How to heal

When I started my Gratitude Series over two months ago, lots of things were happening around me and through it all, I noticed a common theme – no matter how bad life appeared to be, I had so many things to be grateful for.

In the past, people have told me that I am extremely fortunate to be in the lama’s mandala. I took its meaning for granted. I knew it was a good thing but did not really understand what they meant. It all sounded a little esoteric and “unnecessarily” (or so I perceived) complex.

So when I started my Gratitude Series, it was because I had realised what the mandala really is. The mandala is the environment around you that has manifested out of your lama’s kindness. It protects you, blesses you, provides what you need for your spiritual practice, and strengthens and encourages you to benefit others.

I find gratitude to be an extremely important contribution to a person’s sanity. Never mind spirituality, let’s not even go there yet because not everyone accepts it. But sanity, psychological well-being, it applies to all of us. Knowing how to be grateful is important because it stops us from spiralling down into a pit of bitterness, anger and lonely frustration.

If you want to mouth-off about how terrible your life is and how you have been treated so badly, stop. Just stop. Stop to think for a moment and realise that you have so many things to be grateful for and really, things are never as bad as we make them out to be.

So do you want to get on the road to healing? Do you want to stop feeling so bad about yourself? Do you want to learn the REAL secret to being beautiful? Be grateful!

Remember all of the things you’ve received (or taken, it depends on your perspective). Make a list and focus on the good points, not the bad. If you only focus on the bad points, you’ll only always focus on the bad points wherever you are. Result? It won’t matter where you are or who you’re with, you’ll always be unhappy because the problem was always you.

So go on, I dare you. Make that list of the good things that happened and admit to yourself it wasn’t and it isn’t all bad.

anger, compassion, gratitude, healing, health, love, spirituality Reflections and Teachings