~ Gratitude ~
Awakening Self

"Gratitude can be likened to a true smile. It is virtually impossible
to have negative thoughts when you have a smile on your face! It
lightens your heart and simply feels good.

The practice of gratitude is life empowering. It can change the way
you feel about yourself and life's events. With the attitude of
gratitude you can change the state of your consciousness. You move
out of reactionary emotions and take charge of your personal energy.
It is much like this: Picture yourself in the center of a big
balloon. When you are experiencing gratitude your balloon is full and
expanded; you feel alive, healthy and you are a healing presence.
When you are having negative thoughts and feelings your balloon
deflates and you feel drained, out of sorts, heavy and without
vitality. Your energy has leaked away and you have given your
personal power to someone or something.

The quality of your life is a result of what you focus on. The
practice of focusing on all that you "have" amplifies and enriches
the experience of everyday living. The word "practice" as defined by
Webster's dictionary means, "systematic exercise for the purpose of
acquiring skill or proficiency." Like anything else, gratitude
requires practice and discipline. There are many ways you can
incorporate the practice of gratitude into our life. You can begin
with simple practices that develop gratitude.

Gratitude is a choice. It is a choice to see things differently. When
choosing to be grateful you are focusing on all the things that are
good or right in your life as opposed to the things that are not.

Focus acts like a magnet; you attract those things on which you
focus. By focusing on the things you are grateful for, you give those
aspects of your life more power. Your world begins to feel more full
and alive.

How do you get to a place of gratitude? Gratitude requires that you
open your heart. Try this exercise: Close your eyes and gently bring
your attention to the center of your chest. This is called the heart
center. Focus on the rising and falling of your chest as you breathe
in and out. Think about the things in your life that bring you
happiness and joy such as special people, your home, your garden, the
birdsong, whatever it is that warms your heart. If you cannot think
of anything specific then visualize a beautiful field of flowers or a
smiling child. As you focus on these things you may begin to feel
warm and calm. You are now in a state of gratitude.

In learning the practice of gratitude, you do not need something to
be grateful for, only the desire to feel grateful. You can learn
gratitude by thinking of things for which you are thankful and
eventually we move into awareness that just being and experiencing
life is enough. Then you are projecting gratitude and love from an
open heart each moment.

Centering in Gratitude

Let's learn some ways to practice gratitude. Begin by setting aside
quiet moments of reflection. This is a time to quiet the mind of all
its "to do" lists and endless chatter. View it as a search mission.
Examine your day and seek out all the things for which you are
grateful. Move beyond the material blessings and look at your
relationships, the splendor in nature, the way in which music moves
your soul. Move even deeper, and you will find that even your
challenges have made you stronger.

Use a journal to express your deepest thoughts and moments of
gratitude. Writing truly brings things to the surface and allows you
the privacy and intimacy of a quiet, non-judgmental listener. This
will be a place you can turn to when you feel troubled or agitated
and by reading the words you have written, you will be able to re-
open your heart.

Another way is to take a walk and focus your attention on the trees,
the colors, and the textures. Notice the birds, listen to the sounds
of their song, and the sound of the breeze blowing through the trees.
Feel the ground beneath you. Are you more peaceful and calm? By
observing with conscious awareness you move into gratitude. The mere
act of conscious and intentional observation and appreciation is an
expression of gratitude.

Create affirmations that will help remind you to focus on gratitude.
An example would be:

I turn my thoughts to all the gifts my life brings me.
I appreciate and am grateful for my health, my family, and my friends
the earth and its creatures, and the beauty in each day.
My life is filled with abundance and I am blessed

Another way to express gratitude to yourself and others might be to
write a thank you note to someone for sharing in your life.
Appreciating other people brings you and them joy.

Spend some time focusing on your attitude. Observe your feelings as
they make themselves known to you. Are you feeling drained,
irritable, or just plain frustrated? Imagine how you might be able to
change the moment by using an attitude of patience and open
heartedness toward yourself and others. Then try gratitude.

Gratitude brings us to the place of giving and receiving. Gratitude
acknowledges our receiving of abundance, and, in and of itself
becomes an act of giving back to the Universe. Abundance then becomes
a natural byproduct of gratitude. How is that possible? How does it
suddenly appear? Quite simply ... it was always there! We just had
not been able to see it. Gratitude is becoming consciously aware of
all that is there for us in life, and then acknowledging the gift.
This aligns us with the Universal principle that giving is the same
as receiving. In graciously receiving the gifts that life provides
us, we give back the gift of gratitude. Show and express your
gratitude and you will see that your life is a beautiful string of
miracles!!