In this guided video, Bridgeen from Immeasurable Minds addresses the widespread anxiety caused by collective trauma and proposes gratitude as a simple yet powerful antidote. She references teachings from Zen master Thích Nhất Hạnh—who equated gratitude with happiness—and Oprah Winfrey, who calls gratitude her top spiritual practice, to establish credibility. Bridgeen then introduces a concrete, hand‑based technique called the "10‑finger gratitude exercise," where the viewer sequentially focuses on each finger while naming one thing they are grateful for, ranging from basic necessities to small, whimsical items. She emphasizes the importance of noticing everyday blessings, especially during difficult moments, and shares a personal hospital story where a nurse’s kindness became a focal point of gratitude. Throughout, she encourages daily, incremental practice, reminding viewers not to judge themselves if gratitude feels hard, and invites them to share their experiences.
Chapters
Hiya, it's Bridgeen from Immeasurable Minds, and tonight I want to talk to you about the practice of gratitude. So we're all going through this collective trauma, this collective fear and anxiety right now, and it's difficult for everybody. All of our lives have been impacted. Many people are sharing with me that they feel anxious, That they feel scared, that they're worried. There's quite a lot of unhappy people out there, and it's 100% totally normal. And there's lots of things we can do, and there's lots of things you are already doing. This is a very small, subtle practice that you can do on a daily basis, and it will make a huge difference. There's been lots of research into this practice, and it's called gratitude. Gratitude. So remembering to practice gratitude every day starts to incline your mind towards happiness, no matter what situation you may find yourself in. So my teacher, Thích Nhất Hạnh, one day I was in Plum Village, it was on a 21-day retreat in June 2016, and I was taking notes when he was talking and I stopped. I heard him say, the moment you stop being grateful, is the moment you stop being happy. I thought that was really powerful. I took it and I wrote it down and put it under my emails, so I had to tell everybody this. But, you know, he's obviously a very wise Zen master teacher. He knew a lot of things. He was already in his 90s when he said that. So, you know, you can't be stressed, worried, and fearful and grateful at the same time. So, when we practice gratitude, we're letting go of some of the negativity and the difficult emotions that we're experiencing. Gratitude is a really simple practice, but it is really powerful. Oprah Winfrey, who is a very powerful, successful woman, she says that gratitude is her number one spiritual practice. So, there are many, many different ways to practice gratitude. A lot of people talk about gratitude journals. You can get them on apps as well, and you can get a nice journal, make it pretty, and write down 5 things every day that you feel grateful for. That's really powerful. I knew someone who told me, she said she did a gratitude journal every day for a year and it changed her life. That's all she did, she didn't do anything else. So it's very interesting. The practice I'm going to teach you tonight just requires Hands. This requires a few fingers, and it's called the 10-finger gratitude exercise. Okay, so I want you all out there, if you're watching this video, to hold your thumb. I want you to hold your thumb and close your eyes just for a moment and think one thing that you feel grateful for. It could be that you have Enough food in the house. When you've thought of one thing, I want you to move to the next finger. Maybe you feel grateful that you have a roof over your head, somewhere to sleep tonight. And we move to the next finger. Maybe you're grateful for friends, for family. Keep going, move to the next finger. And so on. And I really encourage you to think of the little things as well. It's the little things that really make a huge difference. We're going to do all 10 fingers. Someone told me they're grateful for buttons. Somebody else said chocolate buttons. I had to agree. I'm really grateful for nature at the minute, for the signs of spring. I'm so, so, so grateful for the frontline workers, for the NHS staff, the doctors, the people who are doing their best and risking a lot to keep us safe. I'm really grateful for my online community. Thank you everybody for watching. I'm really grateful for the practice of mindfulness. So once you start with gratitude, sometimes you can't stop. Though sometimes it is hard, you know, don't beat yourself up if you find it difficult to feel grateful right now because there are so many difficulties. Just start with maybe one or two things and build it up every day, and always look for something new every day, something that you can feel grateful for in every day, even on the darkest day, even in the worst time. A few months ago, I ended up in hospital. It was something I didn't want to be happening, and it was happening. And in the middle of the night, a nurse woke me up and she gave me tea and toast. And I said, I don't want it. And she insisted that I have it. And it was so kind. It was so kind. I never see her again. I don't know who she was, but I was really grateful to that, even in the midst of difficult situation, there can be a little point of gratitude. And if you can focus on that, if you can remember the good things, you can notice the helpers, the kind people, the blue sky, that'll make a difference. So let me know how you get on. I'd love to hear about it. Thank you.
