#3 - The Simple Art of Gratitude with Octavia Mckenzie

We touched on gratitude last week in episode 2, but this week I want to get further in-depth into gratitude practice, and how it can transform ourselves and our world.   In this episode, Octavia Mckenzie joins me for a chat. Octavia does so many things – actress, model,  owner of an eco-friendly fashion brand, volunteer, and ambassador – she’s a friend that is just so inspiring and powerful. It was great to have her on the show.   I raised the question – what does gratitude mean to you? It’s interesting, I’m sure we can all find different things to be grateful for, or as we mentioned last episode, maybe we struggle.   Octavia said that gratitude for her is a grounding force in her life. She has so many things to do,  running from moment to moment, searching for the next best thing but gratitude is something that when practiced properly can settle you at the moment.  The positive influence it has as a meditative form is the most amazing thing about practicing gratitude and having it as a habit. Old people live in the past, young people live in the future, but who lives in the present? If we can take a step back, and simply reflect on our fortunes, no matter how small those may be, we can truly appreciate the present and go back to basics.  Find the joy in the basics and so much will lead from there.  Manifesting was another topic we touched on together. Octavia said that when we affirm ourselves in the now, we make ourselves so much happier. Just be happy with where we are. Let the universe know that this is something that resonates with you by just showing happiness.   It sounds a bit strange but we can actually become addicted to the positive feeling, which is incredibly powerful and actually so good for us. Like a drug addict addicted to the chemical charge in their brain, if we express happiness it’s a good feeling, and your body wants to remember that good feeling. It’s a feedback loop that will lift our mood.   I was so grateful to have Octavia on the podcast and to share her amazing stories.   I hope you enjoy it too, please feel free to reach out to Octavia with your intentions and she’ll be there, the heart intention is a very strong force!   For more click here : https://www.barbramay.com/episode03 Follow Octavia: www.scrunqi.com instagram.com/eightbirds8