Gratitude, being Thankful and Mindfulness Mode. “It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.” I love this powerful quote by Eckhart Tolle about gratitude. He is a wonderful author on the topic of mindfulness and he gets right to point here. He feels gratitude is so important that it can take us into the spiritual side of life and he feels gratitude for the present moment is most important.
Of course most of us feel some type of gratitude every day. There were times in my life when I didn't focus a lot on being thankful for the present moment, but I always have had gratitude in my life. As a family, we often talked about being grateful for what we had. My father would mention how grateful he was for rain and the weather, because he was a farmer and the weather was important in his work. There are always things to be grateful for, we just have to look around and be aware.
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024 Pat Flynn: Using a Weird-Looking Device to Get Insight Into Calmness
047 Hilde Larsen: Gratitude Will Put You In A Sense of Awareness Every Second
More Thoughts From Bruce
If you're not feeling good, or feeling happy, just start to think about what you're grateful for. This will put you into a sense of awareness. When I interviewed Hilde Larsen, she said, “Gratitude will put you in a sense of awareness every second because when you focus on being grateful, you have to be one hundred per cent mindful. You cannot be lost in anything else when you're grateful. Plus, it is a feeling, it's not a mindset. Gratefulness is a feeling. And once you connect with those good feelings, you're always grounded in yourself.”
Hilde also talked about nature and how important it is to be grateful for what nature provides. I loved interviewing Hilde, because her story about how she went from ill health into becoming a very healthy person who could help so many other people, is very compelling. (047 Hilde Larsen Show Link) I share Hilde's opinion about the importance of nature and being grateful for the natural world.
In the book, Cracking the Success Code, Brian Tracy says: “Taking the time to become an excellent human being will do more to raise your visibility, enhance the quality of your life and improve your chances for promotion than anything else you can do.” – Brian Tracy. Brian is a very grateful person and that gratitude comes through when you hear him speak, when you meet him in person and even in his books and training materials.
I enjoyed reading the book ‘The Miracle Morning' by Hal Elrod. I am so inspired by him and live my life by the morning ‘SAVERS' plan he teaches in the book. Gratitude is central to Hal's philosophies. See one of Hal's quotes below.
Quotes
“Gratitude and complaining cannot co-exist simultaneously, you must choose the one that best serves you.” – Hal Elrod
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley
“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” – Brian Tracy
“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” Zig Ziglar
“Being grateful lifts you up and gives you confidence.” – Bruce Langford
“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” – James Herriot
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” William Arthur Ward
Books:
Words of Gratitude for Mind, Body and Soul by Robert A. Emmons
Count Your Blessings: The Healing Power of Gratitude and Love by Dr. John F. DeMartini
Solo Weekend Action:
Think of what you're grateful for and make a list. Post it in your office, on a mirror, as a screensaver, or as wallpaper on your phone to give you a constant reminder of what you're grateful for.
Thank You Bonus:
As a thank you for listening, download your free book “Cracking The Success Code”, which I wrote with Brian Tracy and a group of other entrepreneurs. Please leave your name and email and I'll add you to the Mindful Tribe email list. Download Cracking The Success Code here.
Conclusion:
I think gratefulness needs to be a constant or nearly constant thought in your mind. It needs to run as a consistent message in your mind.
Tune in to our next Mindfulness Mode episode 58, for a terrific interview with Greg Zuffelato. We chat about how mindfulness can help you get centered.
