And love has the highest vibration of all…”
- Kyle Gray, from his book, RAISE YOUR VIBRATION: 111 PRACTICES TO INCREASE YOUR SPIRITUAL CONNECTION
“…being brought up in the west, we are all raised to be a great individual. And now here, we are trying to put that individual in with other individuals to build a good community that relies on each other, and that’s what we call inter-being. ‘When I’m happy, my brother is happy. When I am frustrated, he will be affected by my frustration too.’ It lets us see the connection between human to human, and how we affect each other. When we are aware of that, then we will be more mindful of our actions because we will see how we connect to each other.”
Brother Pháp Hûu, from the @plumpvillageapp YouTube video, THICH NHAT HANH & BROTHER DAVID STEINDL-RAST ON GRATEFULNESS