Gratitude and Healing

We have a wealth of practitioners at the Healing Institute who minister to people across the globe, addressing facets of concern in their well being that span many issues. Anxiety, healthy boundaries, releasing past hurts that are affecting physical health are just a few of the obstacles we help people clear from their lives. 

One common thread we can claim is that we recognize the power of gratitude in promoting healing to the body, mind and spirit.
And as we in North America are in a season that celebrates gratitude nationwide, that’s a power that can be multiplied exponentially. 

Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving on October 13 this year. November 11 is Remembrance Day in Canada and in the US, Veterans Day when both countries take time to remember those who served in WWI and WW2 and give thanks for the freedoms won because of these brave men & women.
As November draws to a close, of course people gather for the US celebration of Thanksgiving, and we hope it’s given its proper attention before the rush of Christmas.

Saying thanks is just a by-product of gratitude, which is a deeper practice that so many of us overlook. And we do mean practice… gratitude is a muscle that must be consciously exercised as often as possible, and like a muscle it eventually strengthens us and builds us up to be prepared to face the weight of the world. 

“But I have so much I’m facing… the news is never good, my kids are sick, and the car needs repair,” you might say. 

While all of this may be true, pause for a moment and reframe your thinking:

~ You have the power to watch the news, but not let it dictate your thoughts.
~ You are blessed with children, and it’s likely you have access to medicine and other means to help them get better.
~ You have a car that you drive, and like any machine, it will need some attention to work better. This car also likely gets you to work, and you can manage the cost of the repair with the income you earn. 

All of these are reasons to be grateful, yet we humans always skew negative – why is that? Some neuroscientists think our default to negativity is a way for the brain to remember pain so we can avoid it in the future. This is called “negativity bias.”  However, as we’ve experienced, this can have serious effects on your body, as well as your mental health. 

To balance out this natural tendency, we need to practice gratitude — and it’s also backed by science!

Research has shown that people who practice gratitude have improved sleep, mood and resistance to disease. Gratitude was also found to decrease depression, anxiety, chronic pain and disease.

The way to gratitude is simple, yet challenging. It requires us to “think about thinking” – recognize and arrest those negative thoughts when they come up, and replace them with a gratitude.

Here are a few more ideas:

• Start your day with a positive thought. Maybe it’s a warm memory, or the expectation of seeing someone you enjoy being with. Take a walk (hopefully in a place that has some natural aspects to it, like a park or garden) and really be present to the sights, sounds and smells. 
•  Write down five things every day that you are grateful for and reflect on them. See how many days in a row you can go without duplicating the items on your lists.  Be present. In the present. There are so many sayings that remind us of this important practice, like “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.” 
• Unplug. Everything. No phone, no laptop, no television. Find a quiet place to meditate, even if it’s a room with a door you can close in your house. Enjoy the silence and the ability to release thoughts that are giving you anxiety. Often the things we worry about most are things that are not under our control, like those regrets of the past, or the what ifs of the future. Let. Them. Go.
• Do something good for someone else, especially if you don’t know them or there is no way they can repay you. This is really fun to try and it doesn’t cost a thing. It could be a door held open for someone, a compliment to someone on what they’re wearing or (if you’re in a store) a compliment on their service. 
• Do something good for yourself. We are often terrible at self care because we’ve trained our brains to think it’s selfish. Give yourself a break, and pause over a cup of coffee – with extra cream! Or buy a little something to wear that you love and will make you feel good. Remind yourself what you love most about who you are. If you have trouble with that, ask a friend…

Remember, it’s not happy people who are grateful, but grateful people who are happy, and we would even say it goes beyond happiness to joyfulness, which is far more lasting. 

We would love to hear your comments on what you do to foster gratitude!