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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

The neuroscience of gratitude

Hello World!
I cannot believe how time has flown! Before I move into December, I must post about the science of gratitude. I have been noticing many articles on the neoroscience of gratitude and attended a neuroscience of gratitude lecture by the ladies featured below (holding their books). I must say there is a recurring theme and that is, neurons that fire together wire together. While it is easy to think that you must have something in order to cause gratitude, having thoughts of general thankfulness can also bring about that which you desire! Simply pausing to appreciate can generate greater health, wealth, happiness, and more. Here is a fantastic link on a summit held by UC Berkely, which features top researchers, concepts, and more;

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/new_insights_from_the_gratitude_summit



The other main take away is that you must practice gratitude just as any other skill or habit (like brushing your teeth). We are hard wired for a negativity bias, but regular observation for what we appreciate can help reduce the negative effects of negativity bias. So how do you start? One easy way is a simple gratitude log, writing every day something that you can appreciate, you can download apps, and other techniques might include directed attention to the sensations you experience in a given moment. Right now, I am grateful for the opportunity to write this blog post, for anyone who reads it, science, diversity, art, gratitude, lectures about gratitude, websites about gratitude, family, friends, and so much more. Feel free to share what you are grateful for, I would love to hear! I hope you have a day full of thanksgiving! If you are still reading this, thank you!
In gratitude,
:)