Cultivate Gratitude

No matter who you are, where you live, what you possess, if you are reading this blog right now, you have a lot to be grateful for.

I'm guessing you have a roof over your head. Maybe you own or rent a lovely, warm, safe home. You have food in your fridge. Maybe your pantry is also full. (I have enough stocked to outlive all y'all come the zombie apocalypse.) If you are anything like me, your closet is filled with clothing that you never wear. You probably have a car, maybe also a bike, a boat, some sneakers. If you were asked what you need, you'd be hard-pressed to think of a single thing that you really need but don't already own.

My point? We all have so much to feel grateful for. And this attitude of gratitude will take us far in manifesting our dreams.

We have already discussed Step One: releasing fear and worry. (See my blog titled Manifesting your Dreams in 2017.) Then we talked about moving from negative to positive thoughts. (Check out my last blog: Moving from Negative to Positive.) Today we will cover gratitude.

Yes, gratitude is very closely related to positive thinking. But gratitude takes these positive thoughts of ours one step further and thanks the universe (God, Jesus, The Higher Self, etc.) for the abundance we receive.

Gratitude says there is a positive force in the universe which wants us to be happy. When we feel grateful, we acknowledge this positive force. It doesn't matter if you call this force God or Hashem or Allah or Brahma or any other name. What matters is that you cultivate this attitude of feeling grateful for all you receive, rather than feeling the lack of something you do not yet possess.

Gratitude keeps us focused on the abundance of the universe. An abundant universe is sure to assist you in manifesting your dreams!

For each step of the process toward manifesting your dreams, I will suggest an exercise to help you practice each concept. (Review the past 2 blogs for exercises to help release fear and move from negative to positive thinking.) Today's exercise is to begin a gratitude journal.

You might make a practice of jotting down things you are grateful for each morning. I've tried various formats, and I encourage you to play around with this idea and discover what works best for you. You might choose to write down 10 things per day, or maybe only 3. (I've found three works better for me as I can easily come up with three specific things daily. Ten turned out to be a stretch, and I ended up repeating myself a lot.) Another possibility is to draw or sketch or doodle or paint your daily gratitude. You could even put on some music and dance your gratitude. Your practice should reflect who you are.

Enjoy practicing gratitude and focusing on the abundance of the universe. This is sure to increase your happiness!