Mind-Bending Truth: Gratitude Isn't Just Thanks—It's Your Portal to Universal Unity! Ep 95 Must-Listen! 扭曲心智的真理：感恩不僅是感謝——它是通往宇宙統一的入口！ 第 95 集必聽！

🚨 What If Gratitude Was Your Secret Portal to TOTAL Oneness with the Universe? 😲 Discover the Spiritual Hack That Turns Bad Days into Bliss—You Won't Believe How Simple It Is! 🌟 Episode 95 of Taiwanica Podcast Is HERE!

Hey, spiritual seekers and positivity pros! 👋 In this mind-blowing episode of Taiwanica, hosts Anita (our science whiz) and Eric (the spiritual guide) dive DEEP into gratitude from a spiritual lens. Forget the basics—this is about unlocking UNION, oneness, and that unbreakable connection to everything around you! 🌍

From breathing in sync with trees 🌳 (yep, your exhale is their inhale!) to ditching religious myths while embracing humility... Eric drops gems on:

• Why gratitude crushes isolation, anger, and frustration by reminding you WE'RE ALL LIFE! 🔥
• Simple starters: Thank your breath, your mortality, your food—boom, instant cosmic alignment! 🍲
• Bad day blues? Recognize the mind's tricks, snap back to bliss, and watch your intellect SKYROCKET (studies say +100% productivity! 📈)
• Goals & growth? They're mind games, but gratitude fuels REAL progress without the ego trip.
• The ultimate truth: Gratitude unwraps the gifts ALREADY in your life—like opening a wrapped present you forgot about! 🎁

Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned soul-searcher, this ep will flip your perspective and supercharge your daily vibe. Anita and Eric make it fun, profound, and totally relatable—perfect follow-up to our science take on gratitude!

Tune in NOW and transform your world—one thankful breath at a time! 🎧 Link in bio/comments. Got questions? Hit up Eric @eric_mathews_coach on IG for that spiritual glow-up! 📩

🚨 如果感恩是通往宇宙完全合一的秘密入口呢？😲 發現這個靈性祕訣，能將糟糕的一天轉化為極樂——你絕對不會相信它有多簡單！🌟 Taiwanica 播客第 95 集來了！

嘿，靈性探索者和正面能量高手們！👋 在這一集令人震撼的 Taiwanica 播客中，主持人 Anita（我們的科學達人）和 Eric（靈性導師）深入探討感恩從靈性視角的奧秘。忘掉基礎知識吧——這是關於解鎖合一、統一，以及與周遭一切不可斷的連結！🌍

從與樹木同步呼吸🌳（沒錯，你的呼氣就是它們的吸氣！）到擺脫宗教迷思並擁抱謙卑……Eric 分享了這些寶貴見解：

• 為什麼感恩能粉碎孤立、憤怒和挫折，因為它提醒你我們都是生命！🔥
• 簡單入門：感謝你的呼吸、你的有限生命、你的食物——轟，瞬間宇宙對齊！🍲
• 壞日子藍調？認清心智的把戲，迅速回到極樂，然後看你的智力飛躍（研究顯示生產力提升 100%！📈）
• 目標與成長？它們是心智遊戲，但感恩能為真正進步注入燃料，而不帶自我膨脹。
• 終極真理：感恩能拆開已經存在於你生命中的禮物——就像打開一個你忘記的包裝禮物！🎁

無論你是新手還是資深靈魂探索者，這一集將翻轉你的視角，並超充你的日常氛圍。Anita 和 Eric 讓它有趣、深刻且超級親切——完美接續我們科學視角的感恩探討！

現在就收聽，轉變你的世界——一次感恩的呼吸！🎧 連結在 bio/留言中。有問題？在 IG 上聯絡 Eric @eric_mathews_coach，來場靈性升級吧！📩

