Gratitude - The Key to Healing

Walking in gratitude is not a hard thing to do yet it is the basis of a happy life and your own personal power. Native Americans give thanks to Mother Earth for everything they have. Christians give thanks before they eat. Shamans give thanks to the universe for all that they are.

When we walk in gratitude we find again that sense of wonder in everything around us. We realize the bounty that we have in life. We appreciate the beauty we see. We hear the beautiful winds in the trees. We smell the flowers. We know how much is given to us that we didn't even have to work for. We walk with a sense of smallness against this gift, this experience of life.

Being grateful is as much a part of being mature as having wisdom or discernment. Gratitude teaches us to admire those around us, to lend a helping hand to those who need one. And who are we not to be grateful? Do we not see the blessings of the air we breathe? Do we not realize how fortunate we are to be walking this land? Just look around at all the places you could be.

Did you have a good idea today? Be grateful for that! Did you eat today? Be grateful! Is there a dollar in your wallet? Can you be grateful for that? When was the last time you looked into the heavens and said "Thank you!"

Albert Einstein was one of the greatest thinkers in history. He was always aware of what could have been and expressed his thanks each day. Gandhi had nothing and yet was one of the most grateful men who ever lived. It isn't about who you are or what you have, what station in life you have been blessed with. It is simply to be. To be is worthy of thanks.

Some people feel they have nothing to be thankful for. But did they have air to breathe? Did they get up this morning and find the sun shining? Did they find another human being to talk to? Companionship, caring, compassion, beauty, life, seasons, the earth, these are all worthy of our thanks.

The Shaman cannot heal without gratitude. It is not the Shaman who creates any healing, who finds the lost souls, who comforts the dying with hope in new life. These things are greater than any man, Priest or Shaman. It is our interconnectedness with each other through the Creator that gives us what we need, what we want and even more than we imagine.

Start each day with a prayer of thanksgiving. Tell the universe how happy you are to find the sun shining in your window, to hear the birds singing and see the green grass glowing with dew. Thank your Creator for the gifts you will receive this day. Humble yourself at the magnificent creation of life and give gratitude for being an observer of this most holy miracle today.

By giving thanks you are opening yourself to all the possibilities of goodness. You are joining into the universal awareness as a participant in life. You are forming a council and taking your seat in the creation of the day. You come with open hands to receive and ready to give your blessings to those around you. You realize your fortune and you wish that same fortune for all.

Being grateful sets the place for goodness and open communication with teachers and guides. It shows your willingness to learn and your respect for what is. Gratitude manifests more things to be grateful for. If you make a list each day of those things you feel grateful for you will find that your list will grow over time. It will change from things seen to those things that are unseen and far more important than material possessions or fame. You will touch the very fabric of your soul and feel the blessings you have that are so worthy of your gratitude. In humbleness you will receive more than you could ever receive with pride. Gratitude begets humility in this awesome life experience.

A Shaman knows this humility and often falls to his knees to return the heartfelt love that he recognizes and honors. The power of the Shaman comes not from within but from without because a man standing on his own is just a man but a man standing on the grace of gratitude walks with Spirit and is given everything - even the ability to heal. Approach each day, each hour, each minute with gratitude in your heart and find love filling your spirit with its own power and truth.

Article Source: Maggie J. Wahls

 Subscribe to my Free App Magazine BellaVita4Life  on iTunes to learn the secrets to success.  

 Practicing gratitude can help you find your life's purpose. Come and join me in my DailyGratitude4Life Facebook Group.  The one thing you could do to improve everything about your life - your emotional health, your physical well being and your lifespan - would be to move into a daily practice of gratitude.

The Importance of Expressing Our Gratitude

Are you living by your words in gratitude?

Love and light
Isabella

Gratitude - The Ultimate Choice

Have you ever known someone who seems to be able to be positive and keep a good attitude despite the chaos all around them? You know, the person who is always appreciative of the good times, but also seems to be able to focus on the positive in the face of adversity? They seem to find the good in the people that drive you crazy, and the opportunity in challenging situations.

I remember hearing many years ago about the story of Roger Bannister, the first man to run the 4-minute mile and break not only a record, but also the limiting beliefs about what was possible. I look to this story for hope about the plight of mankind on lots of different issues. It points to the fact that if one man can do it; anyone can-even when it comes to being more grateful!

One of the unique features of being human is our ability to literally "change our minds" and choose our thoughts. In the case for gratitude it is something that I am extremely grateful for!

