What does it mean to live your life with gratitude? It doesn’t mean convincing yourself that everything is fine and dandy. Living your life with gratitude means focusing your time and attention on what you appreciate. It means being appreciative of everything that you have right now at this moment.
Appreciation softens us. It connects us to everything that we may otherwise take for granted. Like the air we breathe to keep us alive, our health, the food on the table, and our home where we feel safe.
The more we live a life of gratitude, the more we start noticing subtle changes.We may find ourselves calmer and express ourselves with less fear. Forgiveness comes easy, and we find that we can forgive ourselves for the mistakes we’ve made and find it easier to forgive others. Communications with family, friends, and co-workers improve, and relationships become deeper and more satisfying over time.
Studies have shown a range of benefits to just being grateful.
An attitude of gratitude reduces stress, makes you sleep longer and better, has fewer symptoms of illness and more happiness, and reduces depression and toxic emotions ranging from envy and resentment to frustration and regret.
There is a saying that goes what you focus on expands. Your thoughts create your reality. So why don’t you try to focus on everything that you appreciate in your life right now so that it expands?
Let me share with you what Yogi Bhajan said about negative talk and why we need to embrace the attitude of gratitude.
He said, “Basically, the law is that you have to be you to start with. And then you grow. Because you have three parts: a demon, a human, and an angelic. At the very least, you should accept yourself—you are human. Don’t talk negative, think negative, let anybody down, or participate in any letdown. You should always be aware that any negative word you say negates you a hundred times more than it negates anybody else. What happens when you speak positively? When you speak positively, there is no negative left to express, and then there’s a gap. And that gap creates the super-positive. And that, in English, is what we call God. Therefore, cultivate the attitude of gratitude. The attitude of gratitude is when you are grateful for every breath of life.”
Here’s a meditation to help you dispel negativity and help cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
The effect creates an upward spiral of positivity that will move you toward prosperity. I’ll be teaching this meditation on Tuesday at 5 pm.
Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine, chin in, chest out, and belly in. Bend the elbows by the sides and cross the forearms over the diaphragm area, parallel to the floor, right on top, and left underneath. Grab the right elbow with the left hand and the left elbow with the right hand. The eyes are closed.
Attitude of Gratitude meditation
Breathe long and deep for 1 to 2 minutes before beginning to chant the mantra:
Har Har Har Har Gobinday
Har Har Har Har Mukanday
Har Har Har Har Udaoray
Har Har Har Har Apaaray
Har Har Har Har Hareeang
Har Har Har Har Kareeang
Har Har Har Har Nirnaamay
Har Har Har Har Akaamay
Chant the mantra out loud from the navel for 1 minute. Then whisper powerfully for 3.5 minutes while keeping the navel engaged. Then chant silently for 8 minutes. Move the breath with the navel. Keep the navel moving as if you were chanting, but you are silently chanting with the mantra. To end, inhale deeply, and stretch your spine while squeezing your ribcage, the area where your elbows are locked. Hold for 15-20 seconds and powerfully exhale through the mouth (cannon fire). Repeat two more times, and then relax. The total time is 13 minutes.
Grateful to all of you and my wish is that we all learn how to cultivate the attitude of gratitude in our heart, so we can receive and share more blessings. Thank you!
In loving service,
Rosan
