Wow, what a week it has been, If you have been following my posts, you are aware that October is Emotional Wellness Month. We are on Day 6 of 7 of the Emotional Wellness Challenge and we’ve been discussing 7 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR MOOD! If you like to review those posts you can read Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 blogs by clicking on the link.
Before I get into my sixth tip, don’t forget about the giveaway I am offering to twenty individuals who follow and participate in my 7-Day Emotional Wellness Challenge from Sunday, October 11, 2020 through Saturday, October 17. There’s still time to participate even if you are finding about this today!
In conjunction with this #7DayChallenge, I am giving away 20 free kindle copies of my book, Thrive. To be eligible, you must follow along on each of my daily blog posts and participate in the 7-Day Emotional Wellness Challenge from Monday, October 11 – Sunday, October 17, 2020. To prove your participation, leave a comment on each daily blog about your experience and any results you may have noticed when implementing the tips offered on that day. The 20 participants will be notified on Monday, October 18.
It would help me out tremendously if you could reshare the blogs and my social media posts on your social media with family and friends that you especially think would learn or appreciate the information I’ve been discussing in this 7-Day Emotional Wellness Challenge.
Now let’s get to the Day 6 tip!
Disclaimer: The following statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The product recommendations in this blog are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. If you have any medical condition or taking any medications please discuss with your healthcare provider prior to implementing any recommendations.
The Law of Expansion in quantum physics says that whatever we focus on gets bigger. In other words, our thoughts and intentions are energy that is radiated outward and inward. So when we are focusing on our problems, our problems get bigger. When we focus on our blessings, our blessings feel bigger.
Isaiah 61:3 says, “Put on a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness.” With that in forefront of your mind, maintaining a mindset of gratitude changes your whole perspective on the way you see the world around you. It’s like gratitude flips a switch in our brain to feel happier and content and have a positive outlook.
There have been countless studies on the connection between gratefulness and overall wellbeing. “Gratitude is a powerful way to boost well-being,” says Amie Gordon, PhD, a research scientist at the University of California, San Francisco. A growing body of research links regular doses of gratitude to better sleep, greater happiness, and possibly even lower blood pressure. “And the times when it feels hardest to practice gratitude? That may be when you get the most out of it.” she says.
Neural mechanisms that are responsible for feelings of gratitude. Studies have found that at the brain level, moral judgments involving feelings of gratefulness are evoked in the right anterior temporal cortex. In the same study, it was discovered that the reason why some of us are naturally more grateful than others, is the neurochemical differences at the Central Nervous System. People who express and feel gratitude have a higher volume of grey matter in the right inferior temporal gyrus.
Additionally, researchers at Kyoto University in Japan recently published a study in Scientific Reports showing a correlation between happiness and the amount of gray matter in a certain region of the brain. More grey matter could mean you are a happier person in general. Other studies also more grey matter is linked to better health, intelligence and memory.
One of my favorite examples of the power of gratefulness and thankfulness, I like to give is the experiments of Dr. Masaru Emoto. In his research the intentions and specific words were written or sung over a vial of water that revealed that it changed the molecular structure of the water into chaos or beautiful snowflake structures.
When we complain or focus on what’s missing, we feel negative energy, think negative thoughts and this creates negative energetic effects that project inward and outward. Then, the same would be true when we pivot from negativity or complaining to gratitude. Our frequency is immediately raised.
I read recently a post where someone measured the vibration of various emotional states and gratitude was off-the-charts high. When we praise, we immediately raise our vibration.
A study done by the National Institute of Health (NIH) examined the flow of blood in the brain when participants were feeling grateful. It was found that higher gratitude led to more activity in the hypothalamus, an area that is connected to sleeping, your metabolism, and stress levels, amongst other things, which shows gratitude positively affects your sleep, your eating habits, and your anxiety levels.
The best example of ways to pivot to gratitude is laid out in Philippians 4:4-9:
“4 Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit [your graciousness, unselfishness, mercy, tolerance, and patience] be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. 7 And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
8 Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. 9 The things which you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things [in daily life], and the God [who is the source] of peace and well-being will be with you.” (Amplified)
“4 Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]; again I will say, rejoice!” (Amplified)
As a Christian, we know that praise and worship create an atmosphere that opens the door for the Holy Spirit and scripturally it was a tool of warfare against dark forces. Darkness vibrates low and cannot stay in an atmosphere of praise, especially when the name of Yeshua is exalted in that intention. They say there’s only two times to praise the Lord when you feel like it and when you don’t!. Praise is an act of the will. So when you make yourself worship it will shift the atmosphere and your spirit to gratitude.
“5 Let your gentle spirit [your graciousness, unselfishness, mercy, tolerance, and patience] be known to all people. The Lord is near. ” (Amplified)
Positioning yourself to look for ways to thankful and appreciative those in your life rather than focusing on the negative and things your don’t like that they say or do changes your perspective of them. This is especially good also for a spouse or child. Other studies have looked at how gratitude can improve relationships. For example, a study of couples found that individuals who took time to express gratitude for their partner not only felt more positive toward the other person but also felt more comfortable expressing concerns about their relationship.
” 6 Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. 7 And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].” (Amplified)
There’s something that happens inside of us when we fix our thoughts on the Lord and are thankful for His goodness, especially when our circumstances are not warranting a mindset of gratitude. I know for me often when I meditate on Him, the cares of my life start to dissipate and He brings overwhelming me peace and joy. He also gives me wisdom to work through the situations that are challenging.
8 Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].” (Amplified)
Focusing on good things rather than all the bad things happening around us raises our frequency. It brings us into alignment with heaven’s perspective. It can be difficult to do so because we are bombarded with so much negativity on the news and social media. The best prescription I have learned to do in the midst of all the negativity is to meditate, declare, sing scripture that uplifts and makes me feel thankful and grateful for what the Lord is doing in my and my loved ones life. This renews my mind and helps me to be heavenly minded rather than to conform to the way the world around me thinks.
“9 The things which you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things [in daily life], and the God [who is the source] of peace and well-being will be with you.” (Amplified)
There is a saying that practice makes perfect, I’ve also heard practice make better. If you can think back to when you were a kid and you were learning to ride a bike or play a sport or an instrument. At first it was something that maybe was hard and even frustrating and you might have wanted to give up at times. Falling or messing up was not enjoyable and sometimes even painful. But something inside you pushed you to keep going and push through and you practiced, practiced, practiced.
Eventually it became like second nature and it wasn’t something you struggled with it was something that you just did. You didn’t even have to think about how to do it and it was something that was fun for you. Same goes for gratitude. The more you practice gratitude the more it becomes a lifestyle of gratitude. It’s just something that you innately do and don’t even have to think about doing. This will be your indication that your practicing gratitude is working.
Send a text or a note in the mail to someone you want to thank. When someone does something nice regardless of what it is thank them.
Is gratitude something you practice regularly? If not, what ways do you plan on changing that?
Robin Perry Braun, MPsy, is one of the leading pioneers of integrated wellness in the Christian community, teaching individuals how to become the healthiest versions of themselves possible.
She is an ordained minister and certified Integrated Life Process Practitioner. She has developed her own certified modality and is training others globally to practice this model. Over the last 25 years Robin has been educating herself in techniques that work to bring healing to body, soul and spirit She is passionate about educating people in holistic wellness by teaching how to understand ourselves from a quantum energy perspective and learning how to live a life that’s thriving not just surviving. Which is our God-given destiny.