Gratitude is a super power
Neuroscientists find that the medial prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex are involved in the self-perception of one’s life path, beneficial growth, motivation, and emotional intelligence. All the innate tools necessary to live a thriving and abundant life. FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) studies show us that when people express internal gratitude, bio-electric activation occurs in these same areas.
Like an on/off switch, gratitude connects with the brain’s reward center and creates a feeling of peace. It puts us in a state of consciousness that allows for better assessment and calm response, even while under pressure. Gratitude activates the brain’s default mode network, or DMN, which is involved in self identity, morality, and social relationships. With gratitude, the DMN becomes a more focused picture, which allows one to see more connections and opportunities as they occur in real time.
Gratitude also improves heart rate variability which gives more control over the parasympathetic nervous system. This allows for better impulse control, which inevitable leads to making better decisions. Gratitude also cultivates better sleep quality and lower inflammation.
Gratitude not only feels good, it brings beneficial resonance. There is a predictable effect when you practice gratitude, your life amazingly transforms for the best. This is a universal law that has been written about in most religions and esoteric traditions.
In the Torah, Psalm 50:23 says, “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me, and I will show him the way of salvation.”
In the New Testament, Philippians 4:6-7: “with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God……. shall keep your hearts and consciousnesses through Christ Jesus.”
Perhaps the most direct version of this is found in the Qur’an 14:7 – “If you are grateful, I will give you more.”
In Bhagavad Gita it is written: “If one offers with devotion, I will accept with love.” In Bhakti tradition it is taught that gratitude and devotion attract grace.
In Buddhism, gratitude is a foundational practice that cultivates awareness and compassion and leads to blessings in personal life.
In Sikhism, daily gratitude is said to lift the spirit and bring about auspicious outcomes.
Sufism teaches that gratitude attracts increase blessings.
Yoga teaches that gratitude is a clear, luminous state of consciousness that draws grace and auspicious events towards the practitioner.
Tao Te Ching says that contentment brings wealth, and in Hermetic traditions, the Principles of Correspondence and Vibration teach that a grateful inner state has a resonance that attracts more experiences to be grateful for.
Gratitude greatly increases opportunity, protection, guidance, harmony with others, self-sufficiency, and overall peace. This is true whether you choose to believe that it’s just the neuroscience of having better control of emotions, clearer perception, and stronger social bonds, or if you are aware that the world we live in resonates in response to the vibrations we generate. Either way, the more you give thanks, the better your life will be.
According to research, a common and effective practice is gratitude journaling, which implies listing several aspects we are grateful for at least three times per week, and then practicing a form of gratitude, of which there are many. A very efficient way to enter in resonance with the elevated energy of gratitude is to practice communion with the Godly Attribute of Godly Gratitude.
yogaesoteric
December 17, 2025
Also available in:
Română