How Do I Feel Grateful?

Gratitude is an incredibly powerful attitude to live by because it attracts more into your life to be grateful for. By practicing gratitude you are bringing into your focus all the wonderful ways life has blessed you already. To feel gratitude is to experience a thankful-ness about the things, people, events, circumstances, or feelings in your life. Sometimes it can wash over you in an instant, like on holidays with family or during a graduation ceremony when you’re reminded of what it means to tangibly be grateful. But this magical feeling doesn’t always happen by chance and that’s when it’s needed the most.

Gratitude happens by focusing your attention on the abundance of your life. This state of mind, however, isn’t always easy to tap into, especially when the focus is on what you are lacking. Once you become aware that the you’re focused on all that you don’t have enough of, you’ll need something to guide you back to the right mindset. The compass that will lead you to this feeling of happiness and abundant joy is your emotions. Although most people see their emotions ONLY as something that fluctuates within them naturally and without their control, there is another way to experience them. Emotions shouldn’t be pushed down or ignored because they are signifying an experience unfolding within you, leaving you breadcrumbs to further understand how you’re handling things in your life. They can, however, be directed by or generated within you to stop feelings from controlling or dictating your next move.

For instance, if you suddenly begin to feel fearful it’s important to honor those emotions as they arise because they are real. But it’s just as important that you tune into how they are hijacking your decision making because oftentimes those scenarios in your mind are not real. A feeling is something you can choose to focus on as a response to an emotion. In order to experience gratitude, it must be felt and you must be aligned with that feeling. It isn’t enough to say “I am grateful for this moment” when you’re feeling miserable because energy never lies. In order to invite more blessings into your life, you have to FEEL grateful now for all that you have.

Shifting Your Perception From Lack to Plenty

What you focus on you invite more of, therefore by focusing on all that you are lacking you are affirming this in your life. People often have mistaken complaining about all that they do not have as a way of expressing what it is they want to attract. The words you say don’t necessarily hold the power, it’s the energy you are aligning with as you say those words. The universe speaks in energy and frequency, not your native tongue. Whatever you are focusing your attention on is also what you are focusing your energy toward. So if you’re complaining about being in debt, how you want to get out of debt, and how great things will be once you’ve paid off your debt, the universe hears you speaking loud and clear about debt. All of your emotion behind the word debt is being exquisitely expressed in the opposite way you’ve intended. Your energy doesn’t align with financial freedom, cash flow, abundance, and it certainly doesn’t align with any positive feelings because you’re not feeling them. Instead, you’re feeling, experiencing, and focusing on lack.

The way to bring more of what you want into your life is to get clear on how you want to feel. Start by focusing on feeling blessed for all that you have right now. Bring to mind all of the things that make you feel blessed and remind you of how your life truly is a blessing.

Blessings Practice

If you’re new to visualization than it’s a difficult practice to see yourself with all that you desire. When you’re living life from a lacking perspective nothing will ever be enough for you. So a good place to start is where ever you are, find the gratitude in that. Bring your attention to all of the ways life is working FOR you.

Shift your focus to all of the tools, support, people, and belongings you woke up with this morning.
Start to bring to mind how your incredible body keeps you alive and healthy for another set of 24 hours, air flowing through your lungs, heart beating, internal systems working diligently without any help from you.
Consider the senses you woke up with and the ways they contribute to the life you are able to live today.
Appreciate the place you call home, the amenities you use without a second thought. Running water, a stove, a refrigerator, appliances that allow you to cook, clean, and take care of your essential needs.
Now expand your awareness to the external, things you were able to accomplish, overcome, create, and make strides in.
Take a moment to practice gratitude for all that you are, all the places you’ve been, and all of the lessons you’ve been taught as a result.
See yourself, your life, and all that you’ve been through as a blessing that invites more blessings.

Being a Magnet for Blessings

Your life is full of reasons to be grateful and blessings to be counted, it’s time that you start actively seeking them out each day. At the start of your morning count all of the ways that you are able to enjoy this day. Make an effort to connect with the positive feelings of being alive and the opportunities that may brings. At the end of each day reflect on all of the wonderful people and situations that are unfolding making life even more interesting. As you begin to expand your awareness of yourself and your surroundings, try telling yourself that life is happening FOR you rather than to you. Connect with the universal power that is all around you to ground you into the wonders of this moment. This will help you practice shifting into alignment with all that is meant for you to receive.

