Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Gratitude Journaling Changes Your Brain

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Gratitude, Gratitude Journal, Gratitude Journaling Study, journal, Thankful, Thanks, Writing Prompts

Did you know you can stimulate a part of your brain when you write about the things you are grateful for? Read the article below, if you’d like to read about a study that explains how we can become more altruistic by being grateful for what we have.

How can you start a gratitude journaling practice? It’s simple. Start today with writing down three things you are grateful for in the morning when you first wake up and a few minutes before you go to bed at night. If you don’t know what to write about, here are some gratitude journaling prompts:

Your significant other

• Your pet
• Your family
• Your friends
• Your talents
• Your experiences
• A book you just read
• A song you just heard
• A technology device you enjoy
• God
• A religious tome
• Your dreams and inner experiences
• Your friends

When I do my journaling, I tend to hit on many areas that I am grateful for because the more I write about in my gratitude journal the stronger the feeling of gratitude grows. When you achieve a state of mind that knows you have all you need, you are more giving, more motivated to contribute, more willing to give of your time. Imagine waking up one day and realizing how great your life is, right now. It is a great place to be, which is why I start my day with my gratitude journal without fail. I like tackling my day feeling good myself and my life. It is a great place to be.

What can I use for my gratitude journal?

That’s the easy part. You can use anything. If you are digitally minded, you can use Evernote, Microsoft One Note, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or any number of paper journals or digital journaling apps. I try to stay in the digital realm because my penmanship is so bad I cannot read my own writing. I also like having my journal available anywhere I go.

Do you journal? If not, why not? My gratitude journaling takes about 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening. If all of these benefits are available, why not take a chance and start your own gratitude journaling practice?

If you do journal, share what you use for your journal. I’m curious about how many people in my readership actually have a gratitude journal and gain the same benefits I do.

As a reminder, the article is linked below. It’s a short read, but will show you how the people in this study benefited neurologically from this simple, but powerful addition to their day.

Have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Reference

Barlow, J. (2019). Writing a daily diary can literally change your brain. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/writing-a-daily-diary-can-literally-change-your-brain/

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Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Replacing the Negative with the Positive

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Changing the Script, Focus, Gratitude, Gratitude Journal, Negative, Positive, spirituality

“If you fill your consciousness with the positive aspects of Divine Spirit, there is no vacuum where the negative may enter.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

Do you have any bad habits you’d like to rid yourself of? I was thinking about this, this morning as I searched for a quote for today’s article and this one is right on spot. If you’ve ever looked into Neuro-linguistic programming, you are probably aware of some aspects of the brain that are interesting, to say the least. One of these interesting aspects is the brain’s inability to distinguish between don’t and do. If you say you don’t want to smoke anymore, your brain captures smoking. If you say you won’t get angry at stupid things anymore, your brain captures angry. It is interesting and true.

So how do you rewire your brain to break a bad habit? You fill it with a replacement. If you focus on health, exercise, or any other positive trait, you will slowly drain energy from the neural pathway that was created to automate the bad habit you are trying to get rid of. The key is to continuously fill your consciousness with positive aspects. By doing so, you will starve the automatic neural pathways that coincide with your bad habits and they will dissipate. I know. It’s harder than just filling your mind with positive things. It takes a concerted effort.

It is possible, however. If you begin to realize how your brain automates things—truly see your brain go through this process, it is easier to unravel. It is like witnessing your brain go through the steps that are necessary to do something, say something, or feel something. There is a natural progression of steps your brain goes through for everything you do in a given day. These steps are automated, so you really have to pay attention and watch what your brain does. Once you witness your brain traveling down the road of a bad habit, it will naturally fade away. This awareness is hard to capture but once you do, there is no way you will continue to do something that hurts you.

