Gratitude Changes Your Life

by Marilyn Smith, M.A.
Certified Master Teacher of Tao Academy

Abstract: Gratitude changes your life. The author has personally experienced the truth of this statement many times. In addition to sharing her own experiences and those of people around the world, the author shares scientific research which demonstrates that gratitude changes our lives for the better. People who are grateful are happier and healthier. In this article you will learn some of the benefits of a simple daily gratitude practice and how it can help you to progress in every aspect of your life.

If we made a list of some of the important things we would want as part of our everyday life experience, it would probably include more energy, restorative sleep, enough exercise, good relationships, enough income, and a healthy diet. For many of us, this reads like a “wish list,” but all of these can become part of our lives in an amazingly simple way.

We know from the work of Dr. Robert A. Emmons, University of California, Davis, CA¹ the Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA² as well as other research, that something so simple as recording three things we are grateful for every day has remarkable benefits in all aspects of our lives. This very simple activity creates a positive response to life. This might seem too good to be true. Try it. You will discover it is absolutely true. If you are having a hard time thinking of three things to be grateful for, change the question to what three things have gone right in my day today? There are practical suggestions on how to do this in my book, Gratitude: A Key to Happiness.³

It’s important to actually write down the three things. If we try to just recall them, the benefits will be minimized. We receive so many thousands of bits of  sensory input per second that it is easy for them   to crowd out the memory of three things that were positive. Similarly,  typing them or recording them on our phone does not have the same beneficial effect as actually writing them down. When we write, the message becomes embedded because we use most of  our senses. This makes it possible to influence us in a positive way.

Gratitude leads to relaxation. Relaxation leads to transformation. An easy way to become grateful is to think of something that fills you with joy, that makes your heart smile. Try it for a few minutes now. Then notice how you feel physically. Notice how areas of your body that may have been stiff or tight feel looser, more relaxed. The longer you stay in this experience of gratitude, the more relaxed you will become, and the greater your potential for transformation will be. You have the possibility of greater creativity, new insights and wisdom, solutions to what had been considered problems, and many other benefits. Imagine beginning your day this way. It makes it so simple— and doable—to have a very good day!

There are also many health benefits to being relaxed. We can avoid the negative impact of stress on our bodies at every level. One of those areas is our heart and circulatory system. Being relaxed allows the heart muscle to function better, increasing the possibility of maintaining a healthy heart. When we are truly grateful, we are also joyful. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, joy is the balanced emotion for the Fire element, and the heart is the authority organ for the Fire element.

Some characteristics of grateful people are:

1. Receiving life as a gift. When life is received as a gift, the sense of entitlement is minimized.
2. Having a positive response to the presence and contributions of others.
3. Tendency to share so collaboration and cooperation replace competition.
4. Involvement in activities that benefit the larger community; participation in community service.
5. Improved performance. This brings the possibility of higher grades for students and, for those who are employed, the potential for promotion and higher salaries.

The one sentence secret of gratitude is:
Gratitude is unconditional appreciation, reverence, respect, and joy.⁴

1. Unconditional means there are no limits, no boundaries.
2. Appreciation adds value to whoever or whatever is presented to me.
3. Reverence receives whoever or whatever is present in my life as the presence of the sacred.
4. Respect honors that sacred presence through behavior, attitude, and more.
5. Joy results when we live these four qualities. We will experience joy. We will live joyfully.

Living in gratitude and experiencing more gratitude is so important that two students and I have started the Universal Gratitude Movement. Participating in such a group helps each one grow in gratitude and to become more positive.

Being more grateful benefits every aspect of our life. Some people are positive naturally so it is easier for them to be grateful. Those who tend to be more negative can train their brain to be positive, and it is so simple.

“Finding three things each day to be grateful for over a 21-day period can rewire a pessimistic brain to become dramatically more positive. When the brain is positive, every possible outcome we know how to test for raises dramatically.”—Shawn Achor⁵

Writing down three thing we are grateful for can change our life, and what we have available through Dr. and Master Sha accelerates that change. We experience Tao Calligraphy as
love art to transform all life, and Tao Song as love song to transform all life. Dr. and Master Sha shares great wisdom about gratitude in his book, Soul Over Matter.⁶

There is a sentence that I have reflected on often: “Gratitude is a bridge to connect a human being with Heaven, so they can join as one.” In Chinese, Tian Ren He Yi, Heaven and humans join  as one. It is a great treasure to realize that every expression of gratitude is a practice of oneness with Heaven, which makes it a practice of oneness with all souls. To become one with Heaven can clear so many blockages in every aspect of  our life. It can transform our health, relationships, finances, and more. Tian Ren He Yi  is not just a phrase to make  us feel good. It is describing the reality that exists for us. It is ultimately practical.

Dr. and Master Sha gives us several ways we can do this. One of those is to trace the Tao Calligraphy Da Gan En, Greatest Gratitude.⁷ When we do this, our frequency and vibration aligns with the frequency and vibration of total gratitude. We progress further on the bridge between human beings and Heaven. Every time we trace, we move forward, and our footsteps become more solid. It is such a simple practice, but so powerful and significant.

For those on a spiritual journey, this is our heart’s desire. Gratitude is essential to fulfill that desire. The wonder of gratitude is that it accelerates our spiritual journey, and as our spiritual journey accelerates, we become more grateful. Dr. and Master Sha offers so many ways to clear blockages to gratitude and to grow in gratitude. Using the practice of tracing the Tao Calligraphy Da Gan En empowers us to grow in gratitude at an accelerated pace. Using this practice in combination with writing three things we are grateful for helps gratitude become our default response.

I find it so exciting that to get started, or to increase our gratitude, all we need to do is simply begin the day with writing three things we are grateful for. To truly transform your gratitude, trace the Da Gan En calligraphy for as little as ten minutes each day. I have tried this myself and it does work! I invite you to try it too, and have a very good day!

Author note: For more on gratitude, see:

• Emmons, R. and Stern, R. (2013). Gratitude as a Psychotherapeutic Intervention. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(8), pp.846-855.
• Markman, Art. Greater Good Magazine. (2018). What Makes Us Thankful?. [online] Available at: https://greatergood.berkeley. edu/article/item/what_makes_us_thankful
• Gratitude Is Good For Athletes. (2015). T. McKeever. University of California Berkeley.

REFERENCES

1. Emmons, R. (2008). Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
2. Greater Good Magazine. (2018). Gratitude. [online] Available at: https:// greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/ gratitude [Accessed 5 Nov. 2018].
3. Smith, M. (2010). Gratitude: A Key to Happiness. Toronto: Heaven’s Library Publication Corp.
4. Smith, M. (2010). Gratitude: A Key to Happiness. Toronto: Heaven’s Library Publication Corp. p.9
5. Growth, B., Growth, P., Business, F., Balance, L. (n.d.). #121: Shawn Achor—How Happiness Fuels Your Success. [online] EntreLeadership. Available at: https://www.entreleadership. com/blog/podcasts/shawn-achor-happiness- fuels-success [Accessed 5 Nov. 2018].
6. Sha, Z. and Markel, A. (2016). Soul Over Matter: Ancient and Modern Wisdom and Practical Techniques to Create Unlimited Abundance. Dallas: BenBella.
7. If you do not have the Tao Calligraphy Da Gan En (Greatest Gratitude), trace another of Dr. and Master Sha’s Tao Calligraphies from one of his books and request blessing to remove blockages to experiencing, embodying, and expressing greater gratitude.