Transcript

Hello, everybody. Welcome to Taiwanica. This is episode 95, talking about gratitude practice from the spiritual point of view. Hello, everybody. Hello, again. This is Anita. Today, joining us will be another amazing, very spiritual host. His name is Eric. 
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to Taiwanica podcast. If you're new here, welcome. Uh, we're very glad to have you join us because nowadays we are doing some great new practices on how to increase your spiritual and positive mental thinking so you can become a better version of yourself. Uh, so a little bit more about what we're going to be doing today is, um, previously in our last episode, we talked about the scientific point of view of life. Gratitude, which Anita is our science nerd and I am the spiritual nerd of the two. So we decided that we should do both perspectives because even though gratitude is something pretty basic for to understand, there's a lot of depth to it if you look at it from different angles. And that's why we're here today to do the spiritual side. So excited to get started. 
Yeah. I think every time when people think about gratitude practice, it's not hard to link. This is a spiritual practice. But as a spiritual teacher, guide, a guru, if you call yourself that, uh, can you give us a quick introduction of how and why, um, you know, how to explain gratitude practice from a spiritual point of view? 
Sure. Well, gratitude, first of all, is an expression of giving thanks for something. And when you look at from a spiritual lens, everything about spirituality is about teaching union, and oneness and connection with everything that is happening around you in this world. So, and in this universe, I guess I should say. But the thing that is really important to understand about spirituality and gratitude is simply we have a capability of recognizing things that are happening around us all the time. And if we are capable of progressing with understanding the world around us beyond this body and beyond this mind, then we're not no longer feeling individualized, you know, the opposite of being connected with everything. And this is very, very much possible to happen in the society today of how we have designed the world. But the thing is, at the same time, is we have millions upon trillions of examples of how we can find ourselves connected to the world around us. So, a very simple example of how we can find ourselves connected to the world around us. So, a very simple example of that is every time that I exhale, a tree breathes in my exhalation. And the other way around, every time a tree exhales, I breathe in. It's exhalation because we inhale oxygen as humans and trees exhale oxygen and vice versa. So, this is a connection that is dependent on each other. There's a union here. And that's not, this is one of many. So, the idea of expressing gratitude in these areas is, how can you focus on what is beyond you? What is something that is greater than who you are as an individual person experiencing life? Because, in the end of the day, we are all life. And we're trying to, as individual experiences, make that connection. But whenever we experience things opposite of gratitude, like anger, frustration, or loneliness, then these things will easily create the possibility for us to start to disconnect from that unification. So, the whole idea of doing these things is to make sure that we can continue to have unification and not get so stuck in this idea that we are separate from everything else. 
Then I am going to bring up the most common-asked question when every time mentioning a spiritual practice is mentioning about, or gratitude practice is mentioning about, is it has anything to do with religious background? 
Does it have to do with religious background? Well, let's talk about religion, what it is. Religion is, based on every part of the world, is different. But the main idea of religion is that it's creating a story for a specific group of people that can connect with something that is greater than themselves. And that will hopefully bring a sense of peace and solitude for those people. And that kind of way of thinking helps people feel like, oh, okay, so I don't have to get lost in my craziness, because I feel like my craziness is not just mine, but it's also a relationship with everybody else. And this is, the interesting thing about religion is that it works. It's a very, you know, cheap version of therapy that helps people realize that the negativity inside their mind is not actually causing them real pain. It's just a story that they feel very much related to. And so because of this, there's religion. There's the story that helps us feel like we can connect to something greater than ourselves. But the problem with religion, and I'm walking very gently here, so I'm not offending anybody. The only problem with religion is that there's still this sense of isolation in each religion. My God is the correct God, or my way is the right way. And every other religion, the idea is that if it's not their religion, then there is a problem. Somehow there is not a connection here. And not all religions are like that, but in a sense, they all have a little bit of a color or a taste that says, this God or this way of believing is going to take you to the ultimate, and this is the only way. And that's how those stories are designed. And so it's a really good stepping stone to creating this sense of oneness. And it's a great way to practice gratitude, because every religion has a sense of prayer, or a sense of stillness. But at the same time, a person should walk cautiously in a religion to not fully see this one God or this one way as the only way to be able to find self-realization or to go to heaven. Because if that's not the case, there's many different religions that have been created. And if you look at, you know, sciences of spirituality, there's actually over tens of thousands of ways that people have found self-realization that have been discovered over the existence of humanity. But the main