If we so choose, gratitude is something that we could actually extend throughout the entire year. As it turns out, the choice to do so could be the path to better health and more importantly, a lower stress level!

The Many Benefits of Gratitude

As it turns out, grateful people--who are defined by those who consider gratitude a mode rather than a mood-- have an edge when it comes to health. The research of Robert Emmons PhD of the University of California suggests that grateful people take better care of themselves, have healthier diets, exercise more and get regular physical examinations. It would appear that that regular feeling of thankfulness also helps people cope with daily stress and problems.

Immune Boost

Lisa Aspinall, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Utah has also found links to optimism and better immune function. This effect also had an impact on people with

health issues, like AIDS as well as surgical patients. They all had better outcomes when they maintained attitudes of optimism.

Adversity and loss decreases with gratitude

It has been found that when someone experiences great loss or tragedy, that it is still possible to experience gratitude. In a web-based survey taken after 9/11, it was interesting to note an increased level in gratitude after this most tragic day! This has been attributed to an increased sense of belonging after the horrific event.

Christopher Peterson, PhD who did the study noted that gratitude in the aftermath of 9/11 seemed to create a buffer to even the most negative effects of stress, including post-traumatic stress disorder!

In other studies by Aspinall, facing losses early in life can experience great personal growth overtime.

Greater Well Being and Relationships

In fact, cultivating gratitude appears to contribute to a sense of greater well-being, and can even strengthen your relationships. When we find things to appreciate about others, the ones who are appreciated usually reciprocate with more kindness as well, and also do more to earn the appreciation!

Can I really make Gratitude my new Mode?

Gratitude can be cultivated by just about anyone. The brain is just like any other muscle in the body and learning to be more optimistic is just like any other skill- it is learned by practice. Try incorporating some of the following into your life, and notice if there is a significant increase in your feelings of gratitude.

Cut Out Comparisons

One of the biggest contributors to feelings of inferiority and stress is the simple act of comparing yourself to others. This is usually because we make the wrong comparisons.

We look at things through the mirrors of LACK or ABUNDANCE. Focusing on what you don't have compared to another can cause stress. Focusing on how lucky you are to have someone around you who is such an inspiration is a way to incorporate an attitude of abundance. It is simple shift- and it is the difference between having stress, and cultivating gratitude and optimism.

Keep A Gratitude Journal

This is probably the number one suggestion by most mental health advisors and life coaches. Not only will this help you cultivate a more positive attitude, but it will also be a great catalog of sorts to read during times when it might be a little more difficult to be grateful. People who journal on a regular basis even exercise more, have fewer physical symptoms and feel better about their lives as a whole.

Watch your Language

Carefully monitor the way you talk to yourself throughout the day. Instead of focusing on problems you are faced with reframe it and choose language that promotes the benefits of a particular situation instead. This can help when you have to cope with a difficult person in your life and help you develop more patience and understanding.

Write Thank You Notes

Make it a goal to write at least one thank you note a week. Buy some special decorative or monogrammed stationery and make it stationery and a pen you love to write with and make it a beautiful ritual.

Article Source: Angela W Bussio

 Practicing gratitude can help you find your life's purpose. Come and join us in our DailyGratitude4Life Facebook Group.  The one thing you could do to improve everything about your life - your emotional health, your physical well being and your lifespan - would be to move into a daily practice of gratitude.

Today's Gratitude 18 February 2016 - Birthday Lunch and Dinner with my Mother

It was my mother's birthday on 7 February so I booked a apartment right by the beach.  We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and dinner.

My mother is a stroke survivor and I am her caregiver.  Every day she improves.  YAY!

 Practicing gratitude can help you find your life's purpose. Come and join us in our DailyGratitude4Life Facebook Group.  The one thing you could do to improve everything about your life - your emotional health, your physical well being and your lifespan - would be to move into a daily practice of gratitude.

The Key to a Successful Life is Easier and Closer Than You Think

It seems everybody wants to know the answer to this question and strangely it's very simple. It can be summed up in one word.. GRATITUDE!

In my mind this quote says it all. If you want to be happy and successful start right where you stand, here and now. Look around you and see what you have to be grateful for right in this present moment. Is it your kids? Is it that you have a bed to sleep in at night? Is it that you have a job or is it that you are alive and can take this moment to be grateful that the earth is spinning on it's axis and the sun has come up to give you a new day to try a different approach to life?

