Earlier this week I tweeted about experiencing a personal epiphany. It happened as the result of a practice that my friend Carolyn over at eMotionWorks recommended to me a couple years ago. Each morning (okay, each morning that I think about it – which is more like a morning each week) I get up and, before doing anything (except getting coffee of course), I sit and engage in a practice she calls “scripting.”
Essentially it is an exercise in setting my attitude correctly for the day. (From past blog posts you might be able to tell which posts were written on days I did this versus days I didn’t.) It’s a simple process – I date the page and begin my list of all the things in my life for which I am grateful. Taking time to recognize the blessings in our lives has a profoundly positive impact on our thought processes, and as Wayne Dyer would tell you: change your thoughts, change your life. (See: Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao)
I then take this one step further. I include in my list the things that I want to happen, which may not have yet come to pass. I write them down, as though they have already happened because, the mind has a brilliant way of figuring out how to get things done, once we give it free reign by believing in its ability to do so.
On this morning I had the rare experience of my hand moving without much thought from me… words were being written and they were definitely appearing out of my subconscious. In the midst of my scribble the very purpose of my life became crystal clear. It was the biggest “aha” moment of my life so far.
I may talk more on this topic in future posts but for now, I just want to shout out my endorsement for this very worthwhile practice. Note: you MUST write it down. Thinking about these things is good, but physically writing them down adds a physical element to the process that is unrivaled by thoughts alone. Try it for two weeks – tell me if it doesn’t change your life.
Be happy. Be grateful.
Funny, on my drive home from Atlanta last night i heard a radio program talking about this very issue. They actually had data from a study that was done on cancer patients. In the study they had half of the patients keep “Grateful Journals”, where every day they would write a recap on everything they were grateful for.
At the end of the study, parameters such as rate of recovery, response and side effects to treatment, overall wellness, etc, were UP for the individuals that kept the journals. Those who did not were average or trending downwards. The only measurable difference they could find were the journals that were kept.
Two weeks huh? I’m not sure I’m ready for that level of commitment.
I think there’s definitely something to the ‘gratitude attitude’. When you stop looking at events in your life as things that happen “to” you and instead view them as new opportunities to get where you want to go…
Blah blah–preaching to the choir. I think people have to learn this for themselves.
This is an interesting idea. I might have to give it a go.
Ok, I’m taking your challenge. Today was the first day and i think the real challenge is going to be actually remembering to do it. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Marsha and Suzy – I am very interested to hear how you experience this, and want to add one note: when I first started this I was doing it as a rote exercise, which wasn’t very effective. Once I figured out to connect my heart to the process and physically get into the “feeling” of gratitude… allowing gratefulness to permeate my being and connecting emotions to thoughts, is when it really started working.
Maybe I should have titled it: changes your thoughts and feelings, change your life. But I found that by changing my thoughts… eventually my feelings followed anyway. I hope you find the same! Please keep me posted.