thing about this is that if we want to practice gratitude, just remember the simple things. Practice humility, knowing that you are not the universe, okay? You are a part of the universe. And noticing that you're not the hero of your story, you're just a piece of that story. You know, being a character of it rather than the whole entire picture. And then also realizing that everything that you do affects everything around you because everything is intertwined. So if you find a sense of peace inside of yourself, that's not only within you, but you start spreading it around you. So gratitude is simply recognizing the true nature of who you are and the world around you. Things can go crazy at any given moment. But if you don't react and you express gratitude about recognizing, oh, there's a negative thing. But I'm still recognizing that I'm not that thing. I'm just a part of this thing. And I have a choice on how I want to respond to it. And you respond in a way that's humble, that's compassionate, that's ever so connecting and loving. Then you're not only making this individual experience that you're recognizing in your body, in your mind. But also you're helping the entire experience to generate a more positive outcome. 
That's really good. I mean, because that's like the most common question asked is like religious, spiritual. Practice, prayers, and, you know, gratitude practice. So based on your point of view, how can a individual started to practice this? What you so call like unity or oneness through gratitude practice? Do you have any suggestions on how they do it? How they're addressing their gratitude towards you? You know, how to start, basically. 
Sure. Well, there's lots of different ways that you can express gratitude to understand yourself as one with the universe. So the main things that you can try is simply focusing on simple functions of life. One way that I suggest is you can recognize that you are a piece of this universe simply by recognizing your mortality. So knowing that you're going to die one day. Because a lot of people, sure, they know that other people die. But they don't. It's not a common thought for people to think about their own death and how that is definitely possible at any given time. Because, I mean, if you look at life around you, there are people who die from freak accidents or just even in their sleep on a constant basis. A quarter of a million people die in their sleep every single night. Nothing else. Not for any other medical condition. Just natural death in their sleep. And there is no guarantee that you and I are not going to be one of those people. And so because of that, we can simply recognize one time every hour, you know, I'm still here. I'm still alive. And that's an act of gratitude because you are recognizing that you're not a story in your mind. You're actually a piece of this whole story that's happening all around us all the time. And you're still allowed to play. So that's something to be grateful for, that you're still here. If you want to take it beyond just your mortality, then the easiest thing to do is to recognize the things around you. For example, every time you take a breath, you can say thank you for that breath. Because if you were to take a deep breath right now and then exhale, but then after you exhale, if you couldn't breathe in again, well, poof, you're gone. It's over. And that's how fragile it is to be done with life. So every breath is an act of gratitude because if you have another breath, you have another chance of life. So these are simple things that you can do. Also, being grateful for the food that you eat, being grateful for the water that you drink. All of these sustain the body and the mind. So if you want to express gratitude easily, focusing on these little elements of life will make it very simple for you to recognize how important these things are to maintain the current life that you're experiencing. 
Yeah, I have another life circumstances. 
Like, what if I just don't feel like gratitude feeling grateful today? I just don't feel like doing the gratitude practice because nothing goes in my way. You know, I maybe got up in the morning. I was like, I'm so ready for the day. But, you know, things happened. And then that day just kind of like, you know, quote unquote, bad day. And I just don't feel like grateful for anything that happened that day. How can I? What should I do? 
Well, the first thing is definitely recognizing what you just said. There is an individual experience. You're recognizing that you are separate from the universe in that kind of moment where you're having a bad day, even though the universe could be having a great day. So in a sense, you're individualized from that experience when you're saying something like that. So if you're experiencing that kind of feeling where today is a bad day, that's not you. Because the universe is always in the same kind of experience of absolute bliss. If you want to experience bliss or absolute joy, if you want to experience joy, it's always available. But the only reason that you're not experiencing right now is because your mind is making you believe that you're not allowed to have it right now. For one little thing that is not going your way. So when that is happening, you got to remind yourself at that moment, this anger, this anxiety, this frustration, is this real? Or is this something that I'm creating within myself? Because once you recognize that, just simply recognizing it, you automatically are not it anymore. And that's a separation from the story that you created in your mind. So if you create that separation, then you can remember what you actually are, which is a piece of the universe. And once you remind yourself of this, the mind game ends and you're back in oneness. Or in other words, what people call today as presence. 
So based on what you say, it just basically go back to yourself. Every time when you are going through your life every day, on a day-to-day basis, you just go back to yourself. Like, remind yourself you are just a piece of the universe. And then the universe is just going in a blissful way. And you are just experiencing that. Then, now I'm just curious, how do you, like, cooperate with motivation? Because if everything just goes back to the self, and then what about achieving goals? What about, you know, accomplish something? Maybe sometimes we're facing some challenges. Is it, you know, the best way to always go back to yourself and enjoy that present moment of completely stillness or blissful moment? Is it going to help us to move forward? Because by the sound of it, from the spiritual point of view, you always go back to the root, which is your self. And where, how can I help myself to do, like, self-growth? And, you know, just basically in life, how can I thrive with my big ideas and big goals? 
Well, I think this question is targeting two different things. So, let's talk about them separately. First, accomplishments and goals. From a spiritual point of view, one of the ultimate truths of life is there are no accomplishments and goals. What you are striving and achieving for is still a mind game. Something that makes you feel individualized compared to being one with the universe. So, whatever you're hoping to gain or achieve is something that you believe is something that only you can have. And if you don't have it, then your life was not a justified life. So, it's a game that you play with yourself. And in reality, there is no such thing. Because oneness with the universe is you are okay with whatever is happening at that moment. Whether it's joyful or angry or whatever it is. You're experiencing something that your mind and body have created. And if you express gratitude towards it. And this is really well explained in our previous episode. I recommend you check it out. Because when you express gratitude towards it, you can see what is the game inside of that. For you to become more connected to oneness rather than feeling that separation exists still. So, it's okay to have goals. It's okay to have dreams. And this body and mind are designed for you to create magical things. But the idea is if you are feeling separated from the oneness of the universe. And it's because of some sort of negative thing that's created in your mind. That you're not gaining progress or motivation towards getting to your goals. You have to realize that this is actually keeping you even further away from whatever that is. So, if you go back to the root of yourself and bliss and joy, then naturally, you're going to be feeling even more intellectual at that moment. There actually have been studies that have been done that if you are absolutely feeling a great sense of gratitude, love, or joy. Even in a negative experience, your intellect goes up by 100%. That means you're actually going to be more capable of getting things done. More focused and absolutely productive. So, yes. The answer to your question is, if you want to have more success, going back to the root is going to be the absolute best. 
Then, is practicing gratitude the way to release my negativity? 
Practicing gratitude will help you realize what the negativity is. There's no need for release because every essence of life has assigned a divinity in terms of spirituality. And divinity is just talking about the divine sense of blissfulness in anything in life. So, even a monk or a priest, if they were to experience the devil or in, you know, other traditions, they would call it things like the maya or, you know, the negative energy or a ghost or whatever it may be. But, um, this entity itself is still part of the universe. So, and that means that too also has divine nature, blissful nature. So, if you are experiencing negativity in that moment, you have to see what is the good inside of it. Because if you can find the good, and that's what gratitude does, it helps you find the good in the negativity. Then, in a sense, you have now learned and grown from that experience. 
Oh, I like it. It's really good. I've been challenging you with these questions. I mean, you're doing great. 
Good job. Thank you. 
Well, last question. From your point of view, as a person who has done spiritual practice for so long, what is the truth about gratitude? 
What is the truth about gratitude? 
Gratitude means it has already happened. 
So, everything that you feel grateful for is for something that has already occurred. And you're just realizing it now. 
So, this is a sense of thank you for something that you have been given. And gratitude gives you the ability to see it. You have awareness of it. And if you don't express gratitude, then you can't truly see what you have been given. It may still be there, but it's kind of like receiving a gift from somebody wrapped in a package, but you never open the package and see what's inside. Receiving the gift is great, but if you don't open it, how are you going to know what it is? So, gratitude is the same thing. 
Oh, very profound episode. Good job, Eric. 
Thanks, Nina. 
You're so very welcome. Thank you for sharing your spiritual point of view about this. Appeared to be a simple action. You know, like everybody who's been talking about, you know, gratitude practice. You're just like, you know, just take a few moments and be grateful for what's happening. It sounds easy, but once you put into this perspective, you know that it's actually very powerful and profound. And it's very meaningful. Just, you know, you just add this practice to your day-to-day life. You can have so much benefit to gain. I hope you guys enjoyed the episode today. Which one, you know, speaks to your language, right? Like, because basically what we've been teaching is the same thing, but just different language. So, if you have any feedbacks, please feel free to leave a message or, you know, just leave us a message or send us a feedback on all the platforms that you're listening from. 
Great. Sounds great. Thank you, Anita, for being a wonderful host today. 
Thank you so much for being a wonderful, wonderful instructor of our episode today. 
And we'll see you again next time