The OneMind Meditation Podcast with Morgan Dix: Meditation | Mindfulness | Health - OM093 – A Brief Meditation On The Life-Changing Power of Gratitude

OM093 – A Brief Meditation On The Life-Changing Power of Gratitude

01/02/19 • 21 min

The OneMind Meditation Podcast with Morgan Dix: Meditation | Mindfulness | Health

In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

On a recent weekend retreat, I experienced some challenging moments. It's not the first time.

In my life, I've gone on more silent retreats than I can count. Two-day, ten-day, 21-day silent meditation retreats. So it wasn't the first time I encountered some turbulence.

But what was different was the guidance I received from within. It was super simple be grateful. Say thank you!

Discovering the Power of Gratitude

This simple inner directive changed the way I experienced the retreat. And more importantly, it changed the way I experience my life beyond the retreat.

In today's show, we explore the life and brain-changing power of gratitude.

What does the science tell us about the benefits of gratitude? What are the psychological, emotional, physiological, and spiritual effects of practicing gratitude every day?

Studies show that gratitude can change your life. Here's how. It can:

Make you happier
Reduce your inner fears
Strengthen your positive emotions
Make you more optimistic
Increase your self esteem
Improve your sleep

As we buckle up for yet another orbit around the sun, let's take a moment to reflect on what we're grateful for and more importantly, let's give gratitude its due.

If you look with patience and perseverance, I think you might find that you have more to be grateful for than you originally thought.

Daniel Palazuelos Bio:

Daniel Palazuelos, MD, MPH, is an Associate Physician in the Department of Medicine, Assistant Director of the Hiatt Global Health Equity Residency in the Division of Global Health Equity, and a Clinician-Educator Hospitalist at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Palazuelos also serves as the Cannon Society Global Health Teaching Fellow at Harvard Medical School, as the Senior Health and Policy Advisor for Community Health Systems at Partners In Health, and as the Co-founder/Chief Strategist of Compañeros En Salud – México (PIH-Mexico).

Early in his career, Dr. Palazuelos focused on grassroots community health efforts in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Chiapas, México. The lessons learned during this time helped Dr. Palazuelos and his team co-found Compañeros En Salud, the Partners In Health sister-project in Mexico, a healthcare system strengthening organization that works with the Mexican government to deliver high-quality medical care to the rural poor and train the next generation of change agents.

Dr. Palazuelos has also collaborated with the UN Special Envoy Office for Health Financing to write a report outlining the case for investment in community health workers. This led to the establishment of the Financing Alliance for Health, an international organization that partners with Ministries of Health in impoverished countries to build, find funding for, and sustain ambitious national community health programs.

In addition to this implementation work, he has held various roles in global health education, including: training and mentoring Mexican clinicians during their social service year working with PIH-Mexico; serving as the global health teaching fellow for the Cannon Society at Harvard Medical School; and serving as the Assistant Director for the Hiatt Global Health Equity Residency where he helps to train resident-physicians looking to launch a career in global health. Dr. Palazuelos aims to train global health clinicians to understand the perspectives of those they serve, and to design exemplary health systems that are aligned with the real needs of people living in the poorest and most difficult circumstances.

LINKS:

Daniel's Contact Info
Daniel at Brigham and Women's Hospital
Daniel at Harvard Medical School
Daniel at Partners In Health
First Church Boston, Unitarian Universalists

BOOKS and AUDIOS:

Dropping Ashes on the Buddha: The Teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn by Zen Master Seung Sahn (Author), Stephen Mitchell (Compiler)
What Makes You Not A Buddhist by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
FREE Online Audio with David Whyte, Poet
Another FREE Online Audio with David Whyte, Poet

The post OM092 – The Path of Zen, Poetry, and Compassion with Dr. Daniel Palazuelos appeared first on About Meditation.

Next Episode

OM094 – The Finder’s Course, Permanent Enlightenment, & Fundamental Wellbeing with Dr. Jeffery Martin

BIO:

Dr. Jeffery Martin is a founder of the Transformative Technology space, serial entrepreneur and social scientist who researches personal transformation and the states of greatest human well-being. He spent the last 10 years conducting the largest international study on persistent non-symbolic experience (PNSE), which includes the types of consciousness commonly known as: enlightenment, nonduality, the peace that passeth understanding, unitive experience, and hundreds of others. More recently, he has used this research to make systems available to help people obtain profound psychological benefits in a rapid, secular, reliable, and safe way.

His research began with over 1,000 individuals who claimed to experience PNSE. This resulted in the first reliable, cross-cultural and pan-tradition classification system for these types experience. It also led to the fundamental discovery that these were psychological states that had been identified and adopted for thousands of years by many cultures and belief systems. They were not inherently spiritual or religious, or limited to any given culture or population, and could be molded in many ways to shape the experience.

Jeffery's current work involves helping people use what's been learned to make the life-changing transformation into PNSE. His most recent study achieved strong validation, with approximately 73% of participants who successfully completed the program reaching ongoing non-symbolic experience in less than 4 months (FindersCourse.com). His interest in Transformative Technology comes from a belief that findings like his can be translated into mass consumer technologies and affect billions of lives worldwide. Since 2008 he has worked to bring together the stakeholders from academia, technology, business, finance, and public policy to create a sustainable technology space that dramatically improves human well-being.