I have found that doing meditation helps me with this process. When you have developed the ability to watch your breath and ignore everything else physically, it is easy to rise above the thought stream. For those of you who have conquered the “monkey mind”, you know what this feels like. You imagine your thoughts as a steady stream. When you rise above that stream, you are no longer bothered by your thoughts—you are above them! This same process can be used to observe your unconscious mind. The unconscious part of you is where all your good and bad automated processes are located. Let me explain.

When you first learned to drive a car, you had to think about every single step of driving. It was painstaking, nerve-wracking, and exhausting. Over time, you became proficient with driving. Your brain “automated” driving. Once your driving became unconscious, driving was simple. You get in the care, put your foot on the brake, turn the key in the ignition, put your car into gear and off you go. It was seamless from beginning to the end.

You also have unconscious processes for being angry, being jealous, being frightened, being happy, and so on. The unconscious mind becomes visible once your active mind settles down. You can begin to witness different parts of your body. You can begin to witness your thoughts and how they come about. When you truly see the inner wiring of a habit and see how harmful it is, it is much easier to change the wiring, or what the late Stephen Covey calls “rewriting the script”.

To get back to the quote for today’s article, you just must observe your negative inner wiring with positive wiring. It is simply keeping your attention on the positive things in life and letting the negative things fade away. Don’t get me wrong. There will always be things that get under your skin. The key is to minimize the duration you stay in this negative state. Pout or have a tantrum, cry, scream, and then, LET IT GO.

One of the ways I remain in a positive state of mind is by keeping a gratitude journal. Each morning I write down all the things I am grateful for. I don’t hold myself to a time limit or a set number of statements. I just keep writing until I get that feeling. A feeling that everything is ok, everything is going well, and a deep satisfaction that all is well. I have enough; I have great things to look forward to, and everything is exactly as it should be.

Try this technique. Gratitude journaling is really enjoyable once you get the hang of it and spend the time to truly appreciate all you have in your life. If you need some help or some ideas about how to create a gratitude journal, simply do a Google search on gratitude journaling and you’ll find all kinds of articles on the topic.

I hope all of you have a great Saturday.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Gratitude Journaling and Daily Affirmations

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Daily Affirmations, Good, Gratitude, Gratitude Journal, Happy, Prayer, Thankful

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is “thank-you”, it will be enough.” Meister Eckhart

Read more at: Brainy Quote

Here we are, folks. It’s another Thankful Thursday.

So many people are unsatisfied with their lives. They complain about money; they complain about their health; they complain about their lot in life. They never take the time to appreciate what they have. The home they live in is not right, the job they have is no good and doesn’t pay enough, they don’t like this; they don’t like that. When you interact with these people, it is one complaint after another. How do people live like that?

I think all of us go through a phase when everything goes wrong. When these times come, it is hard not to complain because we believe fate has dealt us a bad hand. Unfortunately, we will all go through good times and bad times. It is all part of life itself. So, if life will always be good and bad, how do we make it more enjoyable and livable? We can focus on the good things.

I write in a gratitude journal every day. I express thanks for my family, friends, and the good things that happen. I express gratitude for God. I express my thanks for this life and all its experiences. I actively look for the good things and pursue humility. When you look for the good, you find it. When you express gratitude for the home you live in, the friends and family who love you, the natural gifts life has blessed you with, life takes on a whole new meaning. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to achieve the grateful state. Therefore, I do not set a limit to my gratitude journaling. I know the feeling when it arrives, and I keep writing until it takes hold.

Writing is my haven. Writing allows me to empty my mind and explore the thoughts that come to the page. Writing hones my thinking. Writing about the things I am blessed with and grateful for makes me happy. It brings a perspective of having enough. When you have enough life is a wonderful experience.

If you are a new follower of Daily Ramblings, thank you. I appreciate each one of you. I hope my content adds a little to your day. I hope you keep coming back. I am also grateful for my home, my family, my friends, my pets, my talents, and God’s love. I am thankful for the insights I receive from reading scripture. I am grateful for the discipline I possess to write, read, learn, exercise, and meditate.

