Want to be healthier AND happier? Practice gratitude. Saying “thank you” not only goes a long way to boost overall well-being, but on a spiritual level, we are also engaging in a conversation with the divine.<\/p>\n
Robert Emmons<\/a>, one of the top researchers on the effects of gratitude on health and happiness, has described the practice as a “chosen attitude.” When actively\u00a0choose to be grateful for what we have, rather than focus on all the things we don’t have, we also choose happiness<\/a>\u00a0as a result. So how do we make gratitude a daily habit? We think about someone who we are grateful for… and maybe we\u00a0even let them know how we feel. We keep a gratitude journal and spend some time each day to reflect on our many blessings, no matter how large or small.<\/p>\n Emmons and his colleagues have measured the effects of various\u00a0gratitude interventions like the ones mentioned above, and the findings of this research are indeed quite broad. From boosting feel-good chemicals in the brain like dopamine and serotonin which regulate mood, to increased energy and improved sleep, to a reduction in physical pain and even a regulation of heart rate with reduced cardiac risk.<\/p>\n But not only is being\u00a0grateful good for our health, we can also use this practice to attract more abundance into our lives. We’ve often heard that by asking the universe for what we want, synchronicity may start to occur. And as we watch for these signs that\u00a0help guide us along\u00a0our path, we are more open to receive these spiritual messages when we act from a place of giving thanks. If we are not grateful for what we have, then we simply cannot expect the universe to give\u00a0back exactly what we need.<\/p>\n