Gratitude is one of the most important things I teach. My wish for you as you start 2023 is to embark on a daily gratitude practice.
It is always the right time to begin a gratitude practice. Living in a state of gratitude is critical to your mental health and success – practicing some form of gratitude every day is one of the most important and transformational things you can do to improve the quality of every aspect of your life and manifest your dreams and desires.
When we are grateful for what we already have; the law of attraction works in such a way to attract more things into your life to be grateful for – the things you want that you don’t already have are vibrating at a higher level than your current state of emotional vibration; therefore, you have to raise your vibration to that of the level of health, happiness, money & results you want in your life.
A common objection I get when I suggest starting a gratitude practice is: “But what do I have to be grateful for when there is so much bad stuff happening in the world and so many are suffering?” I would say that now more than ever is the most important time to anchor into gratitude because gratitude is a powerful antidote to fear, frustration, anger and despair. Gratitude is what nullifies the impact of those negative emotions and allows you to find the equilibrium you need to stay calm and make level headed decisions that move you towards your goals instead of making fear based decisions that lead to obstacles that stand in the way of your happiness.
No matter what is happening in the world there is always something to be grateful for
– if you have family and friends – that is something to be grateful for;
– if you have a roof over your head and food to eat that is something to be massively grateful for;
– the clothes on your back and the screen you are reading this article on are also things to be grateful for
The more you look the more you will see you have much to be grateful for.
It is important to remember that appreciation and gratitude are high vibrational feelings right up there with love and joy. Through the power of focused attention you can intentionally raise your vibration into these elevated states.
A simple way to do this is to take a moment to reflect on what you have to be grateful for and feel the feeling of gratitude and appreciation in your physical body. If you aren’t aware of what you have to be grateful for – I want you to think of all the things in your life that you normally take for granted, such as the bed you sleep in, the fridge full of food, the computer you use, your cell phone, access to WIFI, running water, books to read, your TV, your furniture, your job, your skills, your family, your friends etc..
A great exercise is to walk through your home and notice everything you own and say thank you to everything you see:
– thank you to the carpet as it makes the floor more comfortable when you walk;
– thank you to your pet as you get to wake up to an animal that loves you unconditionally;
– thankful for my shower as it allows me to be clean and refreshed;
– thankful for the games you own and the fun you have when you play them
Take time to think about what is going well in your life – who loves you; what makes you happy, how many people support you on a daily basis – often we take these things for granted. However, when you take the time to feel gratitude you will find that love and support multiplies in your life. When you focus on what you do have instead of what you don’t have you become aware that there is always enough.
Take the next minute and look around your space and see what you are grateful – notice what you normally take for granted and shift to appreciation for all that you see.
Go ahead, set the timer for 60 seconds……..
Now take stock of how that felt and how you are feeling now.
Your homework is to do that a few times per week – at different times – i.e. morning, while walking your dog, driving to work, standing in the elevator, waiting in a grocery line up, etc.
Another way to activate the power of gratitude is to write a letter to someone that has impacted your life – you could send an email or a card with a personal message. Or you could send a heartfelt text – take the time to convey the value they have added to your life
To help you keep the vibration of gratitude high in your life there are a few options:
- write down the top 20 things you are grateful for –- take a few minutes every day to review the list. Feel free to add to it every day and use it to remind yourself of the richness in your life.
- write down 3 things you are grateful for every day. My first gratitude journal was by Sarah Ban Breathnach called “The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude” which I highly recommend or you can use any journal you like, including the one I created called “Moving Beyond: A journal into Self-Discovery”
May 2023 be a year filled with gratitude, love and joy for you all. Peace be unto you.
Sending you healing thoughts filled with gratitude,
Dr. Chris, ND
