Newsletter Issue 22
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...The Lost Art of Gratitude
I believe that in today’s world gratitude is greatly under-rated. We seem to be so caught up in our addiction to acquiring things and gaining the upper-hard with others that we forget to take time to stop, admire, appreciate and celebrate what we have right now.
Life experiences have shown me that the more grateful I am, the more I begin to notice and attract things, people and situations to be grateful for. It feels really good to get into the habit to recall all the wonderful things in your life at the end of each day and feel thankful for them. It makes me feel humble and glad to be alive.
This experiment should not stop there either, experiencing a continuous appreciation for yourself, the world and everyone in it is the super highway to opening your life and attracting the circumstances you wish for. When your appreciation valve (in your heart) is 100% open for 24 hours in a row, extra little miracles start popping up all over your life!
Try giving appreciation to everything you see, touch, taste, smell and hear for one day. One day, all day long, see if you can do it! This little practice is one of the most effective ways to becoming the master of your destiny.
“Understand the obstructions you are putting in the way of love, freedom, and happiness and they will drop. Turn on the light of awareness and the darkness will disappear. Happiness is not something you acquire; love is not something you produce; love is not something you have; love is something that has you.”
Anthony de Mello
Being in a constant state of appreciation is the ultimate goal of life. If you are challenged in the gratitude department you’re not alone. Many don’t know the secret to this ideal experience. It’s like finding a precious pearl deep within the oceans.
First start paying attention to the little things you don’t appreciate at all. Find that which you are honestly thankful for and return to that thought and feeling as often as possible. Make a game of it! See how many times within 5 minutes you can intensify your gratitude barometer and re-ignite that calm and blissful state inside. Whenever you find that honest appreciation feeling for anything, or anyone, stay connected with it and within it. Soon it will grow and evolve into a habit of gratitude that includes even those things you never imagined you could ever possibly appreciate.
“The richest person is the one who is contented with what he has.”
Robert C. Savage
When you take the risk to appreciate what your mind cannot appreciate, an awesome expansive feeling begins building within your being. Whatever it is you’ve been in the pattern of not appreciating can and will be reversed. Perhaps you used to complain about the government, your spouse, her hair, his clothes, and lack of money you have in the bank.
It’s always your choice. Whatever situation it is, there is a potential seed of acceptance within it. By first finding that grain of acceptance inside yourself, you will harness a new way of experiencing the outer world and a whole new dimension of consciousness becomes available. When you appreciate that which everyone cannot, you step inside the collective mind into a realm of knowing that anything is possible.
“To be upset over what you don’t have, is to waste what you do have.”
Ken Keyes JR.
Try this exercise tomorrow morning. When you wake up and look in the mirror at yourself, take a few extra minutes to practice just looking and accepting what you see and feel. Just be OK with whatever your mind interprets, judges and projects onto that mirror image. Practice accepting your looks, your personality and your life just as they are. Remember, what you see with your mind is filtered through your imagination. Not everyone sees you the way you see you, we know your ideas aren’t always going to reflect the real you. Just practice appreciation first and approval will come later. Eventually in time you will totally accept what is here, on the inside and outside.
If you should ever feel off track, get overly upset about something, or simply trapped down in the dumpsters of your life, you are simply not focusing your attention upon what you appreciate.
The secret to mastering anything in your life is in how much FUN you can have within your experience. The vibration of appreciation is so enjoyable and contagious that it will change you and everyone’s lives around you! The heartfelt feeling of gratitude contains magical seeds that plant the most enlightening, loving, delightful experiences to enjoy!
You plant one seed of appreciation with your spouse today, and before you know it your love and affection for each other is reignited again. By planting 100 seeds of gratitude a day you’ll have an abundant future indeed. I challenge you to live your life believing that there is NOTHING that you cannot appreciate. Let’s see how creative you are. If you can appreciate something that you’ve NEVER ever been able to appreciate you’ll be one step closer to mastering this technique.
If you’d like to find out more about “the art of gratitude” and how you can learn to appreciate yourself, the things, the people and the world around you than please feel free to reach out to me on info@inspireyourmind.com