I write personal affirmations daily. Affirmations are a way to focus on the good. I affirm the man I want to be. I affirm the character traits I want to develop. I affirm the life I am striving for. My daily affirmations are part of my gratitude journaling practice.

Affirmations work because they cause us to focus on what we want. The repetition of daily affirmations convinces your mind you are what you want to be already. It turns negative self-talk to positive self-talk. This process causes you to focus on the good and ignore the bad. You literally erase the bad because you give it no time during your day. What you focus on is what you achieve.

Here is a brief list of affirmations you can use:

• I am healthy and I am at my optimal weight
• I am intelligent and learn new concepts and ideas easily
• I am grateful for all I have and will receive
• I can learn anything I put my mind to
• I am happy and seek the good things in life

You can do a Google search for Affirmations to get more ideas. When you build your own list, focus on health, spirituality, learning, and gratitude. You can add whatever else you like but I have found these are great starting topics.

I hope each of you are having a great week so far. Keep pushing to be better, establish and strengthen good habits, and most of all, be thankful for what you have. Choose gratitude, contentment, and happiness. It is a great life. Be thankful for it.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Four Strategies to Improve your Mood

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Exercise, Gratitude Journal, Meditation, Mood Improvement Strategies, Prayer

“Once the Holy Spirit grants us Its blessings, how often do we remember to acknowledge them? Acknowledgment is done through gratitude, which keeps our hearts open to love.” —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

Gratitude Journaling

Do you keep a Gratitude Journal? I do. I have found over time that it is beneficial to my well-being. It keeps me focused on the good things in life—the simple things—the things we tend to take for granted.

Keeping a Gratitude Journal is easy. Simply get yourself an inexpensive diary or notebook (about $.50 at Staples) and take a few minutes each morning to list out three-five things you are grateful for. That’s it.

A few years ago, I began looking for habits that would benefit me. Habits like meditation, reading, writing, learning, and journaling. Gratitude journaling was everywhere. I figured what did I have to lose? It wouldn’t take long to write down three-to-five things and if I scheduled it on my calendar or in my to-do list as a repeating item it wasn’t much of a sacrifice.

So, I started. Initially, my heart really wasn’t in it. I was going through the motions, so to speak. After a while, however, I began to look forward to my gratitude moment in the morning and really started to “feel” how grateful I was for a roof over my head, good friends, my personal talents that I was born with, my dog, my parents, you name it. This feeling began to carry itself throughout my day. Sometimes, even today, I go through the motions. It’s hard to be in a consistent state of happiness or gratitude all the time. We all have our days and we are changing continuously. We do tend to have more good days than bad, at least that is what I have discovered.

In the success and self-help literature is a common reference to being what we think about most of the time. Focus on the good stuff. The more you place your mind on the things that are going well, the more you will recognize how good life really is. This is the benefit of a gratitude journal. It will help you find a few things that are going right in your life. Once you get in the habit of doing this, you’ll discover, like I did, that life is a treasure, ripe with experiences.

You’re probably saying to yourself, “Wow, this is great. I’m so happy for you, but this is not my life.” I get it. I too have some tough days from time-to-time. When I run across a problem or just feeling a little down, I have a few more strategies for you.

Four Strategies to Improve your Mood

Strategy #1 – Write a letter

Don’t mail this to anyone. Write your letter to Jesus, God, or some other person of importance you revere. Write your heart out, explaining your problem. Ask this entity for help. Write down the problem as you see it and ask, “What is the lesson here? What am I supposed to learn from this?” You’ll find that most of our troubles relate to a spiritual lesson or principle that God is trying to teach us.

Strategy #2 – Help Someone

Some of our challenges arise because we become too focused on ourselves. When we are focused too much on ourselves it causes an introversion to occur. We stop feeling empathy for others because we are too wrapped up in ourselves and “OUR” problem. Take a moment to do something nice for someone else, whether it be a family member, a close friend, or even a stranger. You can volunteer to do some charity work, you can do something nice for your family member like a chore around the house you normally do not do or send your friend a nice letter or give them a call to tell them how much they mean to you. When you focus on someone other than yourself, you’ll find that your troubles tend to be less burdensome and important and your mood will improve.

