What is really meant by gratitude practice?
“Thank You”
[1] People say, “Thank you.” When they get what they needed and wanted.
[2] Or they have been told, “Be grateful for what you have.”
[3] It is a great feeling to have. Many people don’t even appreciate what they have or what they have been given to them.
[4] Gratitude is much more than just a feeling or appreciation of getting what you wanted or needed.
[5] Gratitude is much more than that feeling of acknowledging what we have now.
“Gratitude is the progressive realization of miracles, magical moments and opportunities unfolding in life.”
~Yukiko Iino
Gratitude opens the doors of your heart to connect to a power greater than yourself such as the Universe, Nature or a God of your understanding.
You come to understand the deeper meaning of your life. Gratitude is an overall awareness that you develop throughout your life of how you are supported and sustained by others and forces beyond yourself.
In Japanese the expression, “Ikasareru” signifies these ideas above.
This means to be made alive and to live fully functioning by grace of God or nature.
By practicing being thankful and grateful, you will be able to replace obsessive thoughts that occupy your mind. These obsessive thoughts generate more negativity, worries, doubts and anxieties.
Many people do make a daily gratitude list and challenge themselves to continue for 30 days or longer. Some write spiritual journals. These are great ways to develop your attitude of gratitude.
Let’s go beyond our gratitude list or spiritual journal for the coming years.
3 Best Ways to Use Gratitude Practice:
1] Daily Prayer and Meditation (5-10 min.)
- In order for people to grasp a deeper meaning of life and understanding themselves, they have to go beyond their ordinary thinking.
- Even only practiced for 5- 10 minutes daily, prayer and meditation will open your doors of the deeply programmed mind to receive messages or intuition from a power beyond your own thinking.
- You will begin to experience the places, things, people and situation in your life very differently.
- You will be able to connect many dots to gain clarity about your past and the present day.
2] Practice Loving-Kindness (14 min. total)
(A) Appreciate, love and believe in yourself. (7 min.)
- Make a list of 3 characteristics that you will need to be the person you would want to become. Imagine and practice being the person with these attributes.
(B) Practice Loving-kindness to others. (7 min.)
- Think of one person or actually deal with one person daily
- Believe in this person’s potential more than this person himself believes.
- Be supportive.
- Praise him.
- Say kind words as if you say from the bottom of your heart.
3] Make your gratitude list as you integrate Steps #1 and #2
- Look around. Look down. Look up. Find your blessings.
- Practicing the attitude of gratitude is like:
- Digging the soil to cultivate your garden.
- Seeding and watering your flower garden.
- Polishing the precious diamond within you to shine.
When you practice the attitude of gratitude, you are also working on the attitude of humility, reflection, faith and service.
As a person who is very committed to a spiritual practice and also as an entrepreneur using Internet Marketing methods, I have discovered a simple 3 step system that allows me to journal online and at the same time rewarded financially for my blogging. Interestingly, my community has many men and women who are serious students of spirituality and who honor financial abundance.