The benefits of gratitude

With gratitude having come up in a recent thread, and with people in the US celebrating the holiday of Thanksgiving, I thought it might be a good time to post something about the benefits of gratitude.

In the most recent TMS Call-In Discussion Group, I frequently found myself referring to how recent research supported our intuitions. There has been a tremendous amount of great research coming out recently, and I've found it very beneficial to spend a little time learning about it. For example, Plum suggests a book called "Buddha's Brain." I have it and it looks terrific.

Right now, I'd like to share a clip on gratitude. Like in the call in group, the bottom line is that recent research supports our intuitions. Gratitude makes us stronger, psychologically, socially and physically. The video is presented by a scientist who has done some groundbreaking work on the importance of gratitude at Berkeley, and he explains how this type of outcome research is done.

It's a little dry at first, but I like to think that if we understand how studies are done, that helps us think critically about them. Plus, at only 10 minutes long, you get a quick introduction to a subject that has made up a significant portion of this particular scientist's professional life.

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PS: there has indeed been so much recent research on gratitude that a research institute at Berkeley has a whole section devoted to it:
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/gratitude

For anyone who hasn't checked out the Greater Good center at Berkeley, I recommend it. I've personally liked their facebook page and enjoy learning a bit more every day.