In recent years the importance of gratitude has been cast into the spotlight. We all know the mental health benefits of experiencing gratitude, but there’s so much more to it that’s seldom explored.
The abundance of teachings from a scientific-Westernized perspective oversimplify gratitude like it’s some new-age trend that will come and go. The traditional understanding has become diluted, and most people think it’s nothing more than a feel-good emotion.
This perspective couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Gratitude is so much more than a feeling. It’s an energy that exists on the same vibration as love. If you want to have a genuinely fulfilling and abundant life, gratitude is a prerequisite.
In this article, I’m going to share my holistic understanding of gratitude and unpack why it’s a game-changer when it comes to genuine fulfillment.
The spirituality of gratitude
Gratitude is an energy that comes from the heart chakra. It’s the feeling you get when something really good happens to you. I’m not talking about muttering a thank you when someone gives you a hand, but the real feeling of deep appreciation that comes from the heart.
As gratitude is a positive energetic outlet, this energy corresponds with the higher self. Gratitude is high-vibrational energy, meaning it’s closely connected with virtuous behavior, happiness, love, abundance, and benevolence.
Besides being one of the most pleasant sensations that you can experience, gratitude has a direct connection to your sense of happiness.
When someone is happy, they are feeling grateful for their life. When they are suffering, they are not. As long as you feel this deeper appreciation for life that transcends your pain, you may feel hurt, but you won’t suffer.
It doesn’t matter how privileged someone is, if they are not grateful for what they have, any ‘thing’ in their life doesn’t mean much.
On the other hand, someone with so little can be deeply appreciative of everything that they do have, and ultimately, they’re going to be a lot happier than someone who takes everything for granted.
This is the paradox of gratitude. It’s an energy that needs to be cultivated, not an emotion that is triggered.
Here’s an article about opening the heart space which can help you feel more gratitude in your life.
Gratitude and personal growth
Anyone on a spiritual journey should make gratitude one of their top priorities.
If you’re genuinely grateful for everything that life gives you, you don’t need wealth.
You don’t need friends or a partner.
You don’t need a good job, a high salary, or any material possessions to be grateful.
All you need is life, and if you’re reading these words right now, then congratulations, you qualify.
Everybody has something that they can be grateful for. People who are abundant in things may have an advantage, but if they’re not grateful for what they have, then it’s pointless having it. Since most of us have so much, we normalize all the good things that we’re abundant in, instead of appreciating them.
What a wasted opportunity.
It’s important to realize how lucky you have it compared to some people. There is so much that you can learn to appreciate.
You can be grateful that you have a job and make an income. Be thankful for your opportunities, and health, that you are alive and experiencing this journey. You can even be grateful for the pain you’re enduring and all the wisdom it has given you.
Personal growth is learning to be grateful for everything that happens because there is something to learn from each situation.
Looking at gratitude as a lifestyle
We all experience gratitude at times in our lives, but with certain practices and techniques, we can bring those feelings into everyday life.
Your perception plays a big role here. Perception isn’t the key to gratitude, but it can help you cultivate it easier. Think about it in a way that you can be grateful for literally anything. Within your personal growth journey, you should be seeking to knock down those walls between you and gratitude.
Gratitude should always be the underlying tone of your life experience because there is always something to be grateful for.
Right this second, think about a few things that you can be appreciative of.
Stretch yourself, think both internally and externally.
After giving it some thought, compare your list to mine below.
External gratitude
Being grateful for your external conditions is to appreciate everything you have. Often we take these things for granted until we lose them. Can you skip that step?
- Access to clean water
- Access to delicious food
- Having family and loved ones
- Friends and companions
- Having a place to stay
- Being of good health
- Having a stable job
- Having and mobility
External gratitude
Being grateful for your internal condition is to appreciate your life, your intrinsic qualities, and your experiences. I believe this is the most powerful form of gratitude, and has the greatest potential for personal and spiritual growth.
- The opportunity to be a human
- The challenges you have faced (and what you've learned through them)
- The pain you have endured (and wisdom you have gained)
- All the memories made
- Being self-aware
- Being on a personal growth journey
- Being a good person
- Having lived the life you have
Building the muscle of gratitude
Look at your sense of appreciation as a muscle. The more you work this muscle by expressing gratitude for any given thing happening in your life, the stronger it gets.
As the muscle of gratitude strengthens, it will become easier to feel thankful, and you’ll start doing it more often, and for smaller things. Likewise, the sensation of gratitude will become stronger, meaning you will feel happier.
This is why someone with a dilapidated shack can feel happier than someone with a luxurious mansion – Because they have learned to appreciate it.
When you feel genuinely grateful for something, an energy will begin emitting from the heart chakra. Gratitude is a similar vibration to love because both of these energies come from the heart chakra.
So really put your focus into your heart and feel it from there. You need to mean it for it to make a difference.
