Although listing things that you are grateful for help bring such overlooked blessings to the front of your mind, it easily becomes just another to-do on your list. The problem is that listing items is an activity that engages only our pre-frontal cortex (PFC) and neglects the emotional part of our brain, the amygdala. Research shows that the true benefits of a gratitude practice lies in feeling grateful and has showed that when we remember times where someone helped us or even where we could help another, our amygdala is engaged and it improves our overall mood.
More recent research has started focusing on the emotion "awe" which we can argue is a specific type of grateful state. Awe is experienced when we feel connected in a wonderful way to something bigger than ourselves. This may happen when we are in nature, at a concert or even being emotionally touched by art. We can also feel awe when we witness someone doing something for another without expecting anything in return.
The interesting thing about awe is that when we experience this emotion, a part of our brain called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is activated, the same part of the brain regulating our focus as well as communication between the PFC and the amygdala. Experiencing awe therefore is shown to help calibrate the communication between these two important brain parts and it helps us be more able to see situations in our daily life from different perspectives.
Mindfulness practices can also be thought of as a specific way to experience awe as you are being more conscious of stimuli engaging your senses. From the brain's perspective it is also is a way to improve focus as, once again, it activates the ACC.
Therefore, consciously seeking those moments of wonder where you feel awe might reap greater rewards as a gratitude practice than listing things you are grateful for.
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