YOUR BRAIN, GRATITUDE, & HEALING
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
With the Thanksgiving Holiday soon upon us, the question I pose is "what are you truly grateful for in life?" In light of the recent tragedy over the past few weeks with the devastating storms on the East Coast, so many people have lost everything: homes, businesses, and even loved ones. Do you ever wonder why during times of both immense personal and collective tragedy that the ability for humans to cultivate gratitude and express compassion appears even stronger? The answer resides in recent discoveries in neuroscience on how your brain is actually wired to experience compassion, gratitude, and empathy. With Thanksgiving and the Holidays quickly approaching, this month's issue explores the neuroscience of achieving an "Attitude of Gratitude" in life by learning to be grateful for what is. Specifically, the fields of positive psychology and social neuroscience suggest that people who regularly give thanks and embody a sense of gratitude enjoy greater happiness, a deeper sense of purpose in life, and even feel a stronger connection to others, all of which can be witnessed happening in the brain.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving and the beginning of the Holiday season, it's sometimes easy to forget the true meaning what this time of year can offer us. One of the greatest empowering lessons Thanksgiving teaches is the ability to cultivate gratitude and express thanks, not only on Thanksgiving but everyday in life.
My recent blog post on "How Gratitude Heals Your Brain, Body, & Being" explores the neuroscience behind the powerful healing benefits of gratitude for the body, mind, and spirit! I know you'll also enjoy reading the sidebar article on the psychology of giving thanks, watching the amazing and inspiring TED video on gratitude, and exploring my book of the month How God Changes Your Brain.
On a related note, if you would like to express your compassion and gratitude this Thanksgiving, please consider donating to our brothers and sisters on the East Coast who still are in need of assistance. Here are some noteworthy local organizations that allocate funds directly to survivors of Hurricane Sandy - Direct Relief, Hope for New York, & Occupy Sandy.
Lastly, I am genuinely grateful to all of you for your continued interest and enthusiastic support for my monthly newsletter, my workshops, and radio podcasts. As you celebrate Thanksgiving, please remember: "At the end of the day, it's not HOW much you have, but WHO you have in life that really matters!" Keep on Living Your LightŪ as you enjoy this Thanksgiving in gratitude, abundance, joy, and wellbeing!
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HOW GRATITUDE HEALS
YOUR BRAIN, BODY, & BEING
With Thanksgiving nearly here and the Holiday season approaching, it's easy to forget the true meaning and purpose of this time of year. For those readers not familiar with Thanksgiving, it originally was a Native American annual feast that honored the bounty of the autumn harvest and celebrated the abundance that nature provides. Eventually the European and Native American traditions merged into what we now know as Thanksgiving. In essence, Thanksgiving is truly much more than an American holiday, as it is a way for anyone to "give thanks" and express gratitude for all that we have in life-our health, abundance, love, family, friends, and, of course, the traditional Thanksgiving feast. In this sense, Thanksgiving can be viewed as a universal celebration that everyone can enjoy and honor regardless of your nationality, spiritual faith, or cultural belief.
However you ultimately choose to mark and honor Thanksgiving and the upcoming Holidays, I invite you to remember their original significance-that is to give thanks and cultivate an attitude of gratitude for all the abundance in your life. In fact, researchers in neuropsychology, who study the intimate connection between the brain and emotions, state that gratitude is one of the easiest and healthiest ways to experience overall wellbeing in brain, body, and being. In the past few years, neuroscientists have now begun to recognize that gratitude and compassion are among the most powerful and healthiest of human emotions. Studies at Stanford University and other universities
successfully demonstrate that embodying compassion and remembering to be grateful for what you have in life can greatly outweigh any sadness, stress, or challenges you might currently experience.
The reason why expressing gratitude has such a strong effect is its ability to connect you to other people. Generally, when you express thanks you acknowledge the actions of others. Being grateful enables you momentarily to expand your thoughts away from your own individual concerns so that you remember the joy and happiness that others provide. Read Full Article.
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"AWAKE w/ Dr. Jay Kumar!" on Doug Stephan's Good Day
NEW TIME
THURSDAY 6:30am PT/9:30am ET
Dr. Jay Kumar wants you to become AWAKE! Join me every Thursday morning as a regular guest on the nationally syndicated Doug Stephan's Good Day radio show.
Each week we explore how the latest discoveries in mind-body medicine and brain research can empower you toward authentic health and happiness in brain, body, and being!
Show Details.
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 Thanks to all who made my workshop at Loyola Marymount University last month such a tremendous success. For those who missed it, you can learn about the emerging field of contemplative neuroscience in my Prezi. Stay tuned for similar workshops and online courses on this and other exciting topics in 2013!
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Quote of the Month
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melody Beattie
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Article of the Month
How to Train Your Brain for an Attitude of Gratitude
Both neuroscience and psychology now demonstrate that maintaining a state of gratitude and regularly giving thanks can actually change your brain. Even more remarkable is how expressing compassion and gratitude eventually improve your overall health and wellbeing. Learn more in this informative article by noted researcher Dr. Rick Hanson.
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Video of the Month
 | | TEDxSF - Louie Schwartzberg - Gratitude |
Even though Thanksgiving only comes once a year, everyday is an opportunity to give thanks and express gratitude to all that we have! Hope you enjoy this fantastic video from TED by noted film-maker Louie Schwartzberg on the power of gratitude and the abundance all around. You're gonna' love this! Please watch and feel free to share.
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Book of the Month
Renowned neuroscientist, Dr. Andrew Newberg, explores the cutting edge field of contemplative neuroscience, which studies the remarkable connection between our brain and spiritual experiences. His book presents research on the science of how active and positive spiritual beliefs such as gratitude and compassion enable us to experience health in body, brain, and being! A perfect book for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
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