The secret of gratitude practice is that it cultivates the power to reform our thoughts from the very roots of the subconscious mind. True happiness can be found not by looking at the positive things only, but rather by being aware of the negative things and choosing not to let them affect our wellbeing (Myers & Diener, 1995). Simple meditation practices like mindful breathing or body scan techniques can bring a sense of awareness and freedom.īut, when we add a gratitude adjunct to the meditation practice and mindfulness practice, we create an ambiance of wholesome positivity and strength. “The thoughts manifest as the word The words manifest as the deed The deeds develop into habits, And habit hardens into character.” Research has indicated that gratitude meditation is directly associated with subjective feelings of better and longer sleep (Wood, Joseph, Lloyd, & Atkins, 2009).īesides, it also shields us against stress by helping us look into the problems with a calm mind and resolve them efficiently, instead of reacting to them adversely. We have better healthĪs we feel more grateful and content in our daily lives, normal body mechanisms like the sleep-wake cycle improve significantly. Besides, gratitude was found to impact all the five traits of the Big Five Theory of Personality.Īll participants, no matter what personality traits dominated them, showed an equal amount of satisfaction when they practiced gratitude exercises (Wood, Joseph, & Maltby, 2008). In an evaluative study on the relationship between gratitude and the quality of life, it was found that participants who scored high on gratitude assessments had better social functioning and were great listeners. Gratitude meditation improves social relationships and helps in sustaining them for a lifetime. But when you buy your kid his favorite frozen cup and see him relishing it, isn’t that joy beyond all the material pleasures? 2. For example, having an ice cream can make you feel good instantly. Materialism is one of the roots of unhappiness, as many psychologists have suggested, and the only way to not let it overpower us is by practicing and internalizing gratefulness and mindful awareness (Polak & McCullough, 2006). The peace that we derive from being grateful in the meditation session gives us the power to realize that happiness does not lie in momentary pleasures and that we cannot be happy if we equate it with mundane gains and profits (Emmons, McCullough, & Tsang, 2003). Gratitude meditation brings in feelings of heightened positivity and happiness that lasts forever. And here is what we get from practicing it. It guides us to accept them, learn them, and grow with them. Gratitude meditation gives us the power to face our weaknesses and acknowledge the darker sides of life. Unlike conventional meditation practices that need physical arrangements like posture, illumination, or sound adjustments, gratitude meditation is more flexible and can be practiced in a variety of settings for a short or long duration. Gratitude meditation has been there since ages – both in the spiritual and the non-spiritual fields. Many Buddhist monks and nuns actively practice gratitude meditation at the beginning and end of their days to pay tribute to everything that helped them survive that day, including their sufferings (Mindbliss, n.d.). It is tied in with opening our hearts and embracing the blessings we have. Gratitude meditation is a conscious effort to appreciate what makes us feel good. Research suggests that since our brains are creative and crave for expressing themselves (Kaufman, 2019), giving it the space to cultivate its power and focus on nothing but itself, can calm the raging storms inside. We consciously notice each inhale and exhale and bring back our awareness to the breath observation the moment we notice it going astray. The simplest form of meditation is breath control, where we focus on our breathing pattern. “Go within every day and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |