There have been so many studies documenting the healing power of gratitude.  A regular practice of gratitude has been proven to lower blood pressure, reduce heart attacks, reduce, stress, increase better sleep and better digestion.  The list goes on.  In fact, there is not a single part of us that cannot be positively impacted by a proactive gratitude practice.

Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, healed herself of tuberculosis (a killer in the1880’s) in large part through a practice of sending her body thoughts of love and gratitude.  In addition to a positive affirmation she learned, she had a realization about the healing power of gratitude she described this way…

“Life has to be guided by intelligence in making all forms.  The same law works in my own body.  Life is simply a form of energy, and has to be guided and directed in man’s body by his intelligence.” How do we communicate intelligence? By thinking and talking, of course. Then it flashed upon me that I might talk to the life in every part of my body and have it do just what I wanted.  I began to teach my body and got marvelous results.”

She then began to go through all the organs and parts of her body and “spoke words of strength and power.”  She sent each organ love and expressed gratitude for them.  She would envision them functioning perfectly.  She says, “I told them they were no longer in bondage to the carnal mind; that they were not corruptible flesh, but center of life and energy omnipresent.”   Keep in mind it’s language from 1880’s.  But you get that she’s talking about raising her consciousness from the purely human-physical dimension and affirming the Absolute Truth from the Spiritual Realm – and not just words, but words filled with tons of feeling…tons of love and appreciation.

That’s key. Words, by themselves, really don’t have the power to change anything. It’s words coupled with feeling that has power.  We want our words to invoke a feeling-tone…a feeling-tone of love and tremendous gratitude.  That feeling-tone generates a vibration.  And it’s that vibration that lifts the physical body so healing can happen.

Would you like an experience of that right now? If so, follow along with my meditation here. (I will be posting the guided audio meditation soon, but for now you can read the following, get a sense of it, then close your eyes and allow the wisdom within you to guide you.)

Close your eyes and begin to take some slow, deep, cleaning breaths.  When you are relaxed and centered, bring your attention to an area of your body that may be giving your trouble, or that doesn’t feel 100% right now.  Now, bring to mind something, or someone you absolutely love.  Focus on the feeling of love, and allow that feeling to grow within you.  Now, consciously send that area of your body this abundant love.  Feel vibrant, glorious love infusing this area.  See it as a vibrant center of omnipresent life, glowing with radiant energy. Feel the beauty of the Divine radiating there.  Now, think about how this organ or part of your body has served you in your life. If it’s not functioning well now, think of a time it did function well. Feel gratitude welling up within you for all the days that part of your body functioned well — for all the times it worked in harmony with the trillions of other cells that work together in harmony with each other in your body every minute.  Express your joyous gratitude for this part of your body…and for your entire body.  It has served you so well in your life.  Much more than you realize right now.  Allow that joyous gratitude to grow and radiate throughout your entire body.  Now, feel that part of your body responding to your love and gratitude.  The cells within that area are waking up and allowing the innate wholeness that has always been there, to come back online.  They are waking up and blossoming like a flower feeling the loving, radiant warmth and light of the sun.  Enjoy bathing in this feeling for a few minutes.

Now, take a deep breath and bring your awareness back to the room.

Try this exercise daily for the next few weeks and see if it makes a difference in your health.  The science supports that indeed it will.  Let me know how it goes.

And check back here soon for a link to the audio of the above meditation.