Appreciation and being in gratitude. It’s so powerful. Why? It can instantly shift your energy to a higher state of being when you practice putting your attention on what you feel thankful for. It’s an instant “pick me up” that gets you into the present moment.  It does not just mean thinking mentally of the things you feel blessed to have.

Being in gratitude is a practice of feeling into the experiences of what you desire, like, enjoy that you bring into your consciousness. The things you may be taking for granted. That you can you breathe without assistance, see, and listen. Move, and communicate your unique voice. The love of a partner, friends, children, colleagues. A beautiful home, your health, or career.

Life is not about having things, it’s about the way you experience what you have.

The easiest way to practice gratitude is to write down 5 things every day you feel gratitude for. Start a journal. The act of writing it down, and focusing your attention on what lights you up does something magical. There is power in the words. Your energy can shift in that moment to a place of BEING that feels good inside, and this energy you are now holding is being sent out .

The kind of energy you send out comes back. 

Writing is the starting point, but it’s not enough to simply think up things, and write the words on a piece of paper without slowing down to reflect and experience what the words mean for you. “BEING in gratitude” is the experience of giving thanks. Eventually it becomes a habit where your mind will notice almost automatically what you feel grateful for every day. Happier thoughts just show up, and you will begin to FEEL your life differently.

Gratitude changes how you ARE with the people in your life, your connections deepen. It secretly focuses you on what you truly value, and helps prioritize. You begin to treasure who and what matters.

You will say or feel “I love you” more because gratitude connects you back to the love within yourself. You may choose to come home to be with your family instead of taking that extra half hour to get more work done because earlier you wrote down how it felt to have a family who loves you, and it pulls you to leave.

Feeling gratitude suddenly has you experiencing more of what you want in life. It can feel like a door opened, and things are flowing in the direction you want, only you didn’t have to work so hard to get it : )

Happy Thanksgiving! Make it a practice not just for this one time of the year, but every day. This holiday is really about celebrating the power of Giving Thanks because that is a gift in itself.

“You are more alive, and receptive to the goodness that comes in your life when you begin to consciously look for things to be grateful for. What I promise you is that the spiritual dimension of your life begins to change, it opens up, it expands, and you just grow with it.”

~Oprah Life Class on Gratitude in Toronto, April 2012

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