by Teresa Yanaros, Friday, August 3rd, 2018

Do you ever take things for granted?

It’s okay, we all do sometimes.

And you know what’s really crazy? Sometimes we take things for granted and don’t even know that we are doing it! Luckily, people around us can help us see things in front of our eyes for which we should be thankful. Sometimes it takes hearing a certain story or coming in contact with a certain symbol or reminder of something special. These situations jog us back to the present moment and help us remember all of the amazing things we have in our life. It’s all about consciousness and perspective. When we take the time and CHOOSE to shine our light of conscious awareness on a particular aspect of ourselves it, in turn, blossoms and expands in our minds into something magical and truly special.

Today, it’s time to really stop and focus on everything that you are thankful for.

The Basics

What does it mean to practice gratitude and thankfulness?

When you are in a space of gratitude, you begin to paint the world within and without yourself with the golden light of bliss.



You begin to forgive yourself and those around you. You forget that fear exists. You feel that feeling that comes right before laughter. You come home to the place inside you that experiences love, happiness, and appreciation for your life, the people around you, and the environmental factors that surround you.

You get lost in playfulness, that feeling you had as a child when every moment was a brand new thing to experience. You were in love, playing with the Divine and being an explorer of the Infinite. Put yourself in this mind space and shine this feeling upon all you have and all that you are experiencing.

This is how to practice gratitude.

Exercise

Okay, let’s do an exercise to connect you back to that playful, happy place of gratitude and bliss.

Step One: Close your eyes and smile.

Take some deep breaths in, and focus on how it feels to smile lightly, calmly.



You are smiling for the moment. You are happy in this quiet space. Let all of your worries fall away. Allow your forehead to relax and your shoulders to loosen. You are now in a space of peace.

Drift into a place where the lightness of your being encompasses you. The weight of worry and fear, the future and the past, just fall away and leave you suspended in a place of pure energy. You begin to feel weightless.

Think about perfection and weightlessness. Maintain the deep breaths in and out, and consider what it feels in this closed off safe space of perfection.

Step Two: Move your mind into Gratitude.

Think about what it means to be grateful. For you. This is a special question for you. Everyone has a different life, a different experience.



You have a completely unique set of circumstances, and therefore a completely unique set of OPPORTUNITIES. You must realize this and see this as the truth. Anything you currently see as an obstacle is an opportunity you have to grow and become an even greater version of yourself.

You’ve been GIFTED this life. And you are here for a reason. And you are literally the only one who can achieve your mission on Earth. That means that it’s time to pull gratitude into every single facet of your experience, in order to get a jump start on the activating faculties inside you. Activating gratitude, being thankful for your life and what you have helps you see clearly through the mist and helps you achieve your potential. Through turning on the power of bliss and gratitude, it levels up your capacity to expand as a soul and manifest your dreams into reality.

Now, for a second, we are going to travel through the facets of your life, and take time to reflect upon each one in turn. I want you to focus on how you can bring the blissful spirit of gratitude into each of these areas of your experience.

Relationships

Think about the people in your life. Have you taken the time to really think about how they improve your experience? Let any negative feelings fall away and picture each of the persons in your life to rise up in your mind, and I want you to instead of seeing their physical bodies picture each of them as bodies of light. Now consider this: each of these divine souls is on a journey to the Infinite. You are journeying along with them. You are all trying your very hardest to become the encapsulation of pure light and love and move back to Source. At this moment, picture your body powering up with the loving light of Source and shine this perfect golden light upon all souls you’ve ever come in contact with. Feel a deep sense of release and love coming from inside your heart. For this moment, you release all bonds and allow these souls to sit in the Divine perfect light of the One Creator. Deep inside your heart, you feel love blossoming outward as you realize that each of these souls plays an integral part in the development of your soul, and you in theirs. Let attachments and expectations float away, and for this moment, allow each person to be the divine soul that they are, with no strings attached.

Now, turn that light upon yourself. Bask in the light and love of the Creator, and know that you are deeply loved. You are forgiven. All transgressions are completely eliminated and you shine in a perfect space of bliss at this moment. You are supported and cared for. With every breath you take in, you are taking in the essence of Spirit and infusing your physical body with a vibrational emanation of Source. Like an ocean wave, you impart the God-substance into your being and move forward through your experience with grace and ease. How grateful do you feel for others and yourself and your experience at this moment?

