The effects of turning our attention to the fullness of our experience and saying “Thank You” for that can be enormous.  More enthusiasm, energy, alertness, social connection and general well being are invited into our lives when we (literally and figuratively) clear out the channels gooked up with negativity and make room for some joyful experiences!  Those are a lot of pretty words to say:  Just do it.  And there’s really no excuse: No time?  Nonsense, it doesn’t take long. No supplies? Rubbish, you need card (index cards from your grocery store work fine, so does a 4×6″ cutout from your favorite cereal box). Check out the photo below… cards/paper, scissors, tape/glue, anything that writes or paints and maybe a clipping from whoknowswhat.

This may actually save the day in case your time with family is typically, well, less than harmonious!  Why not gather around the kitchen table and bring all of your attention to something other than what you usuall talk about?

Make it focused, short and joyful!  But do it!  And do it regularly.  That’s all! 

Giving Thanks, In Joy,
Damaris

Michael Farr

However, there is the law of attraction. It works. How do we know? Because we practice it and you can too with some small and simple steps. There is a way where you can make your wishes come true after all. This way is called deliberate attraction.

Deliberate attraction can be practiced by anybody. All you need is the following three ingredients:

• Knowledge
• Visualization
• Readiness to accept

Knowledge to make deliberate attraction come true

Do you really know what you want? The law of attraction really works when we are clear about our intentions. If we merely wish for something to happen, it won’t. You have to be able to feel it, smell it, see it… which brings us to the next topic…

Visualization of the end result

Once you really know what you want, visualize the outcome as if you already got it. Always use positive affirmations to visualize things. Instead of saying:

“I can’t run 100 meters in under 10 seconds, say I can run 100 meters in 12 seconds and before long I will be able to run them in 9.5 seconds.”

Positive statements create positive energies. See yourself running over that finish line in the time you imagine. Feel the sensation of having achieved the dream, hear the crowd go wild while they chant your name over and over again, smell the sun on your skin and see the blue sky above your head.

The more senses we use in the process of deliberate attraction, the better it will be.

Are you ready to accept your wish come true?

If negativity sneaks up on you do something that will help you to distract it. Only when we are truly ready to accept our gifts from the universe will we receive them.

If we question the outcome, ourselves, or the universal laws, nothing will happen, except that we will spiral into a negative. In order to be able to accept our gifts we need to first be ready. It starts with a positive mind set. But this alone won’t be enough either. You will also need to be alert to what is happening around you and see the opportunities that present themselves to you.

Deliberate attraction works if you have your eyes wide open. Be ready to attract and accept.

… there! Did you see that?

And… you attract that for which you are grateful.  Visualize that which you are inviting into your life, feel what it will be like to already experience it and feel the gratitude for what you have received.  These are the ripples that will set oceans in motion to literally deliver to you what you trully desire.

When we say “I thank you”, we open up to the powers of the universal forces and align with the law of attraction. Being in a positive state of mental well being is the ideal basis to give thanks with a grateful heart.

We don’t think we have to list the benefits of gratefulness for you to understand how powerful and simple a thank you practice can be.

Not to mention the person we say thank you too. One important factor which we shouldn’t forget however is the ways in we deliver the message. If we express thankfulness to another person, the message needs to come from our heart, otherwise it will show and lose its meaning.

A grateful heart is a heart full of love and childlike excitement. It is open to receive as well as give with pure intentions at all times.

If you are uncertain how to express thankfulness to a loved friend or partner, you might want to start with a simple thank you e card. E cards are great to deliver a nice message fast and don’t take much of your time to do either. The person at the receiving end will feel delighted and you might as well make their day.

We could all use more ways in which we express thanks to each other. Simple gestures often mean more than elaborate gifts anyway. Maybe you’d like to share with us the best thank you gift you have ever received and why.

In my research on potty training for our potty training course, I have learned that children respond to the emotions of their parents and care takers. In further research, I have learned that in all relationships, the most important step you can take in creating a successful relationship is to be happy yourself.

All people are attracted to happiness. This trait is most easily observed in children who have not yet learned to suppress their emotions.

The most important gift that you can give your child is your own happiness. When you are happy yourself, you will naturally be more patient, kind and loving toward your child. You don’t have to work at it, the love just flows naturally when you are happy.

Too many parents think that once they have children, pursuing their own happiness is selfish and something to feel guilty about. Neglecting your children while pursing your happiness may be something to feel guilty about; however, there are many ways to create your own happiness and provide care for your children at the same time.

Children need love and happiness as part of their nutritional requirements. They cannot grow and develop to their full potential unless they receive adequate love and attention.

Parents who are filled with happiness and who think happy thoughts the majority of the time are in a much better position to provide the nurturing environment that children need to grow and develop. Finding your own happiness is the first step in creating a happy child.

Dr Wayne Dyer suggests in his books that you can choose your emotions. You simply choose to feel angry or choose to feel happy. While I love his writings, I have had trouble practicing that suggestion. What works better for me is to choose thoughts that allow the happy emotions to flow naturally.

For example, when my dog was injured, there was no way I could feel happy about his injury. However, after a great deal of prayer and meditation, I was able to slowly begin to find things about the episode that I could feel better about. By slowly changing my thoughts from sadness and anger to thankfulness and expectation, I was eventually able to feel happy again about my dog.

