Thirteenth century German theologian and philosopher, Eckhart von Hochheim, said “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you’, that would suffice”. Indeed, especially during the Thanksgiving holiday, we gave thanks, and sent love and gifts to many people around us. It is a great thing to be thankful. Medical researches indicate that people with gratitude have lower risk of anxiety, stress, heart disease, which leads to longevity.
We are supported in countless ways through each moment of our life. It is easy to say “thank you” to your mom, your colleagues or those who make a difference in your life. But ‘gratitude’ goes beyond deep “appreciation” or a hearty “thank you”.
When you tab into the source of energy where we all emanate from, you will awaken to the truth of this incredible interconnectedness with ALL beings. You will spontaneously be filled with joy and appreciation without specifically naming what it is.
To begin cultivating ‘gratitude’, it is foremost to learn to appreciate who you are, and WHAT you have right NOW. In today’s yoga and meditation session at OM Sweet OM, I asked the class to focus on the heart chakhra, where our emotions and feelings reside, and let go of grudges from the past, and extend forgiveness to those that have harmed us intentionally and unintentionally, and offer apologies to those whom we have harmed intentionally or unintentionally. This is a major obstacle that keeps us from ‘gratitude’. I had a traumatized childhood, and held anger towards my parents for many years. It was not until I dealt with these issues, and forgave my parents from the heart, and let go of the past, that I am able to progress on my spiritual journey.
The second obstacle to deal with is to let go of the trap of entitlement. Maybe you say we pay for the garbage service, gratitude may not spontaneously arise when the garbage is collected. The truth is, regardless of his job responsibility, you benefit from his work, and can meet them with an expression of gratitude.
Today we extend gratitude for the abundance on the table, not only for the farmers, truck drivers, grocery clerk that brought it to the table, but also for those who work so hard to secure the safety of this country so that we do not have to live under the threat of terrorist attacks.
If you are alone on this particular occasion, extend gratitude for your health and those that help you maintain good health, what you have, to those that help shape who you are. Identify 10 things or people that you are grateful for, and extend gratitude to each of them.
It is that deep and spontaneous sense of gratitude towards everyone and everything around you that ground us.
To cultivate that spontaneous gratitude, you can start by observing the inner self in meditation, and just reflect on your life. When you are connected to the never-changing presence that dwells in you, you spontaneously appreciate what you have, and start to live a life of contentment, which attracts more abundance into your life .
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