Gratitude and Energy: How Thankfulness Lifts Your Frequency

This month, everyone is grateful. This is the month of giving thanks for so many things. Kids are putting turkey feathers or leaves onto displays at school or home, with things they are thankful for. Adults are thinking more about what to put on the Thanksgiving table. And worrying about who is going to be sitting around that table, than being thankful. 

What we should all be doing is being thankful for those around us. Thankful that we can have a Thanksgiving dinner. 

No condemnation. I am just pointing something out here. 

When we are operating in a place of being thankful, we are literally raising our frequency. That simple act is bringing us out of a place of chronic negativity into a place of positivity! 

I don’t know about you, but I have been in chronic negativity, and sometimes get sucked back down into it. Personally, chronic Positivity is much more fun.

(I am not talking about TOXIC positivity. That is something I will cover at another time.)

Emotional Frequencies: Gratitude

David Hawkins created something called the “Map of consciousness,” and it is basically a chart of the frequency of emotions. You want to keep your frequency up. On this chart, there are emotions listed that you can choose to embrace. You will see things like Peace, Love, Joy, have a frequency of 500-600. As opposed to Grief, Guilt, and Shame, which have frequencies of 75 down to 20. 

Clearly, a huge difference. 

While gratitude is not specifically listed on his chart, we know that gratitude does indeed raise our frequency. It happens just by changing our thinking. It raises us into a place of joy and thankfulness. Knowing that we can be thankful for the things we have and the people around us changes our frequency.

Gratitude and Our Brains

From an article on Positivepsychology.com: 

Gratitude is more than just a positive feeling. It is a complex cognitive and emotional phenomenon that involves recognizing how other individuals contribute to our wellbeing and enhance our appreciation of positive outcomes in life.

We see a change in the way we think just by choosing to be thankful! What a beautiful thing!

Also in the article, you might find this fascinating, as I do:

From a neuroscientific perspective, gratitude activates key regions of the brain such as the prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, the ventral striatum (a key brain region involved in processing rewards), and the insula (a region of the brain involved in emotional awareness; Fox et al., 2015).

Being thankful LITERALLY changes our brains!

Gratitude Journal Challenge

This past year, I have been keeping a Gratitude Journal. Every day, I list about 5 or so things that I am grateful for. I do it in the morning when my brain is still fuzzy so it can be tricky to come up with 5. But it also brings my brain into a place of thankfulness right away in the morning. 

Which is how I would rather start my day! 

I like being thankful every day!

You don’t need to be thankful only in November. However, if you can start now in November. Try choosing to be thankful every day and see how it changes things for you. 

If you just do it from now until the end of the year, in the next 43 days, you can see for yourself how it changes your thinking. 

I think you will notice some good changes. Your frequency will be higher and you will find more things to be positive about!

Get Out Your Journals

If you are already one who journals, just start your list there. You don’t have to create something new. 

But if you are the creative type, feel free to get your creative juices flowing and create something fun! I have seen some great ideas that look so fun to try! Maybe get out your sketchbook and draw out GRATITUDE, and then add in the things you are grateful for each day. Draw it out. Use fun colors to write out the words in different fonts. 

The key is to let it be easy for you. 

I am almost at the end of this journal. I am thinking about what I want my next Gratitude Journal to look like. Maybe something more artsy.. We will see. 

All you really need is something to make a list on. And, your willingness to be thankful for the things around you. 

Start here:

Comment 5 things you are thankful for today.

Add the type of Gratitude journal you are going to try for the next 43 days, if you feel bold.

Personally, I am so GRATEFUL for YOU!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!