Gratitude
According to the Apostle Paul, “Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evidence demonstration of realities to be held.” Hebrews 11:1
Ernest Holmes said we needed to have unshakable faith in a power that is greater than us and to which we can have direct access. I find one of the quickest, most efficient path is through gratitude, which activates the law of attraction of Greater Good yet to be into our lives
Wallace Wattles in his book the “The science of getting rich” explains why constant gratitude creates the space for the life we desire: “The reason simply is that the mental attitude of gratitude draws the Mind into closer touch with the Source from which the blessings come.”
I have started writing 5 gratitudes (suggested in an old Oprah Magazine) back and forth to my younger sister, preferably first thing in the morning but also at night I try to think of more things I’m grateful for. This simple process has greatly increased my level of joy, making any emotional or physical pain I may be going through much lighter and certainly not the focus of my day.
Since I am a science nut and always like to see how spiritual qualities play out on a biological level, I am quoting a UCLA scientist Alex Korb and what he found about gratitude. “…Just feeling gratitude activates the brainstem region, resulting in increased production of dopamine. Dopamine greatly increases our ability to feel Joy and also increases the social dopamine circuits, which makes social interactions more enjoyable”. Gratitude also “increases the production of Serotonin, when you are grateful you are focusing on the positive aspects of your life, this simple act increases serotonin production in the anterior cingulate cortex…One study found that gratitude actually affected neuron density in both the ventral medial and lateral prefrontal cortex. These density changes suggest that as emotional intelligence increases, these neurons in these areas become more efficient. With higher emotional intelligence, it simply takes less effort than to be grateful”.
I think it is fun that science is finally catching up with what we already know in our science of Mind teachings! I believe the Science of Mind teaching “Change your thoughts, change your life” can be easily implemented with the practice of writing out 5 gratitudes a day. We become anchored in our spiritual higher self simply by being grateful for all that we already have. I’ve learned to appreciate the small things, the gorgeous flowers in my gardens around the house, the birds chirping happily at the feeders, the beauty all around me. I have so much to be grateful for. If we become more aware of our surroundings and mindful of our Every Blessing, that too, attracts more of the same.
I believe that gratitude is a form of blessing ourselves, and that which blesses builds, multiplies and heals, creating an ever-greater and expanding abundance beyond what I can ever conceive of, and this is being called into my life right here, right now.
I am so grateful for all that I have, for this world of abundance that God has so generously supplied. I am so grateful for all the teachings of Science of Mind and others. I am so grateful for knowing I am forever One with all the potentiality that God is, and I hold a consciousness of ever-greater expectancy for my Highest Good is already mine. As I know this for myself I know this for all beings, for we are all one with the one God, and that the one God that is ever so powerful, eternal, and ever present in our lives is already supplying us to the limits of our imaginations. I stand in this cycle of ever greater gratitude for all the abundance that God showers down upon each one of us.
And so it is.
Laurie Lee, RScP