Whoever you are and wherever you are, you can find something in your life to be grateful for and it is my guess that once you see one thing to be grateful for you will find another and another and another. That's how is works for me and I am certainly not that different from you. I remember a time when I was incredibly sick and the doctors didn't know what was wrong with me. I could hardly breath, so it was very hard to talk. It took so much of the little energy I had just to walk 15 steps to the bathroom. I laid in my bed looking out the window and was so grateful to be able to see outside. I watched the birds singing on the bare branches of the trees and longed for the new leaves of spring to emerge, as that would be my indicator that I was on my way to wellness. The leaves did come and I did get better. It took me about 18 months to fully recover from that illness and today when I remember those trees I am overcome with emotion. I cannot find enough words to express the gratitude I have for my body's ability to heal itself. I knew it was up to me to create my own health and I trusted in my connection to spirit that I would become well. As I spent days pretty much immobilised with what felt like only my mind working, I focused on being healthy, seeing myself well and knowing it would happen.

At the same time I acknowledged that if it was my time to go I was eternally grateful for my life and I played happy memories over and over in my head. Gratitude keeps your mind from wandering into negative thought patterns and keeps you open to the great wonders of life. If you are open and in a receiving mode there is nothing that The Universe cannot bring to you. It is only your belief in barriers that makes them real.

Gratitude in the moment brings a smile to your face, your body and mind start working in the perfect harmony, clarity eventually emerges and all becomes right with the world again. If you truly feel there is nothing in your present to be grateful about, look to the past, you are sure to find at least one thing to be grateful for. The mere fact that you are reading this and have a chance to change your circumstances is a great place to start. All beings want to be happy and gratitude will take you to happiness in a heartbeat. Start with a small smile and I bet you will end up with a big grin. A smile is priceless, it can't be bought and it is the best gift to give anyone. Relieve your frustration, anger, blame, hurt, worry and all those negative feelings that have been holding you back from your happiness with a few grateful thoughts and see your world change to reflect your new vantage point.

The best advice I believe I give my clients is to start a Gratitude diary. Write something in it everyday and see how your world blossoms.

I agree with Buddha when he said, "We are what we think"

Have fun, be grateful and be happy, then success can't help but find you.

Gaynor is passionate about helping people achieve their passions. With over 25 years of Personal Development study and vast business knowledge Gaynor is well equipped to assist business owners, executives and employees alike.

Businesses can achieve greater profitability, increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, build stronger and more enthusiastic teams, retain skilled staff, attract highly sort after staff and more, when they introduce the techniques Gaynor offers.

Individuals can achieve increased confidence, increased relationship and communication skills, reduced stress, greater clarity when faced with life's challenges, a sense of direction and purpose, more vitality and zest for life plus a sense of peace and contentment.

Article Source: Gaynor Parke

 Practicing gratitude can help you find your life's purpose. Come and join us in our DailyGratitude4Life Facebook Group.  The one thing you could do to improve everything about your life - your emotional health, your physical well being and your lifespan - would be to move into a daily practice of gratitude.

Today's Gratitude 17 February 2016 - Enjoying Coffee at Marina Mirage

Today I am grateful for the delicious coffee and breakfast I enjoyed at Marina Mirage, Gold Coast, Australia. That's what I call living!

 Practicing gratitude can help you find your life's purpose. Come and join us in our DailyGratitude4Life Facebook Group.  The one thing you could do to improve everything about your life - your emotional health, your physical well being and your lifespan - would be to move into a daily practice of gratitude.

The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik

One recent December, at age 53, John Kralik found his life at a terrible, frightening low: his small law firm was failing; he was struggling through a painful second divorce; he had grown distant from his two older children and was afraid he might lose contact with his young daughter; he was living in a tiny apartment where he froze in the winter and baked in the summer; he was 40 pounds overweight; his girlfriend had just broken up with him; and overall, his dearest life dreams--including hopes of upholding idealistic legal principles and of becoming a judge--seemed to have slipped beyond his reach.

Then, during a desperate walk in the hills on New Year's Day, John was struck by the belief that his life might become at least tolerable if, instead of focusing on what he didn't have, he could find some way to be grateful for what he had.

Inspired by a beautiful, simple note his ex-girlfriend had sent to thank him for his Christmas gift, John imagined that he might find a way to feel grateful by writing thank-you notes. To keep himself going, he set himself a goal--come what may--of writing 365 thank-you notes in the coming year.

