Recent Studies Show Gratitude Linked To Healing

Recent studies show that daily gratitude practice significantly changes your life, improving sleep, allowing for lowered stress levels, increasing overall energy, and emotional well-being. Gratitude can activate the Law of Attraction in your life, bring in what you ask for and washing away hurts, complaints and dis-empowering thoughts. Anecdotal studies show that gratitude is linked to healing on all levels, including with cancer.

When you’ve just received bad news of a cancer diagnosis, hope can be stripped away quickly. This is why it becomes life-sustaining to arm yourself with every emotional, mental and spiritual resource to get through that difficult time. Even more important are the implications for long term remission and survival.

Several decades ago, Dr. Bernie Segal, who was a cancer surgeon turned author, helped initiate cancer support groups for his cancer patients. Those who attended support groups with a positive outlook experienced much higher cancer remission rates. Also, those cancer patients who faced the surgeries, chemo therapy or radiation treatments with a more upbeat outlook experienced higher remission rates. The significance of this teaches that people who maintain a positive outlook, and use an “attitude of gratitude” to deal with challenging life stressers, such as cancer, will also have a increased rates of recovery.

The human body has a highly effective immune system. The body knows how to heal from illnesses like cancer. Healing and recovery are best facilitated when emotional and mental stress is reduced. When you enrich your state of mind with gratitude, that immediately decreases stress while increasing positive bio-chemical releases from our endocrine system.

You can feel this for yourself at any time of day or night. Try spending 10 minutes counting your blessings. Ask yourself how did I feel before and how do I feel afterwards?

Here is how this life sustaining process works. The endocrine system is a intricate network of natural chemical producing glands, such as, the pineal, pituitary, thyroid, thymus, adrenal glands, ovaries in women and testies in men. These powerful glands continuously release a supply of extra-cellular signaling molecules called hormones. The purpose of the endocrine system is facilitate regulation of metabolism, healing processes, immune responses, growth, development and tissue function. The endocrine system plays a role in determining overall mood. If you increase gratitude on a daily basis, your mood is lifted and as a result the immune system is stimulated.

Do you feel better when you are grateful?

Does it makes sense to cultivate gratitude on a daily basis so that he hormones of healing increase in your body?

Think of gratitude as a natural way to release happiness hormones which flow through your arteries to help promote healing within your damaged cancerous cells, tissues and organs.

Before asking for a healing expereince when facing cancer or any life threatening illness, begin by invoking gratitude. Invoking a state of gratitude first is like washing the dishes before you serve a fresh, new meal on the plate – it paves the way by cleansing you. Gratitude purifies anger or negative emotions trapped in the body. If you have resentment, hurt feelings, self-pity and hatred, clear them through forgiveness and gratitude.

Gratitude opens the door to new possibilities while increasing the body’s natural healing abilities. Gratitude increases positive states of mind. If you feel grateful for those who love you, and even for those who have disappointed or hurt you, this allows for forgiveness to take place. Gratitude releases us to activate the Law of Attraction because it draws us closer to the prefered state of being. If you focus on what is bothering you, the desired wellness creating states of mind and emotions cannot manifest as health. Letting go of the old takes place first before the healthy condition can express itself.

Training the mind to be aware of gratitude can become a daily ritual of loving life. Allow time each day to increased the healing benefits of gratitude. Increased happiness comes as a result of shifting the mind into the awareness of massive blessings in our lives as often as possible.

For most of us, gratitude comes easy when things are going well. But putting it into practice when life throws you a curve ball is another story. When facing illness find ways each day to lift yourself with a grateful heart and mind. Focus on what makes you happy.

On Gratitude: The Essential Practice for Happiness and Fulfillment, cultural anthropologist and educator Angeles Arrien shows you how to cultivate the power of deep appreciation so that it becomes a way of life—simply and naturally. Integrating the newest social science research with stories, prayers, insights, and practices from cultures and traditions spanning the world, Arrien gives you the time-tested wisdom to help you master the art of giving thanks, every day.

The healing, 3 Cd’s audio learning series On Gratitude invites you to explore these wonderful topics:

* How to overcome habitual tendencies toward envy, comparison, and narcissism

* The top 10 practices for remaining grateful, including keeping a gratitude journal, “remembering the bad to appreciate the good,” and regularly writing notes and letters of thanks

* Naikan—the Japanese Buddhist practice of intensely meditating on your interconnections to develop a steady flow of gratitude in relationships

* Indigenous teachings about using daydreams and wishes to create a spirit of healing and blessing

Recent studies show that daily gratitude practice significantly changes your life, improving sleep, overall energy, and emotional well-being. Gratitude can active the Law of Attraction in your life, bring in what you ask for and washing away hurts, complaints and dis-empowering thoughts.

With Gratitude, Angeles Arrien offers you an inspiring call to open your heart and experience the profound gifts that come when we fully embrace gratitude.

Go here to pick up a copy of Gratitude
The Essential Practice for Happiness and Fulfillment

Gratitude for all of the good you have brought to life.

May your gratitude grow like a garden of beautiful flowers,

Christopher Lee May

Tags: Gratitude purifies anger, healing benefits of gratitude, higher cancer remission rates, Recent Studies Show Gratitude Linked Healing, Training the mind to be aware of gratitude