Jon Kabat-Zinn says “As long as there is breath in your body, there is more right with you than wrong with you.” If you ever find it challenging to focus on all the goodness in your life, start with the fact that you are still breathing. Breath is still flowing effortlessly through your body and that is the ultimate reminder that you are meant to be here for something greater. In order for you to receive more than you already have you must appreciate what you already have. Learn to see the beauty in the chaos, the growth in each obstacle, the joy in each pain, and the beginning in each ending. Make a habit of looking for the blessings in each day and watch as they continue to increase. If you want to be a magnet for blessings recognized that you are already blessed. Start by knowing you have all that you need in this moment because that in itself is a blessing.

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Identifying Your Focus

The dance between desire and resistance is constantly pulsating throughout your life. It lives in every thought that arises, every emotion that surfaces, every decision being made, as well as the consequences that follow. Each day you are sifting through what you want and don’t want. As you identify your goals, dreams, desires, planning out the next steps, and learning all that you have to overcome, you are co-creating your life with the universe. Figuring out what you desire takes energy, just as figuring out what you do not desire takes energy. If you want to attract a better, more improved lifestyle, it’s essential to understand what you are constantly focusing on.

Co-creation has a great deal to do with focus and decisiveness. Whatever you focus on is what will begin appearing in your life. Once you’ve decided on what action needs to take place, the momentum will begin to shift the sails of progress in your favor. When you know what you want, and believe that there is a force out there helping you reach it, life will propel you toward the next steps. Co-creation is happening whether you or not you are aware of what your attention is on. Therefore, if you’re focused on fearing the worst and catastrophizing all of the ways your life can unfold, you are aiding in that particular co-creation in your life.

A common mistake in co-creation is focusing the majority of your attention on that which you no longer want. You may think you’re simply separating that which you desire from what you do not, but that’s not what your energy is saying. Each time you talk or think about what you wish would change in your life, what you’re lacking in your life, how unfair circumstances are for you, what you don’t like anymore, and all the ways you are suffering, you are focusing your energy on resistance. Resisting what you WANT by focusing on what you DON’T WANT. See, the universe doesn’t respond to the words you’re speaking. It doesn’t hear “don’t” “can’t” “no”. The universe speaks in energetic frequency or the feeling you experience when thinking those thoughts and speaking those words.

When your attention is focused on what you don’t want you to feel contracted, closed, limited, frustrated, and far from that which you’re searching for. The more you experience this feeling, the more you share the energy of resistance to what it is you truly want. because that is the frequency you are strongly emitting. Therefore you have to become attuned to the energy and feelings that your thoughts are generating so that you are aware of what it is you are calling into your life. It’s very important to distinguish what you want from what you don’t but what comes after is monumental.

Tapping Into Your Desires

Visualizing the best version of yourself is a powerful form of communicating exactly what you want. It’s a practice of building up the muscle of your mind to create goodness in your life. It’s easier to play out the negatives in your life because you spot them easier. The brain was designed to keep you safe, out of harm’s way, so you’re likely to notice the wrongs over the rights in your life. All this means is that you’re practicing focusing on one more than the other. So it’s important to implement a visualization practice into your daily routine. Start building your imagination muscle to create the wonderful abundant things in life you label as “impossible”, “some-days”, or “dreaming big”.

Start by asking yourself questions that dare you to dream big. There are no limits to your imagination unless you put them there, so when you begin to notice them start dismantling them. It may be hard at first if you’re someone struggling with self-doubt, disbelief, and fear of that which you have yet to see. That just means you have to practice shifting your thoughts into the limitless possibilities more often. Remember that all things that exist today began in the mind of someone, just imagine what’s waiting in yours.

In your mind’s eye play out what it would look like to be successful, how it would look to feel peaceful, how it would look to be happy with yourself and in your relationships, how it would look to have a job you love providing a service you believe in. If you’re not sure of what exactly you want out of the next phase of your life start by focusing on what brings you joy now. Think of the activities where you’re smiling not worried about the time, experiencing flow, feeling fulfilled and exploding with love. Bring to mind the people who make you feel good, the places that ground you, the events that are forever etched in your memory bank as magic. The longer you hold your focus on a thought, the stronger you emit that frequency, the more clear the universe gets your request.

Aligning with that which you desire is simple to do, but requires constant awareness of your energetic focus. Once you’ve become aware of the many ways you are feeding into low vibrations, distracting thoughts, and negative feelings, you can start bringing yourself into that which you do want. Start looking for things that make you feel good and appreciating those moments while they are happening. Practice visualizing the life you want to live when you notice you’re focused on all that you want to change. Begin strengthening your focus on better feeling thoughts and you’ll start attracting improved circumstances.

