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How Gratitude Can Boost Your Immune System


“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” ~Robert Brault

Little Gems of Wisdom & Fun from Mary Lynn Ziemer

Our personal health and that of our loved ones is at the forefront of our minds every day now. So, what can we do to stay healthy, given the situation we are faced with? How can we actually take advantage of the incredible power we have inside of us to stay in a healthy state?

NY Times best-selling author and scientist Gregg Braden noted the following in his recently released "Smarter, Stronger, Faster" series. “...new discoveries in science are showing that each day we have opportunities to replenish our life force within. Science is proving that our internal environment plays perhaps the strongest role in allowing us to live with greater longevity.” Our daily health is dependent on our thoughts, our beliefs, and our feelings.


We must take care of ourselves by tending to our inner selves and how we feel at all times. As Gregg Braden asks, “Do we feel a sense of well-being and safety?”


He states that, “How we feel in our heart is based on our perceptions and is sending signals to the brain for either a sense of well-being, or not. Either way, the brain is releasing the chemistry into the body that matches those feelings.”

So, how can we experience rejuvenation and the chemistry of a strong immune system? By engaging in a strong practice of living from our hearts!

When we live from our hearts, we cultivate a calm mindset at every turn. A calm mindset allows us to live in the flow and make choices that our aligned with our heart. It’s the upward spiral of love and calm where the magic and miracles of perfect health reside.


This requires that we make choices that fill our love tank every moment of every day. Why? Because we create our life based on how we feel. When we feel good, when we feel lots of love and gratitude and we are having fun. (Yes, FUN!... Especially at this time!) When we are making heartfelt choices throughout our day, we will be calm. There is no other way it can work. When we feel good, our mind is calm. In that calmness, the heart and its 40,000 most powerful cells in our body, send signals to our brain to release good feeling hormones like oxytocin into our bodies, fueling every one of our 50 to 60 trillion cells, and creating healthier bodies yet.

It’s certainly true that we must all tend to our external environment as well, by taking actions that bring us peace of mind. It is a given that we will get what we expect and focus on. So, ensure your sense of peace and calm by taking actions now that serve you well. Well serving beliefs will always make you feel good and bring you peace of mind. They will always get you closer to your intention. Just be sure that in the process of caring for yourself, you live from your most natural state of love.  This most loving being that you are will always be respectful, kind, and loving with others as well. This is how you will know that your mindset is calm in relationship to others. Loving others is always a wonderful “side effect”.

Start with feeling more gratitude than you have ever felt before

Gratitude is a practice of the heart! Enjoy how wonderful it feels to be grateful for everything you have right now, big and small, especially around your health.  Then, watch all of those blessings multiply for you. When you are grateful for what you already have, with certainty, you will always receive more of it.  Start focusing on the gifts of your present state of health and you will see more of it come about.

And remember, if having improved health is one of your goals at this time, know that the quickest way there is by feeling good about the state of health that you have now! There is always something to be grateful for… just the fact that we exist!  We have this amazing adventure called "life" to live every day, so just look at all the parts of your body that are functioning now in this adventure and be intensely grateful for them.  Do this all day long, and you will begin to shift your focus to all that you already have, and your health will improve.

Next, visualize what you would like to have more of and feel lots of gratitude for it in advance. Imagine that it is already yours and feel lots of love for the situation, everyone and everything involved. Just feel and send love from your heart to activate the power of those 40,000 cells.  Our brain does not know the difference between your current reality and your imagination, it just wants to please you.  So, you just have to tell it what you want by focusing on the outcome that you desire.

Now and forevermore, have more fun by living life more deliberately in the present moment, while feeling more gratitude than ever before.  


Start by focusing on a few things you’re grateful for in your life before you even get out of bed. Then say to yourself, "Today is the best day of my life. I have lots of fun, and I smile and laugh often." 


Then, as you go through your day, find what you are grateful for in that moment, keeping a smile on your face. No matter what you are doing, tell yourself that you are grateful for that activity, the people you are with (or the technology to stay in touch with those you are not physically with), and everything that you have in that moment. You will always feel best when you bask in the delight of your life right now. 


And here’s some other really great news! There have been various studies done in the past 15 years around improving your health through the power of gratitude. According to these studies, you can expect to see greatly improved health by being more grateful. (I fully support these results, as I often see my clients’ health improve in many areas as a result of feeling more gratitude). 

Here are just a few of many results worth mentioning. NOW is the time to take advantage of the power of gratitude for increased calm and a stronger immune system: 

1) Patients with hypertension were instructed to count their blessings once a week. As a result there was a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure.

2) Keeping a gratitude journal reduced depressive symptoms by 30%+ for as long as the practice continued. Plus, participants reported 25% increased sleep quality and 8% more sleep, 19% more time spent exercising, 10% less physical pain, and 16% fewer physical symptoms.

3) One gratitude visit reduced depressive symptoms by 35% for several weeks.

4) Levels of gratitude significantly correlated with vitality and energy. 

5) Gratitude correlated with improved sleep quality (29 %), less time required to fall asleep (20%) increased sleep duration (14%)


Remember, you create your world based on how you feel... and being grateful feels very good! When you are feeling lots of gratitude, living in the NOW, your feelings of love increase. And, love has a direct link to the brain.  Feel more love and feel more healthy today! 


Have an absolutely magical week full of love, gratitude and fun, fun, FUN!

~Mary Lynn Ziemer

If this message inspired you, please forward it to a friend, colleague, client, or family member to brighten their day as well!

Need help feeling more joy today? Contact me for an initial Coaching session at (239) 444-3133.

Looking for a fun and engaging keynote speaker for your event? I am happy to consider speaking at any size event. Please call me at (239) 444-3133, or email your event details to: MaryLynn@LivingAJoyfulLifeNow.com

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