Shanti has explored various kinds of meditation and spiritual practices for the past 20 years. He as a Philosophy degree at Melbourne University which birthed a great interest in Buddhism and other Asian traditions such as Hinduism and Taoism. In 2018 he released his first book “The Peaceful Place,” which is a simple guide to finding peace within yourself, and bringing a peaceful way of being into all aspects of your daily life. He is also the founder of “Daily Gratitude Space,” on Facebook which has almost 1500 members that share gratitude daily.
What does being grateful mean to you?
“To me, it means being present to the abundance that is here right now. There is always something to be grateful for, and there is usually a lot more to be grateful for than we realize. Gratefulness is the process of bringing those things into conscious awareness so that we can experience the joy that gratitude brings.
Right now, in this moment what are 3 things you are grateful for?
“Right now I’m grateful for the soft cushion I am sitting on, the soft morning sunlight coming through the window, and being able to relax and breath deeply as I write this. “
Who is the first person that comes to mind when you hear, “Someone in my life that I’m grateful for and why?”
“The first person I think of is my partner Samantha as she has a way of making me feel so loved every day. I’m also so grateful for the way we encourage each other to be a little bit crazy. “
What is your morning routine like?
“To be honest its a bit random at present. At times I have had a formal routine of doing various spiritual practices every morning. But at the moment I just do whatever I feel like at the time. That might be anything from lying in bed and enjoying doing nothing, to listening to a Mooji talk, doing some qi gong or meditation, or listening to some loud music on my way to work. Drinking my morning coffee is one of my favorite parts of the day too – a good chance to practice gratitude!”
What events led you to create Daily Gratitude Space?
“I was just lying in bed and the idea for the space popped into my head. And then 30 minutes later the group was live on Facebook. I was feeling a lot of gratitude for my life at the time and really wanted to share that with others. And I thought others might want to share their own gratitudes in a group too.
How has the page grown and possibly changed from your original vision for it?
“The Facebook group has certainly gone through some big phases. Sometimes its quite quiet and then sometimes there are 20 posts a day. It’s beautiful to see that the group has grown from 1 member to nearly 1500 members. I think the way that it has changed from my original vision is that for me the Daily Gratitude Space has now become a place to share my gratitude even on days when I am not feeling that grateful or abundant, and through that regular practice it has become easier and easier to feel more appreciation for my life and the people around me.”
Tell us about Daily Intention Space?
Daily Intention Space is a place to post your intentions for the day and is like a ‘sister’ site to the Daily Gratitude Space. Having a clear intention of what you want to do or the state of being you want to create for the day can make a big difference to how your day unfolds.
Can you tell us about a struggle in the past year that you are now grateful for?
I lost someone very close to me last year which was very devastating, and for a long while, I thought I would not ever feel grateful about it all. But more and more little things happen that remind me of her and I smile and feel grateful for all the fun and adventures we shared together. Practicing gratitude has really helped me to recover from it all and really appreciate how precious each moment we have together is on a new level.
Can you share with us some of the things you are excited about in 2020?
What is getting me most excited at the moment is getting into mountain bike riding. I feel very lucky there is an abundance of beautiful areas near me to ride and it makes me feel really alive when I do it. I’m also excited about a little project I’m working on to create a free online Poetry Jam Challenge which I will release on Facebook soon.
In closing, what are some suggestions that you can give our readers that can help them incorporate gratitude into their daily lives?
Connect with Shanti
Join- Daily Gratitude Space – on Facebook
Youtube Page – Wide Awake with Shanti