Why gratitude is bad for business
Gratitude isn’t good for a materialistic society for a simple reason. If people are satisfied with what they have, then they won’t want to buy more. If people are dissatisfied, then you can bet that they will be spending cash to try and quench that desire.
More gratitude = less need to consume = less contribution to the economy.
Our societal structure is built around making people feel like they’re lacking, and this is one of the challenges you’re up against. This is one of many traps within society that you need to be aware of.
Unfortunately, these giant corporations, marketers, and governments are very good at making people believe that they need something more to be satisfied.
Most of us are completely indoctrinated with this fallacy to consume more, and we don’t even realize it. Of course, believing you need more to be satisfied isn’t good for your personal growth, which is why I wanted to talk about this.
Next time you catch yourself conforming to some new trend, ask yourself, is this necessary? Will buying this thing make me happy, or just fulfill an artificial need that shouldn’t be there in the first place?
How to experience more gratitude
Stop taking things for granted
There is always so much that we take for granted, including the bare necessities like fresh water and air, shelter, and warmth.
You can appreciate anything as long as you build that mental muscle, and train you to see how good you have it.
Take a moment to bring your attention inward and realize where you are right now.
What are you doing?
Are you wearing enough clothes to be warm?
Do you have a full stomach?
Are you living a lifestyle that allows you to indulge in simple pleasures like eating chocolate or having a coffee?
Do you have a job and earn an income?
Think of all the little things that usually slip past unappreciated, and take a moment to be thankful for them.
Don’t just say it but feel the sensation of ampleness as you realize that you have enough. You have everything you need for this present moment, and that’s what matters.
Celebrate the small victories
We are so focused on what goes wrong or what could go wrong, that we are blind to everything that goes right.
The train arrived on time? Amazing! Didn’t lose your job after the embarrassing mistake today? Fantastic! It’s not raining, great, you can enjoy the sun. It is raining? Great, the plants need water anyway.
To many people, these will seem like the most trivial accomplishments. But to others who have built the muscle of gratitude, each trivial success is a huge victory.
If you can perceive every small occurrence as a victory, think about how many victories you encounter daily. Life is goading you to appreciate the little things.
By focusing on the positive aspects of life, you bring a positive perception into your reality, and your reality dictates your experience.
So milk the experience, and focus on what doesn’t go wrong.
Delay gratification
Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t have access to water for a long time, and you were really thirsty?
You’ve been dreaming about the first gulp of that sweet nectar rejuvenating you. It might have been a struggle, but when you finally had that first drink of water, it was the best thing ever!
Pay attention to that feeling.
The feeling of being absent of something you want, because once you get it, you’re so much more appreciative of it.
This is because of delayed gratification.
I encourage you to push yourself a little and not fall into temptation whenever you want something. This can take some discipline, but if you allow yourself to experience a little more discomfort daily, you’ll be rewarded with more gratitude.
A fair trade in my eyes!
Use contrast as a springboard for gratitude
Enduring a difficult situation helps you realize how good you had it. Every bad situation has a silver lining, and this is by making you appreciate the regular situation more.
Think of it this way. If you contracted a serious illness that admitted you to hospital, during this time it’s probably going to be difficult for you. You are going to wish that you were back at home in good health, eating normal food again, and not needing people to look after you.
As you are suffering the unpleasant effects of poor health, you realize how good life was before.
It’s not because the regular situation has changed, but because the contrast makes you pay attention to the ampleness of it.
This experience might make you appreciate being able to walk around, see friends, and get out in nature. Suddenly, your normal life becomes ideal.
When you return to normal, you are likely to be much more grateful for your health, because you have experienced the contrast. Going through difficult experiences humbles you, and forces you to realize what you have taken for granted.
This means that the hardest experiences are there to help you find balance and align with gratitude. So use difficult experiences to realize just how good you have it.
Don’t forget the struggles you have been through.
Bless the things that you consume
Energy is always interacting, and you put your energy into everything that you consume.
Something I learned when I worked with Ayahuasca shamans for half a year in Ecuador is that they spend a lot of time appreciating everything they take. And I mean, a LOT of time.
Whether it’s drinking a cup of water, eating some food, or drinking their delicious medicine, shamanic healers have a strong habit of blessing the things they take. They take their time with the process and feel that sense of appreciation before, during, and after they have it.
Spending time doing gratitude prayers isn’t just important to build the muscle of gratitude, they’re also putting the vibration of gratitude into the things they consume.
Therefore, spend some time appreciating the things that you consume. Every time you’re about to drink some water, take a moment to feel your appreciation for having that water.
Do gratitude prayers often, and before you consume anything.
1 comment
Thank you Daniel for your articles. I found them very useful for the purpose of my spiritual growth. I stumbled on your website “accidentally” and I cannot stop reading.