In an ongoing series exploring the higher states of Being this week we will reviewing Gratitude.

Research about Gratitude is booming. Robert Emmons, a professor of Psychology at the University of California Berkley and world’s leading researcher on gratitude is collaborating on a three-year long research project known as, Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude. The Greater Good Science Center launched this project with funding from The John Templeton Foundation and have already found people who practice gratitude consistently report a host of benefits:

Stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure;
Higher levels of positive emotions;
More joy, optimism, and happiness;
Acting with more generosity and compassion;
Feeling less lonely and isolated.

Yet, you may ask, “What is gratitude?” Well, Emmons tells us that there are two key components of gratitude. “First” he writes, “Its an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in this world, gifts and benefits we’ve received.” Think deeper beyond the material gifts we've received. Consider your relationships, your challenging or unique life experiences, the morning coffee you drink, the business referrals received, and even those moments when you relax into the awe that surrounds you. To declare all these are good is the first component.

The second component of gratitude Emmons states is, “We recognize that the source of this goodness is outside of ourselves… We acknowledge that other people - or even higher powers if you are of a spiritual mindset - gave us many gifts, big or small, to achieve the goodness in our lives.”

That’s the secret. Declare things in your life are good, and then acknowledge it is others who help support you in creating the good things of your life. That seems simple enough, yet how does one DO gratitude?

As a Life Coach, I suggest to my clients there is a distinction between feeling like you have gratitude and BEING grateful. In other words, the mental exercise of gratitude and the 1st-2nd person relationship experience of BEING grateful. Think for a moment…What is the difference between thinking to yourself or writing a list of the good things about your life in order to feel like you're grateful, verses the experience of sharing that same goodness with the persons whom you hold as the one which helped you create that goodness? I share this as a radical new idea to practice. There is a profound distinction between sharing what you are grateful for with the ones you are grateful to, compared to reflecting upon it in solitude with a gratitude list. Try it if you have not had the experience!

As Emmons describes it, “I see it as a relationship-strengthening emotion.” Gratitude, experienced, is an emotion designed to strengthen relationships. If you want to DO gratitude in order to BE grateful - share what you are grateful for with who you declare is helping create the goodness in your life. That, is the practice of gratitude.

Try it! Reach out to someone right now! Share with someone who has made a difference in your life and acknowledge the goodness that they helped create. Notice a deepening emotional connection develop. Allow for the benefits of gratitude to bloom.

Go forth, and BE Grateful.

To reach for me for a complimentary Life Coaching session contact me HERE.