One by one, day after day, he began to handwrite thank yous--for gifts or kindnesses he'd received from loved ones and coworkers, from past business associates and current foes, from college friends and doctors and store clerks and handymen and neighbors, and anyone, really, absolutely anyone, who'd done him a good turn, however large or small. Immediately after he'd sent his very first notes, significant and surprising benefits began to come John's way--from financial gain to true friendship, from weight loss to inner peace. While John wrote his notes, the economy collapsed, the bank across the street from his office failed, but thank-you note by thank-you note, John's whole life turned around.

365 Thank Yous is a rare memoir: its touching, immediately accessible message--and benefits--come to readers from the plainspoken storytelling of an ordinary man. Kralik sets a believable, doable example of how to live a miraculously good life. To read 365 Thank Yous is to be changed.

 Practicing gratitude can help you find your life's purpose. Come and join us in our DailyGratitude4Life Facebook Group.  The one thing you could do to improve everything about your life - your emotional health, your physical well being and your lifespan - would be to move into a daily practice of gratitude.

Start Your Day With A Grateful Heart

Gratitude Is The Key to Success

I saw a post today on FaceBook that said, "What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?" and it forced me to pause and think. Am I grateful for what I have, or do I tend to look for "greener grass?" That's when I knew I had to write this article. This one attitude impacts every area of our life.

You can change your life with a single thought.

This one thought can:

• Create great wealth

• Restore health and even cure disease

• Unlock your greatest potential

• Forge and fortify deep abiding love

• Inspire great joy to the point of bliss

Scripture tells us: "For as [a man] thinks within himself, so he is." (Proverbs 23:7 NAS95)

Therefore, it is vitally important that we watch what thoughts we allow ourselves to think. You may have heard the expression, "You bring about what you think about." Pretty simple, right? Our lives are a product of our thought process. You will get what you expect in life.

So what are we expecting? Why does one person have a different expectation than another? Our THOUGHTS drive our expectation. Whatever we're thinking about becomes what we expect to happen. This is why the great self-improvement books have focused on the power of thoughts. Of all the thoughts you experience and control, there is one that can profoundly transform your life on a daily basis. What is it? Gratitude.

How does gratitude transform our lives?

Our mind is bombarded with million of bits of information every second, so it filters out everything it is not actively looking for.

As a general rule, our mind looks for what is wrong, lacking or missing in our environment. Its primary job is to avoid danger and ensure our survival with threat-assessment emotions like fear, hesitation and suspicion. However, if we allow ourselves to become preoccupied with these negative thoughts, they begin to dominate our mind and become our expectations. Because we begin to expect negative we begin to create negative in our life. The ultimate result: a lifetime of disappointing and unfulfilling experiences and outcomes.

However, we CAN stop the natural negative tendency of our mind by redirecting it towards abundance and what's positively possible by focusing it on what we're grateful for. Almost instantly your life can change its trajectory.

This simple shift can revolutionize your world and all that you can create in it.

You see and experience what you look for. Sound too easy?

Take this simple test: In the room where you're sitting now, count the number of red items you see. Note as many as you can. How many items did you count? Now without looking again-eyes closed- how many items in the room do you remember were blue? You probably can't recall many at all. When you open your eyes and focus on the blue items, you'll probably see many more than you remembered. Why? Because the first time you weren't looking for them, thus you didn't see them. In your first reality they did really exist at all.

An attitude of gratitude opens your mind up to focus on the positive and ultimately see, discover and create more of the same. As a result, you will experience more abundance, prosperity, well-being, love, joy and happiness.

The Tangible Benefits of Gratitude

Health - Research has proven that practicing gratitude improves our emotional and physical well-being, reduces stress, worry, fear, anxiety and the conditions closely associated with these emotions such as high blood pressure, depression, heart disease, and immune system deficiencies. Maybe you aren't in the greatest physical shape right now, but you have the opportunity and ability to improve that, starting right now. My story is proof of that. Be thankful for that.

Relationships - I loved what Joel Osteen said in Darren Hardy's interview with him. Our partners usually fulfill only about 80% of our needs. Most people, however, focus on the 20% that's missing. Thus, they ultimately become unhappy and unfulfilled. Sadly, many people will leave the relationship to find that 20% in someone else. What they find is that "new" person will also fulfill only about 80% of their needs as well-they're just different needs and expectations from their last partner.

