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Transform Your Life with Gratitude by: Shanti Medina

Over the past recent years, neuroscience has been sharing what the ancients have known for centuries:

Our thoughts shape our reality and inform our destiny.

Where our attention goes is literally where energy flows. Feeling and sharing our gratitude is one of the healthiest ways we can pump up our joy and uplift our mood. Remembering the French proverb, “Gratitude is the heart’s memory,” I wonder what memory you might think of as you turn your attention to something you are grateful for. Accessing these memories is actually a neurological way to reinforce them. You can literally  imprint this experience of gratitude into your neurobiology.

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According to Lisa Wimberger, Founder of Neurosculpting® “We are blessed to know from neuroscience just how powerfully gratitude affects the brain. Exercising moments of gratitude helps bring activity to the prefrontal cortex where we also get enhanced access to love, joy, compassion and creativity.”  

I recently asked Lisa to share her vision of gratitude and how it has transformed and informed her life experiences with teachers and peers on her path. “I try to practice gratitude each day as it truly does pull me out of my fear and worry. I also try to practice gratitude for those peers and teachers in my life who are also committed to spreading this awareness. Elena Brower’s voice and work powerfully helps people connect to their vulnerability, truth, and ultimately to their gratitude. In each our own way we can truly become agents of change for ourselves and for others. Taking a deep bow right now to the power of Elena’s candid and caring voice,” shares Wimberger.

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In continuing the thread of gratitude, I reached out to Elena Brower to share her vision of gratitude by sharing her insights into “What gratitude means to you?” Here is what she shared:

“Gratitude is a state of knowing that all is organizing itself in the direction of my learning. Gratitude is listening for the thinning of the veil when my Mama’s voice is burning in my heart and clear in my mind. Gratitude is standing on the edge of new understanding and remembering to be certain I’m softening my stance with myself. Gratitude is letting myself receive the love of someone else.

Gratitude is studying. And practicing, and growing. Gratitude is letting the world know that I’m holding the highest trust that everything is aligning for all of us. Gratitude is sitting in the middle of the fire and breathing, deeply. Gratitude is allowing the wisdom of the ages reach me in the silence of the pre-dawn darkness.

Gratitude is my boy and me at bedtime, tangled up, praying. Gratitude is one more turn around the sun, aging with grace. Gratitude is offering an apology to someone I love. Gratitude is when I shift my eyes to the vast sky above me and say out loud, THANK YOU. For the light, for the space, for the time, for the majesty of this momentary present place, thank you.”

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As we enter the season of gratitude, there are many ways we can individually and collectively become more aware. For instance, we can interrupt the habit of negative self-talk by simply thinking realistic thoughts of gratitude. When we notice ourselves thinking thoughts like “I hate my life” or “I’m never going to be good enough,” allow thoughts to shift towards things like “I am so grateful I have shelter” or “I am grateful I have a healthy body.” To learn more, listen to Lisa’s 1:47 minute YouTube video about the Power of Gratitude with Lisa. 

 

A first step in feeling gratitude, can be allowing for a moment of grace. Consider listening to Elena’s 20 minute “grace” meditation from her Art of Attention Audio Meditation course to ignite your attitude of gratitude. Art of Attention provides a fertile ground for your own thriving practice, with long and short meditations, stunning artwork and worksheets to help you track your sittings. Listen to Elena’s meditation to begin feeling into a sense of your very own grace and gratitude at this link: 20 minute Art of Attention Meditation

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Shanti Medina Shanti Medina

Shanti Medina is the Director of Development and Branding at the Neurosculpting Institute. She created Energize training systems and Body Current® therapeutics after more than 15 years designing transformational personal therapy and wellness programs for clients. Body Current is a proven application of somatosensory practices and entrainment principles to empower self-realization and embodied living with each breath.  She is a Certified Neurosculpting® Facilitator and Yoga Therapist sharing her Body Current modality as a presenter at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health as well as faculty for the Neurosculpting Institute Facilitator Certification. Find out more about Shanti at www.EnergizeShanti.com

 

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