Strategy #3 – Pray or Meditate

When we pray or meditate we become quiet. Meditation and prayer require it. When you focus all your attention on a chant, your breath, or your creator, the mood you’re in will subside a bit. Ask a question and let it sit for a while. You’ll find that these little sessions of 10 minutes bring great benefits of calm and the answers to your problems will come if you remain open to the answers.

Strategy #4 – Exercise

Working out in the gym is therapeutic for me. It relieves a stress, improves your blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, helps you maintain flexibility, and keeps those muscles working. Exercise will get your mind off things that are bothering you and releases endorphins that create a feeling of pleasure in your brain. When you finish a workout, you’ll also feel some accomplishment and improvements to your self-esteem.

If you’re having a tough time of it, I hope this post helps you in some way. Try out some of these strategies if you are feeling down. You’ll find like I did, that they do help.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday

Tags

Gratitude, Gratitude Journal, Life is a privilege, Life is good, Taking Stock

“Sometimes it’s important to just stop and be grateful for the blessings that you already have.” —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

From time to time I reflect on my life. I have had a great many successes and some pretty dismal failures. One of the greatest changes I have made is the movement from not having enough and begin grateful for what I have.

For the longest time, I concentrated on the bad things—a divorce, a bankruptcy, or even my lack of the income I wanted to be making. This thinking captured my attention for the longest time. Then, I began thinking that my thinking was the problem. Why did things go wrong for me while others were achieving the success they desired?

My thinking changed, and I began to see success, but there was a problem. With the success, I was achieving came the worry about losing it all again. That’s exactly what happened. After what seemed to be an indefinite occupation in a pit I could not pull myself from, I began to realize that despite my failures and defeats, I still had it pretty good. I began to rethink my life.

I began a Gratitude Journal. I began reading positive materials. I began looking for the good things in life.

To this day, I consider myself a lucky man, with all I need. Am I rich? No. The riches I do have are inner ones. I realized that I will always have the ability to take care of myself. I also realized that despite how bad things can get, I would always be grateful for what I had, even if it was very little.

I cannot tell you how wonderful this change of attitude is. I am not always happy, but I am content. There will always be something that gets under my skin or causes me to worry a little. The key to this new attitude is to truly be thankful for this life. This life is truly a precious thing. I have traveled the world, I have loved and have been loved. I have laughed until I cried and wake each day with a good sense of humor. I am just happy to be alive and content with whatever comes.

Part of this newfound gratitude is also a detachment, which takes on a new shape each time I evolve. I used to think detachment was related to material things, but it is so much more. Detachment, in its purest sense, is really being adaptable to change. Change in location, change in attitude, change in health, change in age, change in relationships, change, change, change. Detachment is being able to alter our opinions, alter our attitudes, alter our way of thinking, even our core philosophy. When there is no expectation of anything, coupled with a deep gratitude for the existence we have, happiness is inevitable. How can you be unhappy when everything is acceptable, and we are grateful for our situation, regardless of what that situation is?

Another aspect of this change in thinking is the ability to be charitable. I’m not talking just about volunteer work or giving money. I’m talking about the willingness to serve another person. Something simple like a smile at a complete stranger, holding a door open for someone, posting a nice note to someone on social media, anything that allows us to extend goodwill to others, even complete strangers.

I hope each of you is having a terrific weekend. Take a few moments today to take stock of what you have. Be grateful for what you have, really embrace that. When you make the decision that you have all you need and are content with what you have, you’ll feel a deep sense of peace and fulfillment. You’ll realize that the race to get more is nothing more than a distraction. A distraction that keeps us from realizing that we have all we need and that this life is a pretty good one.

Until next time…

Dave