How to Create A Gratitude Practice
Practicing Gratitude has enumerable affects, from improving your mental health and well-being to shifting your external conditions. Explore 4 steps to create a consistent practice.
This past week marked the annual day of thanksgiving. Be it a family centric gathering or a Friendsgiving, it marks a day where we join to commune and express our gratitude and appreciation. However, gratitude practice extends well beyond just one singular annual event. It’s a practice that we can consciously weave into every aspect of daily our lives. Beyond all of the many things that we have to be grateful for, there are those moments, experiences, and events, that threaten to cloud our ability to see beyond our external circumstances.
Gratitude is more than an act of appreciation its a state of consciousness, that carries an energetic frequency that has the power to raise your vibration above any unfavorable conditions. Being that energy is not a tangible element that can visibly been seen with the naked eye, it is able to transcend the physical realm.
As within so without. Gratitude doesn’t just emanate from the outward things that we experience on a daily basis. It is an energetic frequency that is sourced from within, thereby flowing into our external experience. In other words it comes from the depths of our being, and not from acquiring, achieving, or accomplishing any external accolades of success. Gratitude arises from an awareness of being in observance and acceptance of what is, as it unfolds within the present moment, regardless of circumstances or conditions.
“Gratitude is not a passive response to something we have been given, gratitude arises from pay attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us.”
-David Whyte
In the good times when we are visibly experiencing abundance it is must easier to express it without hesitation. But when you are in the midst of situations, and circumstances that may re-affirm your feeling of lack, it is much harder to see beyond your present viewpoint. Let alone maintain consistency even through those times when you may find it hard to identify just one singular thing to be grateful for.
In the midst of these times, it's best to start by taking time to get up close and personal to look in the mirror. Be it a handheld, bathroom, or a wall mounted mirror, bring your face and nose as close as you possibly can to the surface and observe the the gentle mist of fog that briefly appears with the flow of breath through each nostril. Allow this observation to serve as a reminder that you are alive. No matter what you maybe going through on a moment to moment basis, let it be a reminder that you are alive to witness and experience life as it unfolds.
There are so many things to be thankful for, breath, movement, family, friends, material things, and ultimately life itself. Of all of the many responsibilities, and obligatory things that we bombarded with on a daily basis, establishing, and maintaining a consistent daily practice may present itself as a challenge. Ultimately being grateful for life is a spiritual practice. It’s all about perspective. That’s why it's important to establish a daily practice.
“There’s a pathway of higher potential and power that, when honored, transforms your reality—and you.”
-Lalah Delia
From the moment we awake, arise, and start to move about through our day, we each have 86,400 (seconds) opportunities in any given day to give thanks. So when you practice gratitude and appreciation on a daily basis it has the power to raise your vibration above any visible circumstances that may weigh you down. The energy of gratitude carries a high energetic frequency that is always available to us at any given time. We just need to be open, and receptive enough to be tuned in.
“Everything you want to be, you already are. You’re simply on the path to discovering it.”
—Alicia Keys
Gratitude is a spiritual practice which also simultaneously follows the law of manifestation. This is why it is so important, to create consistent rituals, habits, and practices that support you to stand in your power, and remember who you really are. This supports you to reaffirm the truth of your being, which is, that everything you need is already within you. Therefore, you are enough just as you are. Here are 4 steps that are key to creating a consistent gratitude and appreciation practice.
4 Steps to Creating A Consistent Gratitude Practice
1. Express and Affirm Your Gratitude and Appreciation
Practice can begin from the moment you first open your eyes in the morning. It can be as simplistic as saying thank you. Be it verbally or consciously, affirm your gratitude and appreciation for the presence of the breath. Regardless of circumstances the presence of the breath reaffirms your ability to begin again, irrespective of past experiences, or future projections, the breath anchors you within the awareness of the present moment.
2. Savor the Beauty Around You
There are going to be situations, circumstances, events, and experiences, that occur that will threaten to cloud your ability to find something to be grateful for. Know that there are 86,400 opportunities that are available for you to experience each day. Of which there are countless beautiful moments that you bear witness to, that have absolutely nothing to do with any external conditions that are outside of your control.
From the air that you breath, to the beautiful wonders that abound in the nature, take time to pause, observe, and experience, and give thanks for being able to bear witness its beauty.
3. Anchor your Awareness within the Present Moment
Whenever you feel overwhelmed, take a moment to pause, breathe, and redirect your attention to the natural rhythm and flow of the breath. This practice redirects your awareness away from past experiences, and future projections, anchoring your awareness within the present moment. This allows for you to be fully present to tap into your 5 senses to taste, touch, feel, see, and experience life as it unfolds.
4. Keep A Gratitude Journal
Journaling is a practice that invites you to explore the depths of your being by using self-reflection, and exploration, to remind yourself of gifts, benefits, and blessing that you experience. Recalling the details of your experience, helps to peel back the layers that may have masked the moments of gratitude that lay underneath beneath your daily activities.
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