The key is to focus on the 80% of what is right, wonderful and beautiful about your partner and your relationship. Your positive perspective will change how you appreciate, interact and support your partner, thus garnering a much different response and engagement from them.

Wealth- When you see the glass half-full versus half-empty, you will start to see the abundance of water all around you. When you attune your mind to abundance you will start to develop new ideas, and see the opportunity and potential all around you. Your positive outlook will change how you walk, talk and interact in the world. Other influential and resourceful "birds of a feather" will also see the commonality and want to connect with you.

Put on your rose colored glasses.

Gratitude is a choice. It can become a positive habit-but only with discipline. With continued exercise and practice, it will create more abundance, prosperity, well-being, joy and happiness than you ever thought possible.

One of my favorite inspirational speakers and personal growth "guru," Jim Rohn, teaches that greatest gift of all is the gift of personal development-so that is what I want to pass on to you. The one book that has had the most impact on my development over the past year has been Darren Hardy's "The Compound Effect." This book and audio program teaches how success (or failure) in every area of life, including fitness, is based on the small things done repeatedly over time.

In closing, here are some questions for you:

In what ways will you express your gratitude over the next week?

What is your favorite gratitude practice?

Article Source: Deryl W Duer 

 Come and join us in our BellaVita4Life-MagazineFacebook Page. We provide information to help you to reach your full potential and strive towards emotional, spiritual, social, financial and physical success and to improve your overall wellbeing.

 Subscribe to our BellaVita4Life Free Online Magazine App on iTunes for tips and information on how to live a happier and successful life. 

 Come and join us in our DailyGratitude4Life Facebook Group where we share tips on the benefits of gratitude and share our gratitude for the day.

Isabella ❤

How to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude

Much has been said about the benefits of adopting an attitude of gratitude to live a happier life. This is because when you get into the habit of being grateful, you literally open the door for blessings to constantly flow into your life. But you don't have to wait for huge things to happen in order to feel grateful, because those will manifest naturally just by becoming grateful for what you already have... today, right now.

Article Source: Tamara Baruhovich

You see, once you get into feeling grateful regularly for the things that others may take for granted, you will be creating a cycle that goes from feeling grateful to great things happening in your life to feeling happier to feeling grateful all over again, and again... It becomes a positive cycle that can just improve upon itself as you go.

Someone once said that... "Blessings are always there; we just don't notice them. Gratitude clears the haze that obscures the gifts surrounding us." That is such a powerful saying! You might want to read that again, and let its meaning sink into your being. In fact, blessings are all around us. But when we allow ourselves to get overwhelmed with daily challenges is not easy to acknowledge those blessings.

Speaking of quotes, I once heard this one by Sarah Ban Breathnach... "When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present -love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure- the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth." In other words, being truly grateful allows us to experience Heaven on our day to day existence. As you know life is about choices, and if we choose to live being grateful, we can experience a sublime life. In some cases, we are able to transcend the ordinary by just living in a grateful state.

In reality, we live and die by our choices. You can choose to walk around frustrated and complaining about everything that is wrong or you can choose to look at the bright side of things and commit to living with an attitude of gratitude.

Here are a couple of examples:

You have a meeting at work and it didn't go as expected, BUT... fortunately you had a work meeting to go to. Think of the thousands of people who are jobless at the present time!

You had an argument with your teenage son because of his messy room, BUT... you are fortunate to have a child to teach right from wrong as he becomes a responsible adult. Remember that there are parents with troubled teenagers and homeless teenagers with no parents to guide them!

Yes, life can throw some tough curve balls at us, BUT fortunately we are still standing. You see, adopting an attitude of gratitude can transform your life. It can literally turn the tide around and cause you to perceive things from a different angle. This will -in turn- create more favorable events in your life.

I challenge you today to keep an attitude of gratitude, and keep it going every day. No matter how disappointed you may be, strive to always find a reason to be grateful. There are plenty in every person's life, believe me!

-----------------

 Come and join us in our DailyGratitude4Life Facebook Group of friends and gain in the benefits of writing your daily gratitude to help transform your life. 

 Subscribe to our BellaVita4Life Free Online Magazine App to help you achieve a healthy and meaningful life which is essential to balance your body, mind and soul.

 Come and join us in our BellaVita4Life-MagazineFacebook Page. We provide information to help you to reach your full potential and strive towards emotional, spiritual, social, financial and physical success and to improve your overall wellbeing.

Isabella ❤