Last night, I did my best to build a bridge for my listeners from the social science and psychology of gratitude, to the neuroscience of gratitude, to the metaphysics and quantum science of gratitude, with the ultimate goal of showing how we can literally wire ourselves/train ourselves to be more peaceful. Being peaceful makes us centers of peace in our homes, workplaces, and wider communities, where we can influence and support others to be peaceful also. My goal was to increase understanding so our final group meditation would be anchored energetically and biologically. For me, understanding is a key motivator.
I would like to thank everyone who participated for being with me, and I'd like to remind everyone who hasn't listened yet that consciousness is non-local and non-temporal, so by listening and participating in the meditation it is as if you retroactively are live on the call with us. (Sounds weird? Do it anyway!)
I shared an article by Michael E. McCullough, Marcia B. Kimeldorf, nad Adam D. Cohen, "An Adaptation for Altruism?" published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, volume 17, number 4 (2008). The researchers propose that gratitude is an evolutionary adaptation for "reciprocal altruism" (exchanging benefits with non-relatives) and "upstream reciprocity" (paying gratitude forward to a third party). As a "prosocial" emotion, it helps create harmony and bonds among strangers.
The second thing I explored was the health benefits of gratitude. Professor Robert Emmons wrote a book called Thanks, which talks about the science of gratitude. I culled some information from a blog interview with him done by Alvaro Fernandez in 2007, which was posted on www.sharpbrains.com, "Enhance Happiness and Health by Cultivating Gratitude." Basically, positive psychology looks at high functioning individuals and in this case how controlling our happiness can be done in a practical framework. Two ideas I got were (1) to keep a gratitude journal where you write down five things or people you are grateful for every day for a minimum of 21 days (the benefits to your health are extraordinary). And (2) to write a gratitude letter to someone you have not properly thanked. If you do a letter such as this once a week, you can then either mail the letter, read it to the person over the pohone, or best of all read it to them in person.
I believe the figure of 21 days is significant, because brain science shows us that our brains are plastic and as we consciously create pathways for 30 to 90 days, we literally build a new personality of gratitude that is life sustaining.
When you demonstrate gratitude to people, remember that some are visual, some are auditory, and some a kinesthetic. The kinesthetic person will want a hug or a handshake. The auditory will LOVE to hear the words spoken. The visual person would like to get a letter or card or a picture. If you know an olfactory dominant person, bake them a cake. Hey, you can't go wrong doing all four things. Cake, card, hug, and verbal expression of appreciation.
On the Mental Health America website, they write that of the ten things that promote good mental health: One is connecting with others (prosocial behavior is good for you), another is taking care of your spirit, and yet another is staying positive. Being positive depends on what you focus on. Positivity resides inside of us, rather than in our reactions to external events. Being grateful makes us healthy and helps us connect, and that leads us to be positive. Their website is www.liveyourlifewell.org.
Does gratitude-meditation really change the brain? Why yes, it does, according to a study by Dr. Richard Davidson, who examined the brains of Tibetan Buddhist monks using compassion mediation practices. He runs the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin. The research was so compelling that the Dalai Lama came and gave a talk on it at the Society for Neuroscience annual conference, which was attended by 14,000 members in Washington, DC. I liked the article written about it by John Geirland, "Buddha on the Brain," published on www.wired.com.
Then I explained why the Think Out intention for peace in our lives would help us to cope with our agressive human tendencies. Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is a state of being that transcends the duality of conflict and non-conflict. This is a spiritual truth. Gratitude and the intention for peace enable us to lift ourselves right out of the desires for defense, retaliation and vengeance, and exerting power over people who are different than us. Those are destructive forces behind hate crimes, as studied by Jack McDevitt of Northeastern University's Institute on Race and Justice, as reported in a CNN article by Jacinth Planer on Ocotber 22, 2009 "Small town killing puts focus on crimes against Latinos."
We entered a meditation and joined our forces of intuition, intention, and gratitude, and I hope that everyone was left with a clear impression of what to do moving forward for the next month or more to be more in hte experience of peace.
It was my sincere pleasure to host and facilitate Think Out 2009. Please listen to the seminars and have a healthy, happy, peaceful year on our blue planet.
You may listen to the recording of my lecture "Manifesting Peace and the Grateful Heart" by pushing the play button below.
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