With a daily gratitude practice, we literally prime and program our physical bodies through our thinking. Our thinking injects an IMMEDIATE physical response of chemicals and hormones into our blood stream, which INSTANTLY affects the way we feel. Within two beats of the heart, these chemicals and hormones are pumped throughout the entire body, including 60,000 to 100,000 MILES of blood vessels.
Repetitive thoughts tend to cause the same chemical and hormonal responses, which then become a habit, and even an addiction. Some of us are addicted to the thoughts, feelings, and chemistry of anger, rage, and drama, and some of us choose the addiction of the to the thoughts, feelings, and chemistry gratitude, love, peace, and harmony.
Years ago, when I was in a dark place, addicted to anger, rage, and drama, I tried an experiment, which I learned from the book, THE SECRET. I decided to think of everything I possibly could that I was grateful for. Originally, I was going to do it for one month. The morning time was perfect for me, as I was the only one awake. On the first day of this new practice, I did it in the shower, and mentally started a gratitude list. “I’m grateful for my children and for the house we have to live in.” At that, I was done. My habitual thinking took over, and I immediately began repeating everything from the day before that made me resentful, bitter, angry, and hateful. It takes time, consistency, and repetition to create a habit.
The next day, a few more things were added to the list. By the end of the month, I was thinking of things to be grateful for as I got ready, rode my bike 5 miles to work, and did a pre-trip on the bus I would be driving for the day. The practice that took me 5 seconds the first time, turned into 30 minutes within a month, completely altering my mood and the way I interacted with everyone and everything throughout the rest of the day! I made a mental note of absolutely everything I could and eventually I was able to think of not just a few things, but a myriad of things! The one-month experience turned into a daily practice. If I skip a day, I don’t beat myself up about it. I start again the next day. No biggie. This practice empowers me to see beauty in everything and everyone, all the time, habitually and consistently.
This ONE habit has completely changed my entire life, resulting in a totally different set of chemicals and hormones, creating empowering feelings, and empowering me to interact with ALL circumstances, situations, and people on a whole new and different level. Habitual gratitude physically rewired my brain because of repetition. I am now a far more effective creator and projector of beauty, love, and prosperity.
I have noticed that a solid gratitude practice is an incredible way to start the day. It helps me to be more positive. I am no longer mostly pessimistic, and have become increasingly optimistic. I am no longer destructive in my thoughts, words, and actions. I am now more CREATIVE, in every way. Now, instead of mentally judging and criticizing everyone and everything, I LOVE everyone and everything.
My life used to be full of darkness, struggle, frustration, and lack. There was a definite void, a feeling of something missing. I now live a beautiful, meaningful, fulfilling, happy life, full of light, love, and abundance.
A consistent gratitude practice is the one habit and habitual way of thinking and being that has attracted an entirely different set of circumstances, situations, and people into my life, repelling the old and inviting in the new.
EVERYTHING is a vibration, and the level at which WE vibrate magnetically and energetically attracts MORE of where WE vibrate at, and REPELS ALL ELSE.
WE LITERALLY CREATE OUR PERSONAL REALITY THROUGH THE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS WE ALLOW TO CONTINUE. WE ARE CREATORS.
The question then becomes:
TODAY, RIGHT NOW, am I INTENTIONALLY going to think and feel about what I want MORE of into my reality, or will I allow OTHERS to control what I think about, focus on, and give my vibrational energy and attention to, allowing them to abscond with my creative powers to manifest what THEY want into this physical construct?
Practicing gratitude and appreciation has changed my focus from lack to abundance, from destruction to creativity, from dark to light, and from unhappy to happy and fulfilled. MEDITATION is the OTHER tool I have learned to use to constantly RE-ALIGN with my TRUE self, vibrate at the highest levels possible, and refocus my time, energy, attention, and power on what I DO want more of.
Today I will set a goal to try out a mental gratitude list, sometime in the morning, as a part of my daily, consistent, habitual routine and find out how it works for me. I will keep at it, until the old chemical and hormonal patterns and addictions are displaced by the new ones. I will MEDITATE ON GRATITUDE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwZukzJpQ00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-XBvLQdRG0
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Remember: Mindset matters. Character counts. That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives. WE CREATE our realities.