If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

I used to think of gratitude as the giving thanks I did once a year at Thanksgiving and outside of this holiday I never really thought about it much. I didn’t come from a family that said grace or felt very thankful for much of anything in life. To my family life was burdensome, difficult and full of lack…what was there to be grateful for?

It wasn’t until much later in life when I started to listen to my inner voice that I understood the power of gratitude. It is not an emotion that is limited to the outer circumstances of our lives as I was brought up to believe…no, gratitude is a highway to God. We experience the divine through our subtle inner body (through our energy), through our thoughts and feelings. Our God-connection lies within our intangibles.

In order to connect with God-energy you must create a vibrational match between your internal state and the abundant nature of Source. Your energy must be full, abundant and clear of the dark clouds of lack, worry or fear. When you raise your vibration, the complaining fearful voices of your lower self (your ego) disintegrate as the light shines into all the shadowy places within you. This frees up your mind, your body and energy from unhealthy and distracting pursuits and allows you to communicate directly with your Higher Self for guidance. Now that you know what gratitude does…let’s explore how to use it.

Developing an Abundant Mindset

Spending time in nature is a sure path to developing an abundant mindset. You don’t have to go far, even just studying the flowerbeds or gardens in your own yard can be enough. When we study a flower, or beautiful scene in nature we see how everything is interlaced and equally cared for within the whole. The flowers have all they need to bloom, which attracts insects, and birds…the insects and birds cross-pollinate creating more abundant plant life. It all happens with the greatest of ease. A tree does not try to grow, seeds put forth no effort into sprouting, flowers do not toil (as Jesus pointed out)…yet they are all cared for and they all have their place. When you can feel the aliveness and abundance evident in all of nature, you will feel it within yourself. Your vibration will become higher as you concentrate on this state of ease…and joy will rise up within you.

So often our minds focus on what’s missing from the cup instead of what its holding…so another powerful practice to shut down the complaining voices is to turn the tables on them. They will look around you and complain about everything that is not in your experience that should be there. Often times, these voices complain about things that are not even correct. Play a game with yourself every time they complain and immediately look for something that is the opposite of their complaints. Lets say the voice singles out your spouse and complains that he never helps around the house just because he happens to be running late this night. You know full well that he did the dishes just last night and the voice simply wants to gain control over the fact that he is not where you want him to be, so it attacks. Mentally take a look at your husband and scroll through every nice, thoughtful and helpful thing he has done that you can think of. It does not have to be related to the house, it could be his job, how he plays with the kids or the pets, maybe he takes care of the cars…whatever it is, think of everything you can that is wonderful about your spouse and watch that complaining voice disappear. This has the added benefit of placing you in a wonderful state in which you are happy to see your spouse when he finally does arrive home, ensuring that you’ll enjoy each other instead of setting yourself up for an argument.

Play this game at every opportunity you can, as soon as the voice complains ask yourself…oh really…is that so? See it as a mischievous child trying to play a trick on you. Don’t take it all that seriously and you’ll bring a lightness and ease into the game that immediately shows you just how unimportant the complaints really are.

Reluctant giving equals resistance and complaining. How many of us grumble when we pay our bills or when we are in the check out line of our local grocery store? Ever encounter the voice that says what makes them think they deserve this…I was married for five years before I got one of these when you go to buy something off a friend’s wedding registry? Pay careful attention to voices in your head when you are making purchases and do not make your purchase if you can at all help it from this place. Lets say that you know the voices really pipe up every time you go to fill your gas tank. So on your way to the pump you start the mantra of…I’m so grateful that I can purchase the gas I need today. Do not focus on the price…focus only on that you are grateful that you can make this purchase. Keep this going until you pull away from the pump. If you make it a habit…going to the gas pumps will cease to challenge you. Tackle one situation at a time and replace the complaining habit with one that supports the abundance not the scarcity of your life. Soon you will start to view your life as having much more available then you did before. Without the lower self’s constant reminders of lack…you will feel the truth of the abundant life you are already living and it will just keep getting better from there.

Moving Toward Abundance

Gratitude opens us up to abundance…since there is no lack in God…it opens us up to the divine as well. It fills us with the feeling that all is well in life and allows a sense of joy to rise up into our daily activities. When we joy in our precious gift of life we draw the divine toward us like a magnet…and a thousand unseen hands help us on our path each and every day. That is the power of gratitude!

Other Posts of Interest:

• The Truth About Clutter
• Time to Fly
• Divine Guidance
• Openess Determines Perspective
• Removing the Fast Lane