The Seeds Of Gratitude
It's easy this time of year to realize our abundance, with our turkey dinner, friends and family all flowing into the holiday season. Our sense of giving, graciousness, and generosity are at their peak. What are the benefits of watering the seeds of gratitude all year long? Heart Math Institute studies suggest that creating a practice of gratitude by doing something they call Heart-Brain Harmony daily, has immune boosting qualities. For me, Heart-Brain Harmony can be a practice similar to meditation. For those that find it hard to meditate, it can be a great place to start. You do so by resting your hands on your heart and quietly focus on things that bring in the feeling of gratitude. Do this for as little as three minutes and the immune response in the body can last for up to 7 hours. Science says that the neurons in the heart are communicating this higher vibrational source to the neurons in the brain thereby generating new connections. "Neurons that fire together wire together" It's an amazingly simple practice and yet can be profound. We are creating Heart-Brain Harmony when we reflect in a gratitude journal, when we say grace, when we graciously express thank you, anytime we're realizing and truly hold a "FEELING" of appreciation/gratitude. A fun way to actively water the seeds of gratitude might be to place a gratitude jar in plain sight. You can decorate it, label it perhaps, and then request that your family members on a tiny piece of paper make different entries of gratitude each day into the jar and on New Years Day, together read and share them out loud. Then you start a new jar in the New Year, you can share monthly or as often as you would like, the idea, is to create a practice that assists us in being mindful of all the small ways we are grateful each and every day. Lastly, try starting your day, before rising from the bed, three minutes of Heart-Brain Harmony and finally closing your day, as you drift off to sleep give yourself a boost of Heart Brain Harmony. Much love and gratitude to and for each and every one of you.