And just like a child, my dog has responded to my thoughts and emotions. While I was sad, he moped around and looked awful. As my mood improved, he began to get more active and is now again the feisty puppy that I enjoy spending time with.

Because children respond so visibly to your emotions, it is your duty as a parent to be as happy as you can be. Seeking your own happiness is not selfish, but the act of a loving and responsible parent.

Over the years, I have observed many child behavior issues that we very obviously linked to the unhappiness of the parents. Well, it was obvious to everyone except the parents of these children. They kept looking for someone else to blame for their children’s problems. They continued to create more unhappiness for their children and everyone involved.

So, if you notice undesirable behavior in your own children, take a moment to look inside yourself before you start looking for someone else to blame. Are you happy? If not, take steps to address your own emotions before you start to work with your children’s behavior problems.

As an engineer, I was very good at the identify a problem, find a cause, remove the cause, there’s your solution kind of problem solving method. But in my work with children, I have found that this method is ineffective.

A better method is to simply identify and express the desired behavior and then encourage it. I call this the “creative intention” method of problem solving.

We can leave the cause finding to the research scientists. As parents, we just want happy well behaved children.

And the first step in creating happy children is to find happiness ourselves. Creative intention works especially well in finding ways to create more happy thoughts in your life and in the life of your children.

In every situation, there is always something good to be thankful for. Those of us who are accustomed to finding problems that need a solution will need to practice a bit before we can easily and quickly see the good in every situation. You may want to find someone who is naturally optimistic to mentor you.

But with practice we all can learn to think thoughts that will create happy feelings.

One quick exercise that can help is throwing a “Tantrum of Thankfulness.” We all know that two year olds can express a lot of emotion is a short period of time so let us use that example to create more of what we want and less of what we don’t want.

Set a timer for three minutes. During that time think of as many things as you can to be thankful for. Write them down, speak them aloud or just think about them. I like to do opposites: “I am thankful for sunshine, I am thankful for rain.” Get as animated as possible while doing this exercise. Jump around, sing, yell, do whatever you can to experience the emotion of passionate thankfulness.

Get your children involved in the game. Really listen to what they are thankful for. If they don’t understand the concept of “thankful” just ask what makes them happy. Don’t make any judgments, just go with what they say.

I prefer to do this exercise with my dog as my children are older and think I am crazy. My dog just enjoys the company.

Whenever you find unhappy thoughts creeping in, just throw a “tantrum of thankfulness.” If it is not appropriate to throw a tantrum right there – like waiting in line at the post office - just remember the last tantrum you threw. Experience the happiness in your mind and smile.

The greatest gift you can ever give to anyone is that of your own happiness. Guard it with all your might and seek new ways to create happiness everyday.

Teach your children how to be happy. Create a happy world for all of us one happy child at a time.

Loving your body and giving thanks for the flab, the parts that don’t work very well and all the parts that work beautifully will change your life. Bring gratitude to the kidney stones, arthritis, and the back pain. It certainly cannot hurt and perhaps it will transform. This practice is not a replacement for seeing your doctor.

Gratitude can bring ease to your body. Flabby sagging breasts will not be perky again, but you will feel better about your body with gratitude for the sagging flesh. A deep inner contentment and satisfaction can replace the self-judgments, self-loathing and self-hatred so you can enjoy your body. It has done such a marvelous job of getting you to where you are now. Thank it!

The wisdom of the universe lies within your body, in the cells. This wisdom comes from an internal connection between the upper and lower parts of your body. The intuitive knowing that springs forth from your guts unites with the heart and head to create a joyous, loving productive life.

When the internal knowing from the lower part of your body is denied, made wrong or violently cut off, war is carted within the body that leads to dissatisfaction, disease, depression, heartache and unhappiness. Why not use the internal knowing and longing as a force leading you to your own evolution? That deep longing is the energy behind the untying of the knot that exists between the heart and solar plexus. The deep longing is to be complete and whole within your body, the ultimate connecting of the upper and lower parts of the body for profound inner connection.

To create more joy and delight in your life visit http://www.brainforsuccess.com Receive your Free copy of The Gift of Gratitude! Dr. Miller is a pioneer and ground breaker in the fields of cellular transformation and deep transformative change. She received a Ph.D. in the Psychology of Change and Cellular Transformation in 1985, and has spent over twenty-five-years as a psychotherapist and later as a consultant exploring the cellular structures of thousands of people, assisting them to live in greater health, prosperity, joy, and delight. Her new book The Art of Radical Gratitude contains brilliantly stunning photography and luscious awakening poems to change your life with gratitude, radically simple to the core transformation.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Cynthia_Miller ]]> http://www.iamthankful.com/everyday-gratefulness/thank-your-sagging-flab-and-watch-your-life-change/feed http://www.iamthankful.com/everyday-gratefulness/grateful-parenting-how-and-why-to-raise-a-grateful-child http://www.iamthankful.com/everyday-gratefulness/grateful-parenting-how-and-why-to-raise-a-grateful-child#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:28:37 +0000 Damaris http://www.iamthankful.com/?p=397 Gratitude equals happiness. Can you imagine being totally happy without feeling totally grateful for the joy you feel? Can you imagine feeling totally grateful without a heart overflowing with joy? Of course not; because gratitude and joy go together.

Unfortunately, we…