Discussion On Gratitude

This talk offers a brief explanation of what Gratitude practice is, why we do it, and how we do it.

Transcript

Welcome to Community Mindfulness Project's introduction to gratitude.

This is a brief discussion of what gratitude practice is,

Why we do it,

And how we do it.

So what is gratitude?

Community Mindfulness Project balances mindfulness and meditation practices between those that help focus the mind and those that help build a sense of connectedness and emotional well-being.

The latter set,

Referred to as heart-opening practices,

Includes the cultivation of loving-kindness,

Of compassion,

Of joy,

And equanimity.

Gratitude is one of the joy practices.

It creates a habit of recognizing the joy in one's life.

So while most of us,

Hopefully all of us,

Know what gratitude is,

It's helpful to recognize that it can be understood as having two parts.

The first one is the recognition of that which brings us joy or serves us in some way,

And this aspect of gratitude is generally well understood.

The second piece is equally important,

And it involves what Robert Emmons,

One of the leading researchers on gratitude,

Calls the recognition of a humble dependence on others.

In pausing to recognize the bounty in our lives,

We also bring awareness to the fact that a global network of beings,

Some of whom we know and many of whom we don't,

Has contributed to that bounty.

So why do we practice gratitude specifically?

There is a large and growing body of research that shows that generosity increases our sense of happiness.

When people engage in generous acts,

Pleasure chemicals are released in the brain.

There are documented links to reduced depression,

Better sleep,

Lower levels of stress hormones in the blood,

And greater levels of physical activity.

Not only does generosity help one feel happier,

It begins a positive spiral.

So you act out of generosity,

You feel happier,

And then you're inclined to act again with generosity,

And so on and so on.

Well,

Gratitude is the gateway to generosity,

Which as we've just talked about,

Is in turn the gateway to happiness.

And this is because the greater our sense of,

In this moment I have what I need,

I am taken care of,

The more generous we can be.

Gratitude is the recognition of the bounty in our lives,

Either a specific bounty or a general well-being.

So gratitude increases our ability to act with generosity because we feel that our needs are met,

And this in turn increases our happiness,

And of course the happiness of those around us.

So a few more reasons to practice.

Actively acknowledging the abundance in our lives can help offset our hardwired negativity bias.

So not only do our brains remember and identify negative events more than positive events,

But there's also a corollary brain activity called hedonic adaptation.

If we plant a rose bush outside our home for the first time,

The sight of the roses initially brings us great joy.

Over time,

Though,

We begin to appreciate that one rose bush less and less.

We revert to the pre-rose bush level of happiness.

In order for us to feel an increase in happiness again,

We need to plant another rose bush,

Or we can actively and deliberately acknowledge the beauty of the first rose bush.

So in a gratitude practice,

By actively recognizing the beauty,

The abundance,

The comfort,

Safety,

The healthfulness of our lives,

We don't need to add to those things in order to feel happier.

We don't become habituated to goodness.

Also,

Gratitude practice helps us widen our sphere of perception.

So think of looking at an image only through a very small hole.

We can see only a small part of the bigger picture,

And the part that we see may be negative because of how we're hardwired.

Gratitude practice enables us to widen and widen and widen that hole so we see more of the larger picture and perhaps attain a more balanced and accurate view of our lives.

There's a network of regions in the brain that act in tandem when we're not actively engaged in a task,

And this is called the default mode network.

When our default mode network is activated,

Our thoughts become very self-referential,

I,

Me,

My,

And our world narrows.

Our negativity bias can be very strong.

Gratitude practice helps us to overcome this.

And lastly,

When we practice gratitude,

We develop a deeper sense of interconnectedness and support from others.

So as Robert Emmons says,

We acknowledge that other people or even higher powers,

If you're of a spiritual mindset,

Gave us many gifts,

Big and small,

To help us achieve the goodness in our lives.

So it's important to note that gratitude is effective even in small doses,

And so training our minds in calm moments to be aware of the kindness that surrounds us,

Aware of the bounty in our lives,

Allows us in a moment of difficulty to acknowledge the negative and then quickly also notice and appreciate the positive elements in our experience.

And this has the potential to really transform our mental states.

So how do we practice gratitude?

There are several ways that we can do this.

We can begin by acknowledging in a formal sitting session one object which brings us joy,

And then we work backwards through all the steps that it took for that object to be in our lives,

Noticing how many events,

Actions,

Or beings we have to be grateful for,

Because without them,

That object of joy would not be in our life.

We can also move through our day from waking until the present moment,

Noticing how much works in our life and how much there is to be thankful for when we pause to take note.

We can start with the letter A and move slowly and purposefully through the alphabet,

Noting things or beings beginning with that letter for which we are grateful.

This is a favorite of mine if I'm having trouble sleeping,

For example.

And then lastly,

We can scan our lives,

Pausing to acknowledge who has helped us along the way.

As with each of our sits,

It's really important to remember that mind wandering is normal.

It's not an interruption from your practice.

It is the practice.

So treat yourself with kindness and compassion.

When you notice that your mind has wandered away from the cultivation of a sense of gratitude,

Smile a little bit,

And then just come back to the practice at hand.

And it's also important to pause to let the sense of abundance and gratitude sink into us,

Resting in that felt sense,

Exploring and familiarizing ourselves with what it feels like in the body.

So we hope that this discussion has been helpful,

And we invite you to listen to Community Mindfulness Project's guided meditations on Insight Timer and on our website,

Www.

Communitymindfulnessproject.

Org.

And we would love to hear from you with any questions,

Comments,

Or experiences that you'd like to share.

You can email us at welcome at communitymind.

Org.

May all beings everywhere,

Without exception,

Rest in a sense of abundance.

Take care.

Reviews

It seems really simplistic, and after 40 Years of sobriety you would think that it would have occurred to me the Gratitude was acknowledging something that brought me joy. It takes a village LOL

Really enjoyed the talk. I liked focusing on what brings me joy and the many people involved to make this happen, known and unknown.

A good, down-to-earth talk on mindful gratitude. Good to listen and learn. 🙏🏽💛☮️💫

Beautifully said. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us 💚

Amazing explanation of gratitude, thank you

Thank your your clear explanation of the gratitude practice 🙏

Thank you. Gave a great understanding of the topics. Also a couple of practical tips.

Loved it . Thank you so much !

Very informative! Thank you. I appreciate you. 🌷

Great talk thank you

Thank you so much. 🙏

Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you. Very helpful. 🙏

Very helpful. I have a gratitude practice. Your insights will help me to enhance my practice!

The ABC gratitude meditation tip was awesome. Great talk.

Thank you for the wonderful message on the practice of gratitude. I started gratitude practice 19 months ago where I find three things in the morning and three before bedtime to be grateful for. Having done it for over 18 months, I find that my life has transformed in that I am less negative, more patient, more thankful and acutely aware of the beauty around me. So once again, thank you for your important message on gratitude. Nemeste🙏🏼

Beautifully expressed✨I love the idea of using the Alphabet to express Gratitude. 🙏🏼 There’s so much beauty in being Grateful in the smallest of things❣️

Simply put and to the point. Thank you 🙏

Educational straight

Good talk and I like the tip on going through the alphabet when I cant sleep. Thanks!