Will Pye - The Gratitude Prescription: Harnessing the Power of Thankfulness for Healing and Happiness

In this remarkable book, Will Pye shows us the radical, transformative power of real gratitude. Moving far beyond clichd smell the roses advice, he draws on his experiences with brain cancer to reveal the healing, inspiration, and love in thankfulness in even the worst possible situations. Grounded in scientific research and offering both practical suggestions and effective meditations, these pages are full of Wills honest, encouraging, and warmhearted voice. A lovely, important book.

Rick Hanson, PhD , author of Just One Thing and Resilient

Copious scientific evidence links gratitude to greater happiness, as well as mental and physical health. But the how of milking gratitude for its medicinal properties is often vague. Fortunately, The Gratitude Prescription is just what the doctor ordered. Overflowing with practical, actionable gratitude practices, those who want to optimize their thankfulness for the purposes of healing and happiness can now follow their intuition in choosing among the many tools this book offers. How do we know if we can trust this guidance? Because Will Pye writes from direct experience. As a man who found a way to be grateful for even his brain tumor as part of his journey to cure, you can bet theres no better teacher of radical gratitude.

Lissa Rankin, MD , New York Times bestselling author of Mind Over Medicine and The Daily Flame

As always with Will Pyes work, The Gratitude Prescription starts with a simple but powerful premise before taking the reader on a ride deep into what it means to a human being who is alive, whole, and transformed.

Nick Jankel , founder of the transformation company Switch On, and author of Spiritual Atheist

In this extraordinary book, Will Pye guides readers through a rich journey of deep healing and transformation. Simple yet impactful exercises illuminate the power of gratitude both for well-being and for supporting realization of your inherent unity consciousness. Along with Wills inspiring story and life-changing insights, his book paves the way for readers to directly experience their innate happiness and what it means to be and live fully alive.

Carole Griggs, PhD , author of Space to See Reality , cofounder of iConscious, and professor of conscious human development at John F. Kennedy University

The Gratitude Prescription is an exquisite blend of scientific and spiritual truths, inspiring readers to explore for themselves the practical wisdom of radical gratitude. Truly a timely and much-needed resource.

Linda Graham, MFT , author of Bouncing Back and Resilience

What does it mean to be fully human? This is the question that Will Pyes brilliant new book explores. His own experiences with a brain tumor, and the profound mystical states it enables him to access, are presented here, but in a manner that allows us to follow along. Deeply experiential in its orientation, Will doesnt ask us to take anything he says on faith. Instead he guides us through exercises and meditations designed to show us a deeper view of ourselves and our worldfor ourselves. Bolstered by cutting-edge brain science, developmental psychology, and physics, even skeptics will come to understand why gratitude and love are what Wills long and profound journey have left him holding, as the two greatest ways we can live as human beings.

Keith Martin-Smith , award-winning author of A Heart Blown Open and Only Everything

Resting on a foundation of gratitude, Will Pye beckons us back home to who we really are at our essencebeing, breath, and awareness. Who we are is so much bigger than any experience we have or circumstance we find ourselves in. Will helps us reconnect to the profound simplicity of our beingto the Love that we areand find everything we need to navigate the ups and downs of this journey called Life. Thank you, Will Pye.

Alan Seale , director of the Center for Transformational Presence, and author of Transformational Presence

Will Pyes message is so simple, but it is also uncompromising and strong: See what happens if you are gratefulfor everything. Really? Yep! The whole bittersweet journey. Love it all. After reading this beautiful book it feels the natural thing to do, and thats a life-changing realization.

Tim Freke , best-selling author of Deep Awake and Soul Story

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright 2019 by Will Pye

Reveal Press

An imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA 94609

www.newharbinger.com

Cover design by Amy Shoup; Interior design by Michele Waters-Kermes; Acquired by Ryan Buresh; Edited by Melanie Bell

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file

Contents

Introduction: Prescription

In essence, regardless of the shape that life takes before us, there is only ever one thing happening. It is your true nature, the source of wholeness and well-being. Beyond all ideas including those of good and bad, it is within, beyond, and unites this world of duality.

This book is designed to support the realization of the healed, happy being that you already are. It will guide you in cultivating thankfulness that encompasses your fragmented parts, your despair, your sadness, and your shame. In doing this, youll encounter wholeness.

This book invites you to awaken your power of inner alchemy. Its your superpowerthe ability to consciously wield attention, choose meaning, and transform shit into gold. You can bring soothing light into the darkness and allow loving presence to transmute your pain. This book is a guide to cease suffering by loving suffering, discover freedom, and be the change you wish to see in the world.

There is a part of you, present now, that is at peace, joyful, content. It is grateful for all experience, no matter the naturepainful or pleasurable. It is who you truly are. This book is about remembering what we are, for the fun of it! This precious human life is of such importance. We benefit from remembering to infuse it with joy, play, curiosity, and laughter at every opportunity. Gratitude helps such infusion immensely.

I am grateful for this book finding you and for you reading it. I trust that your experience of reading it will give rise to similar feelings of appreciation. I feel gratitude for the possibility that it may just change your life and the lives of people around you for the better.

By way of an introduction, lets begin with a question. What do a bitter and traumatic family breakup, addiction, bouts of suicidal depression, an ever-breaking heart at a world gone mad, grand mal seizures, financial loss, and brain cancer have in common?

I have found they are all great opportunities for growth and service. I have discovered that gratitude both cured any suffering Ive experienced and allowed the resolution and opportunity contained within these challenges to be found immediately.

This is indicative of the potential power of gratitude. If you allow it, and play along wholeheartedly, it will change your mind, change your brain, and transform your world. Mastering gratitude allows our flourishing not in spite of lifes intensity and challenge but because of them.