Start a Gratitude Practice

November is the month where we typically think about what we are grateful for.  With Thanksgiving near the end of the month, it is a perfect time to start a gratitude practice.

As part of your gratitude practice, start by letting go of “lack.”  See and feel everything around you as a gift and embody gratitude for your life.  Be thankful forStart a Gratitude Practice every condition, as created to present the perfect opportunity to express thanksgiving for the unique being you are.

Gratitude is recognizing the abundance, acknowledging it, and openly appreciating it by giving thanks. Even challenges and heartache bring opportunities for blessings. Gratitude is the spiritual practice of taking nothing for granted but learning to live and enjoy the present moment!

Three components to a gratitude practice

  1. Recognize that we have already received something extraordinary: the gift of life and the presence of spiritual energy. Gratitude changes us — our thoughts, our feelings, and our perception of the world.
  2. Acknowledge our good. We can physically feel the difference when we move from negativity to gratitude. Try it and notice the physical and mental change it brings about.
  3. Appreciate the simple things. For instance, we can recognize, acknowledge, and appreciate the incredible gift of hot and cold running water. We can express gratitude for something as simple as water, for the plumbers who installed the pipes, for the people who purified our water for drinking and bathing.

By deliberately experiencing gratitude for what I want, I create greater happiness within and around myself.  I begin to see all the blessings I am already experiencing.  And accept what I receive from life and everything in it as a gift.

In my practice, I end my day with a nighty prayer of gratitude for all the blessings I received that day.  Not only does this help me sleep better, but it also releases any anxious thoughts that would promote unpleasant dreams.  For someone prone to nightmares, this is a perfect antidote to restful sleep without pills!

Gratitude brings us into a state of wonder. Gratitude brings us into communion with the Divine.

As a gratitude practice becomes a way of being, we can truthfully say: “I AM living in gratitude.” And then engage in daily practice, starting with the words, “I am happy and grateful for…)

In the words of Meister Eckhart: “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” 

 

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