You have surely heard about the numerous benefits of practicing gratitude: it helps you to improve your health, build strong relationships, feel more positive emotions and deal with adversity to name just a few. But did you know that gratitude is the most powerful tool when manifesting whatever it is that you desire in your life? Indeed, gratitude and the Law of Attraction are inseparable in so many ways.
The word gratitude springs from the Latin word gratus ‘pleasing, thankful’ and is a heartfelt appreciation for what a person receives, whether tangible or intangible. To me gratitude is love, because when you feel grateful you open your heart and you fill it with agape that unconditional love that you direct at all the goodness that is present in your life.
Why is gratitude so powerful? What should we be grateful for and how do we practice it to get the most of it?
Gratitude transforms our energy field.
Everything in the Universe is energy: you and me and all the other physical or non-physical objects. All energy vibrates at particular frequencies. Our thoughts, feelings and beliefs determine the frequency that each of us are emitting. Why is this important? The Law of Attraction teaches that like attracts like. The Universe does not speak English, it speaks vibration. So, as you immerse your heart in gratitude and you feel gratitude with every cell of your body, you transform your energy frequency into one of the most beautiful and powerful frequencies. And guess what happens? You attract more of it – more of the things, people, experiences, opportunities, events and feelings to be grateful for.
Gratitude eliminates negativity, need and lack and therefore accelerates manifestation.
Being grateful makes us feel abundant, happy and loved. It makes our cup half full rather than half empty. Gratitude is a conscious choice and when you feel grateful, you focus on the things that are already present in your life, the things that you have now. You give thanks for them and you appreciate them with all your heart. In doing so, you actually shift your focus and take off your attention of all the things that you lack.
When you are busy focusing on the positive, you have no time to contemplate on the negative. When you are busy appreciating the advantages, you don’t feel tempted to concentrate on the disadvantages. When you feel grateful for the abundance, you feel elevated and empowered. It is really in that state that unconditional love and compassion can blossom and when it does, there is no room for negativity, lack or need.
Gratitude allows to detach from our desires and let go
You can feel grateful for the things that you already have in your life but also to thank now, in advance for the abundance that is coming to your life. When manifesting, we always have to feel as if we already have whatever that we are trying to manifest. When you are feeling grateful for the things in your future, you subconsciously connect to the emotion of your future. You can now think, feel and act as if you already have it. Gratitude helps to conjure the feeling that your desire is already present in your life. So, you no longer feel separate from it. You let go and you trust the Universe. You are no longer trying, wishing, doubting, chasing or forcing. You are simply allowing. You are attracting.
Things to be grateful for.
There are countless things to be grateful for. People, experiences, things, feelings, places, events, opportunities … Bigger or smaller, less important or extremely important. Trivial or special, new or old, familiar or not. Timeless or momentary. Inspiring or scary. Simple or complex. Positive or negative. Especially the negative. Many of us are grateful for only good things. However, all the bad things that happened added value to your life and thanks to them you are the person that you are today. You stand where you stand today. They brought you lessons, clarity and possibility to grow, so be grateful for them as well.
This morning you opened your eyes, and so many people did not. It is a gift of life, can there be any better place to start? And take it from there. Be grateful that you woke up to greet this amazing day, that you have a bed to sleep in, comfortable pillows, your lovely spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend sleeping next to you, your kids playing in the room next door, even if they fight; your job that you are waking up to, your colleagues, community, the car that you will take to work, the seminar that you will attend, etc. The list is endless and non-exhaustive.
But whatever you have now, be grateful for it, even if it is not what you eventually would like to have. Because appreciating what you have is the only way for getting more. So even if you are not driving the car that you would want to, be grateful for it, because otherwise the message you will be sending to the universe is – I do not like my car, it is not good enough, I am not content with what I have. Consequently, you will only attract more of this feeling so you will remain unhappy with what you have.
Start learning to appreciate all the good and beautiful things in your life no matter how small they seem to be. For small things can have a big impact.
How to practice gratitude?
Practicing gratitude is taking time to notice and reflect upon good and positive things that are present in your life. Practicing gratitude is finding good and positive things even in difficult and what first might seem hopeless, strictly negative situation, person, experience. It is a refusal to give in to negativity.
Start small but be consistent. Like when you do when building any other habit. Find a way that works best for you and speaks most to you. Make it easy and enjoyable. You could keep a gratitude diary. Script every day. Journal. Say little gratitude speeches. Repeat words of gratitude while you do your yoga exercises, drink your morning tea or coffee, go for your morning walk, while you are driving to work etc. Make your own rituals, like having a gratitude stone in your pocket, and saying ‘thank you’ every time you touch it or taking time to thank for your day just before you fall asleep or when you wake up.
Find time to appreciate goodness in your life. Close your eyes, take a couple of deep breaths and open your heart. At first it might be difficult to find things to be grateful for or even feel the emotion itself. But the more you will practice gratitude the more easy, meaningful and expansive it will become.
It is easy to forget that life always happens for us but never to us. And sometimes when we are riding this roller coaster of life, we forget that we always have the choice to either focus on the hardships that we are going through or look for the good and positive things to be grateful for in every situation. Gratitude is a key that will help us to unlock the gifts of life and will open the door to happiness and abundance. Gratitude allows you to be happy now.
