Hello Dear Friends, Cultural Creatives & Seekers Everywhere, Thanksgiving … The Expression of Gratitude
In the United States and Canada, citizens traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving as a time of honoring the harvest season and other blessings of the past year. The American Thanksgiving celebration was historically based upon a 1621 harvest feast shared by the Pilgrims of Plymouth with the Indigenous Wampanoag people.
The expression of gratitude is a conscious, positive emotion of feeling thankful for something, whether it is something tangible (e.g., food) or intangible (e.g., friendship). The celebration’s intention is to acknowledge other gestures towards us or things that are going well in our lives.
A mind expressing gratitude induces the brain to release a barrage of hormones and growth factors into the blood that epigenetically engage a healthy, vital physiology. Additionally, the biochemistry of gratitude activates telomerase, an enzyme that elongates the telomere tips on DNA, a physical process that extends life span.
While the biology of gratitude enhances our inner biology, it profoundly influences the character of the life we are living. Electroencephalographs (EEG), using electrodes attached to the scalp, reveal the positive influence of gratitude on empowering brain activity (consciousness) within the skull. Magnetoencephalograph (MEG), a newer device that reads brain functions, uses probes that don’t even touch the body.
“Why is this relevant?!” It reveals that our thoughts are not contained within our heads but are broadcast into the environment like ripples on a pond. In contrast to the Newtonian perspective that the Universe is comprised of two realms, physical matter, and immaterial energy, quantum physics reveals that the Universe consists of only one realm … energy. Matter is simply a strange expression of energy. As Einstein offered, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one.”
To visualize the world in terms of energy, imagine a pond during a rainstorm. As each rain drop hits the surface of the pond, it generates concentric rings of expanding ripples. An important observation is that all the rings are entangled with one another, there are no rings that are isolated from the others. The point: In an energy Universe, all energy waves are entangled, interfering with each other. Everything in the Universe is connected to everything else!
However, when two or more energy waves are in harmony, which means the vibration patterns of their waves are symmetrical and moving at the same rate (frequency), their entanglement can enhance their collective power (make higher waves), or when “out-of-phase” can cancel or flatten their waves. These characters are referred to as constructive interference (good vibes) or destructive interference (bad vibes), respectfully.
Thoughts are translated into broadcast wave patterns that interact with other “resonant” (harmonious) energy fields in the environment. Through constructive interference, a positive thought will engage and empower other energies in the environment that are in harmony with our wishes and desires. In contrast, through destructive interference, a negative thought, will engage, activate, negative energies in the world that are challenging or threatening.
Karma is the concept that “What you put out comes back to you.” Another way of saying this is, “What goes around comes around.” The life experiences activated by positive and negative thoughts shape the character of our lives. Yes, this concept sounds kind of “New Agey.” However, this insight is, in fact, a primary principle of the most valid of all the sciences, quantum physics. As an article in the prestigious scientific journal, Nature, by physicist Richard Conn Henry, concludes, “The universe is immaterial – it’s mental and spiritual. Live and enjoy.”1 The idea that our mental activity shapes our life experiences is a fact of science!
The significance of a Thanksgiving celebration is that it provides an opportunity to reflect on life’s positive experiences. The thoughts of which, in turn, vitalize our lives and enhance our future experiences. A significant consequence of expressing gratitude is when we are engaged in this emotion it is impossible to also be hateful, angry, or fearful. Perhaps the most important lesson we can learn is to celebrate Thanksgiving … everyday!
In this time of giving thanks, the Mountain of Love family at www.brucelipton.com acknowledges our deepest gratitude for you and yours in supporting our community of cultural creatives seeking a better world.
Wishing YOU Health, Peace, and Happiness. Bruce
Well thank you, sir. That is good stuff right there. I hope you and your family and friends have a happy Thanksgiving as well.
