Healing Journeys
My Path to Freedom
by
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What, then is Gratitude? Gratitude means thankfulness, counting our blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. It means learning to live your life as if everything were a miracle and being aware on a continuous basis of how much we have been given. Historically, various cultures have taught that expressing gratitude is virtuous. It is considered the greatest virtue, the parent of all the others. Researchers are discovering that there are many positive outcomes to adopting the feeling of gratitude. The practice has a powerful effect on the psyche with many associated benefits: physical, mental and spiritual. Gratitude shifts your focus from what your life lacks to the abundance that is already present. When the brain feels gratitude, it activates areas responsible for feelings of reward, moral cognition, subjective value judgments, compassion, economic decision making and self -motivation. Grateful people report feeling healthy and tend to experience fewer aches and pains. They are more likely to go see a doctor regularly and take care of their health. Practicing gratitude helps to increase quality of sleep, reduces the time needed to fall asleep and improves sleep duration. Expressions of gratitude promote health and healing for both ourselves and others. Regularly expressing gratitude helps to increase our energy level, reduce stress, boost our immune system, balance our hormones and promote heart health. How? Gratitude is a heart-centered approach to being at peace with yourself and with all you have. Gratitude is a habit. It’s a way of looking at the world and all the good things in it with a feeling of appreciation for God, regardless of whether or not your present situation is to your liking. Gratitude is an acknowledgment that something of value has been received, recognised and appreciated. Complainers always find that they have little good in their life or they do not enjoy what they do have. Taking time to experience gratitude can make you happier and even healthier. By taking a few moments to write a list of things, big and small that you’re thankful for every day, you are placing yourself in position to practice generosity. We all know that giving is a right thing to do. It turns out that generosity also provides some tangible rewards for the giver. So let us open our hearts to those less fortunate, and anyone who has enhanced our lives and offer a token of thanks. This could be in the form of a note, a present, or some other meaningful expression of appreciation. Gratitude bestows Reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that forever change how we experience life and the world. We even want to be grateful for the lessons we have, for those lessons are little packages of treasure that have been given to us. As we learn from them, our lives change for the better. So whether the lesson is a ‘problem’ that has cropped up or an opportunity to see an old negative pattern within us, that is the time to seize the moment and ‘Rejoice’ in it. Gratitude brings more to be grateful about. It increases our abundant life. It lifts up the spirit and can move us from adversity to acceptance if we will allow it. Lack of gratitude or complaining brings little to rejoice about. We only remain stuck in the same pattern of not appreciating. Gratitude can deepen your spiritual practice. It puts you in touch with your Maker. You come to realize that you are not alone. You don’t just exist. You are loved no matter what.
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About the Book
How much did I know about my body? Nothing, except for keeping it clean. Who is responsible for keeping my body healthy? I am. So you, too, are responsible for keeping your body healthy and free from sickness and diseases. This book is intended to be a guide for anyone who is experiencing any form of malady in his or her body. It is a light that shines on the lies we have been told concerning our illnesses and on the hidden truths we’ve heard and experienced firsthand. If you will look closely, you will find the help you need to make wise decisions and choices in helping you remain healthy in all the days of your life.
About the Author
Mary was born in a little village called Micoud, one of the villages that make up the island of Saint Lucia. It reminds her of the little village of Nazareth from the bible, where a disciple, before he became a disciple of Jesus Christ said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46) Well, because of the size, some may be asking the same question about Micoud. Yes, something good came out of Micoud. Mary visited Israel in February 2012, and found it to be hilly, mountainous and lush with palm trees just the way it is described in the bible. For as long as Mary can remember, she’d always wanted to be a teacher. Yes, remember what your child says from a young age what he or she wants to be. Our job as parents is to gently guide them in that direction. It may well be that that is their gift or calling in life. At a very young age, Mary wanted to be a teacher. She modelled her teachers and played school, pretending to teach a class of children. They did not have paper and pen to write with in those days. They had what was called a slate to write on and chalk to write with. It did its job then. She ended up teaching right after finishing high school for real, not pretend. She left that teaching position to migrate to Canada, where she met and married her children’s father. They have two daughters, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.