Walking Forward in Faith

It’s called co-creation because you’re not alone in making things happen, although there is still work to be done on your part. Identifying your desire, practicing gratitude for your current blessings, focusing your attention on what is on it’s way to you, and taking the practical steps to make this shift into abundance-these are all your responsibilities. Spirit is all-knowing, therefore it has a different role in the co-creation of your life. Spirit’s role is to guide you on the path. Not reveal the next 2 miles ahead, you’ll only get a few hundred feet. Not to give you the answers outright, but will give the guidance on the next step IF you ask. Not to provide all the solutions for you, but to lead you to the resources to help build your levels of knowledge, resiliency, and awareness on this journey. If you’re lost on the path you can, and always should ask for guidance. Release the idea that you know how life should unfold for you, or the specific steps you think need to happen. Let go of the idea that you are in control of the how because you’re not. Set up the best plan you possibly can, take action on it every day, keep moving forward in all the ways you possibly can, and then let go of the outcome.

Releasing the reins on the how is one of the hardest things for humans to be. The ego drives you into thinking that your perspective, your plan, your idea, your way is the right way. This kind of thinking can cloud your judgment, sometimes taking you away from what’s best for you. Spirit is all-knowing and always knows what’s best for you. Walking forward in faith is about trusting that the higher power you are co-creating is orchestrating life to work in your favor. The connection you share with Spirit is one of unconditional love. Just as a parent wants nothing but the best for their child and will do anything to make that happen, Spirit wants that very same for you. When your desires are clearly communicated, your energy is aligned with your purpose, and you are taking action on your goals, Spirit begins paving the unknown for your arrival.

On top of all of your concrete actions that need to be taken, there is yet another powerful decision to make that can’t be seen or measured. It can only be felt, believed, understood, and experienced. That is having faith in that which you cannot see but already believe. A prerequisite of acquiring the life you want is believing it will show up, even before there is any evidence proving you right. Keeping a strong sense of faith during times of uncertainty, suffering, loss, change, illness, and fear is going to be difficult. With each challenge you find yourself facing you will have a choice: strengthen your faith or strengthen your doubt.

Doubt comes from the inability to believe that something is possible, mainly because we are focusing on the specific tools, knowledge, and circumstances currently available. Doubt creeps in and plans it’s hostile take over when there isn’t enough “proof” that everything is going to work out. Doubt is strong, and the mind has had plenty of practice in building its case with it. Faith, on the other hand, comes from the ability to believe in something that is felt but not seen. Faith is the medium of communication between who you are now and who you are becoming. Faith is harder to keep around than doubt because it’s asking you to keep going when it feels impossible, to keep your head up when you’re exhausted, to keep moving when you “think” you have nothing left. But faith will bring you to the other side of fear, where all of your desires are waiting, while doubt will keep you complacent and safe from change.

Piecing It All Together

There will always be the labeling of the wanted and unwanted, desire and aversion, attraction and resistance. This is how people sift through categories of life, creating mental vision boards of what you believe is best for you, and what is not. Now you understand the energy that goes into this process and just how powerful that energy is. The energy you release with the thoughts you experience and the words you share are creating a conversation with the universe. You are communicating the details of the life you want to create, whether you are aware of it or not. And now that you’re aware of it here are 10 practices you can start today.

Be mindful of where your focus is throughout the majority of the day
Spend less time focusing on what you DON’T want
Practice shifting your attention toward the blessings you already have
Begin thinking of how good it feels to have what you are attracting into your life
Build a plan and keep working toward attaining these goals, successes, accomplishments
Surrender the outcome to a higher power, release the how
Actively choose faith over doubt once you become aware of the choice
Practice building your imagination muscle and visualizing your future
Stop limiting what is possible for you
Be gentle with yourself in the challenging times, you’re doing the best you can.

Spirit has been waiting for you to finally commit to co-creating your life with a conscious effort. Each time you practice you release what no longer serves you and gain clarity on what is best for you. Lean into the process by having fun with your imagination and conversations with the universe. Asking for help can be as simple as “I don’t know what I’m doing, please help guide me”. Just be sure to practice patience for the answer to the surface within you. Keep an eye out for your surroundings and anything that could be seen as a sign, you’ll just feel it. The more you practice communicating with a higher power the more comfortable and clear your relationship will become.

Love, heal, grow.

Tag: LawofAttraction

Counting Your Blessings To Create More