Gratitude for Well Being

People who have gratitude are likely to experience contentment and satisfaction with life. They are more flexible when changes occur, have less stress and anxiety. Gratitude increases basic well being and promotes health. We feel good all over because that gratitude connects us back to the fundamental goodness we were born with. We can actually practice gratitude for well being.

Dwelling on Things We Don’t Like Is Useless

On the other hand, sometimes we dwell on things that are not going well, on things we don’t like. At these times we are the opposite of grateful. We don’t appreciate anything at all and we feel bad. Sometimes we justify this kind of thinking, and there is some kind of anger involved. Thinking in this way is totally useless and just harmful to us.

Limitless Gratitude

Usually when we think of gratitude it is limited to a relationship to somebody or some thing. Because of them, we experience some happiness, and our happiness is dependent on them. Our feeling of contentment is conditioned on the right circumstances coming together. But what if gratitude did not depend on anyone or anything? What if we could always be grateful to everyone and everything? And what if we could let go of useless ingratitude? Well, our well being would expand limitlessly.

How to Practice Gratitude and Let Go of Useless Ingratitude

Here is an easy sequence for how to practice gratitude. Find a quiet place where you can focus.

Step 1
First think of someone or something you really appreciate or enjoy. It could be an old friend with whom you always have an instant understanding and rapport. Or maybe it is the feeling you have when the warm sun is shining through on a cold day. Think of something uncomplicated without any problems involved. Visualize the situation and really get into it. Stay with it for a while, say five or ten minutes.

Step 2
When you feel good and grateful, let go of all the words and images you have. Just relax and feel the body. Notice any warmth or glow and rest relaxed right within that feeling. Just drop all the images and stay there for a while.

Step 3
Now within that feeling of goodness you have rediscovered, conjur up another situation for which you feel grateful. Again stay with your imagination and then drop everything to feel the body. Repeat this step as much as you like, increasing your enjoyment.

Step 4
Now think of how there is no limit to the situations in which you can have immense gratitude. You can even think of the most simple of things, such as that we have a body that functions, eyes that see, and ears that hear. Think of the sickness you don’t have. Isn’t it amazing just to breathe?

Step 5
The four steps for how to practice gratitude can include some meditation practice if you like. Just simply rest your attention on the breath. This step is optional, but if you do it, it will strengthen your confidence in the well being that comes from limitless gratitude. That gratitude we feel can extend into even the most subtle experience of meditation. We gain the insight that we can be grateful to everything. (You can find some more detailed instruction on meditation practice here.)

Practice Gratitude for Well Being

When we are grateful and appreciative this brings the well being of not struggling with our life. We can see that being uptight, struggling all the time and being stressed do not bring us well being at all. Staying with gratitude and appreciation and deciding how useless struggle is, this is the beginning of establishing limitless well being in our life. That well being radiates to everyone around us and is not self centered. It is the light of the goodness of our basic being, the goodness we were born with.

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