Health

Take a moment to think about your body, your physical temple. For this moment, think about how blessed you are to have this beautiful perfect temple, fashioned after the Creator. You have so many abilities that you enjoy using your physical body. Take this moment now to reflect on the actions you do with your body every day and how remarkable it is to be a human on this planet right now. All of the wonderful things you can do literally allow you to co-create reality. What did you create today? Sit in a space of gratitude for every part of your experience up to this moment now for all of the wonderful things you have accomplished with your body.

Think now about your mind. Think about all of the thoughts that have passed through your mind today. How many of those thoughts were positive and helped you do something good for yourself or others, in turn creating something that is truly good for the collective? Think about the positive, deep thoughts that you’ve had over your lifespan, and be grateful this moment for all of those thoughts. Now take a moment to think about the limiting, negative thoughts you’ve had in the past and maybe have currently. These thoughts are important too. They help you realize what in your life you need to CHANGE. Resistance is the single most important factor in this experience. This is the catalyzing agent that changes you continually into an even better version of you. Take a moment to appreciate those thoughts now.

Next, turn your mind to your soul development. Take into consideration all of the thoughts and feelings you’ve had, and then what you’ve manifested with your body due to those feelings. What have you created in your life? Think about this wonderful journey that you are on, and all of the amazing things you’ve done and seen. Think about all that you will do and see. Take a moment now to appreciate that you are a finite manifestation of the Inifinte. Your life will go on after death, that is a fact. And right now on this physical plane, you had an opportunity to CHOOSE to use it wisely. Think about how grateful you are for the opportunities you have in this life.

Environment

Now, in your mind, pull up your current environment. Consider your day-to-day. Where do you live? Think about your home. Next, what does your day look like? What motions do you go through each day? Each week? Think about how grateful you are for each aspect of your day. Take a moment to really think about each step of your daily life and relish in each moment, cherishing what it feels like to do whatever it is you do. What have you not felt thankful for in a long time? Are you thinking about new reasons to love your life? Take this moment to make that shift in your consciousness happen.

Now, think about all the places you’ve been and things you’ve seen. What are some of the very best moments that you’ve shared with others or maybe even just by yourself on this planet? Feel a deep sense of gratitude for these memories. And now pull that feeling into your present. What is your environment now and in what ways can you pull appreciation into it?

Hopes and Dreams

Now for a moment think about all of the things you want out of life. Pull up all of the hopes and dreams you have. Now consider all of what you are doing in your life to achieve those dreams. Be grateful for all of the progress forward. Now, think about the other side. Think about the things you are doing in your life that seem to not be getting you closer to your hopes or dreams. It might be obligations. It might be distractions. If they are distractions, give yourself the freedom right now to release those distractions to make way for more mental energy for the things that serve you. If the things in the way of your hopes and dreams are obligations or necessities, it’s time to shift your thinking. I want you, right now, to stop the negative threads moving toward those obligations, if any, and allow yourself to feel gratitude for those things that seem to be standing in your way. Release the bonds of stress and worry. Realize that there are nuggets of wisdom inherent within every single part of your experience. Let go of frustrations. Let go of anger or fear. Allow your life to be exactly what it is at this moment. Take a deep breath in and smile lightly. Think about how blessed you are to be living your life. How can you bring bliss and graitude into even the more seemingly difficult parts of your life? This is the key to true happiness. Be where you are and find the things that you can appreciate as you go through this beautiful journey of growth and change, and movement toward actualizing your greatest potential.

Step Three: Set Your Intention.

To end your reflection exercise, I am going to give you an affirmation that you can use right now. This affirmation is a positive statement that you can use to reprogram your mind to align with powerful energies filled with bliss and love. Say it out loud or in your head. You can write it down on your mirror or a piece of paper, take a picture and make it the background on your phone.

This particular one is based on something called the “reiki principles.” You can use this statement every day in the morning in order to bring gratitude into your life. It really works!



Conclusion

Take the time to call a friend or family member and tell them you are thankful for them. Today when you are sitting in traffic after work, be thankful you have a job and way to get to and from. Make a game out of gratitude. Every time you are in a situation that might push you to frustration or anger, instead make yourself feel gratitude. See what happens! You might become surprised. You might find that you have the capacity to turn each situation into an opportunity to feel positive and see the lightness in it. And if you get a chance today, laugh. Laughter heals all things.



All around us are pieces of the gigantic cosmic puzzle. Let’s attune to its Frequency.

Teresa Yanaros

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