We have completed two highly regarded seminars in recent weeks, "Brain Neuroplasticity: Quantum Changes in the Treatment of Trauma and Pain" with Dr. Robert Scaer in November, and "Resource Tapping: Activating Your Healing Potentials Through Bilateral Stimulation" with Dr. Laurel Parnell on December 4.

Here are some of your comments:

Dear Maggie and Bob,

Dear Maggie,

Sneak Preview of 2011 Teleseminars

When I read comments like those above, I feel proud of the quality of our seminars and the e-courses we are producing. We have some more excellent ones on the horizon:  Dr. Martin Rossman on "The Worry Solution" in January; Brother David Steindl Rast in February on "How Love Can Heal Pain and Suffering;" an e-course with Peter Levine in March on his new book, In An Unspoken Voice, followed by a teleseminar in April with Sandi Radomski on her Energy Approach "Ask and Receive" which extends the effectiveness and efficiency of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques); and Bonnie Badenoch on "How to Become a Brain-Wise Therapist." So if you plan ahead, please note these on your calendar, and please check your spam folders periodically to look for further information.

I'm writing this article on an airplane ride after a short but wonderful visit with some of my mother's family in Nashville, Tennessee. The occasion was the passing of my mother's next youngest sister, who had served as Director of Nursing at a nearby university and as president of the Tennessee Nursing Association, among other achievements in her remarkable career.

I was able to get to know my aunt well in my adult life and enjoyed her spunk, compassion, clear-mindedness, good common sense, insistence on high standards of care, sense of humor, and her loving compassion for every person she met. To say that we will miss her is an understatement, but the blessings of knowing her continue on.

Her granddaughter, who has been serving in the Peace Corps, was fortunate to spend part of her furlough in a memorable week with her "Nanny" before she died. In my short visit with my younger cousin, I was reminded of the spirit of gratitude. When I asked her to share one of the highlights of her Peace Corps experiences, she told me that she was amazed at how the villagers welcomed her into their lives and their hearts. Although they had virtually nothing extra to spare, when they heard about her grandmother's grave illness, they insisted on making a beautiful quilt to honor her, which will cover my aunt's casket when she is buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to her husband.

If we are open hearted, all of us witness these stories where we encounter the miracle of gifts that evoke pure moments of gratitude inside us. The question is, "How can we intentionally cultivate gratitude?"

One of my sources of inspiration on the subject is Brother David Steindl-Rast, who has written several books including Gratefulness, The Heart of Prayer and his latest volume, Deeper Than Words, with a foreword by the Dalai Lama.

Brother David has said, "The practice that I'm concerned with is grateful living. That means that every moment of your life you practice gratefulness. You practice awareness that everything is a gift, everything is gratuitous... What we really want is joy. We don't want things. We don't want to accumulate things. We forget that, and so gratefulness can help us see that, can help us realize that."

Brother David points out that there is really only one faith that all human beings have, and that is a deep trust in life. Even our body expresses this trust in life by always taking another breath.

He reminds us that the most frequently repeated admonition in the sacred texts is not "love your neighbor" but "fear not." That's the one message that he suggests we write on our mirrors every day to remind us how to cultivate gratefulness -- "fear not." Being mindful of this deep reassurance would help us create a completely different world, a world of faith and trust.

It is this deep trust in life that is at the heart of what he sees as "the round dance of grateful living." The gift of life, Brother David says, comes from the source and through our thanksgiving returns to the source. Gratefulness is not just saying "thank you," however. It's acting in ways that express our true selves. A mother is grateful and shows her gratitude through mothering, a scientist by doing science, and so forth.

Brother David offers some simple daily strategies that can help us cultivate gratitude on a daily basis:

1. All gratitude expresses trust. Gratefulness gives us the courage to trust and so overcome fear. Mobilize the courage in your heart and say one word today that inspires courage in someone else.
2. Gratefulness speads calm. Calmly reach out and take someone's hand today and spread the calm of gratitude.
3. When you are grateful, your heart is open -- open towards others, open to surprise. Make contact with someone you normally ignore. Look a stranger in the eyes and realize that there are no strangers.
4. You can either feel alienated or grateful but not both at the  same time. Gratefulness drives out alienation. When you are grateful, you say yes to a sense of belonging. Give someone an unexpected smile today and so express your gratitude for your sense of belonging.

You might want to spend some time considering how you might use these suggestions as catalysts to initiate your own daily gratefulness practices during this holiday season. Do the strategies you find spark feelings of inspiration as well as of gratefulness for you?

For more information on Brother David's writings on gratefulness, go to:

http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Instructions-on-Gratitude and http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/november-19-2010/brother-david-steindl-rast-on-gratitude/7515/.

Be on the lookout for more information on our future teleseminar in February with Brother David on "How Love Can Heal Pain and Suffering."

May the holidays bring you gifts of gratitude, courage, calmness, connection, and belonging.

My very best to you,

Maggie