BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality New Age Gratitude Experiment

Hello Everyone

I've just completed an article on The Power of Gratitude

In my own life I've found giving thanks to be immensely beneficial. I thought we'd have our own Gratitude experiment here on the forum. Please read the article & then go about your day giving thanks, putting lots of energy into the process. See how your life feels after a few weeks and then complete the Gratitude Experiment poll.

Your own gratitude stories would be welcome!

Gratitude Experiment single choice
	My life just got so much better!
	I feel things are better in my life
	I haven't noticed any changes
	Things got a bit worse in my life
	My life just took a nosedive!
Votes accepted starting: 01/13/09 10:27 AM
View Results

What a gorgeous article, Lauren! Thank you for that.

I am also a believer in the law of attraction, and when I was a practicing life coach, offered 4 free showings of "The Secret" DVD at the local library (until I got a phone call from the head librarian asking me to stop showing it, as she was suspicious that I would somehow gain abundance from showing it...)

When you asked about whether you are attracted to happy, grateful people or miserable ones it really sparked an important realization for me. Years ago, when I left an abusive childhood family life, I was attracted to miserable men and miserable friends. They felt comfortable and familiar to me. As the saying goes, misery loves company! But as I began to transition, I made the choice to leave my awful marriage and my messed up friends, and have since been drawn to more positive, healthy people - not because of them, but because of me! Since my life has gradually become more grounded in gratitude, balance and uplifted belief patterns my life has transformed into one of fulfillment and peace.

Thanks again for the article and the poll, which I am jumping ahead to participate in...

Shay

I have a question about the people you attract to your life. Does this apply to people who are healers by nature?

Healers need to attract those whom they can heal, people who are hurting or ill. Does that indicate a part of themselves that need healing?

Just curious.

Lori

I tend to be a "glass half empty" type of person. Before I found Paganism (I know this is the New Age section, but it still fits), I think a lot of aspects of my life were more negative. When I officially became Pagan, I began trying to change many attitudes in my life. I feel that by being grateful for the gifts in my life, this has caused my perception of life to switch. There are so many beautiful things in life that we often take for granted!

So, I definitely think that expressing gratitude to the people, places, things, and events that are special in our life allow us to express them in a more positive light. It has for me anyway.

Hi Everyone

Thanks for your post Shay, you can feel your energy sparkling through in it. I've had a wonderful week since writing the article, like really does attract like and I have felt bursting with positivity!

That was a good question about healers. I do have people on my books with serious depression, history of abuse, trauma and so on. I am glad to help them as they work to turn things around.

I feel that providing you have done your own inner work and are in a good place this doesn't rock your own core of happiness. If you hadn't cleared your own issues and bought into their self beliefs then it would be detrimental to you. This is why I spend so much time on personal development when I am training healers.

It really is about knowing where you are and checking that you don't get enmeshed in the issues of your clients. I routinely detach (sometimes I forget!) at the end of healing.

Froggie, well done for turning things around. We all can do this if we want to- I hope and trust more people are switching on to how much happier they can be.

This poll is a great idea, thanks for posting. I read it last week, and several other little things happened in my life that reminded me to refocus on gratitude, so the timing was perfect. Was definitely challenged with it this week when all three kids came down with the stomach flu, but did manage with things like 'I am grateful it is only a flu' and 'I am grateful to have this extra time with them'. The latter really helped change my attitude about the whole week.

I also think it's fascinating some of the studies I have read that indicate how focusing on gratitude actually changes our brain chemistry.

Anyway, I quoted the healing comment above because I really agree and you said it well. I am not a healer, but know a lot of people who are, and also people in counseling fields. It does seem to me that some have not worked through some personal issues, and then they tend to attract only people very like themselves, and it can cause problems for both sides. While those that really focus on their own inner work can become a purer conduit for help and guidance, because they get 'out of the way' so to speak.

Thanks Lisa! I'm finding increasingly that even things that on the surface look bad are reasons to be grateful when reflected upon.

We had snow here last weekend and I had to cancel my course for my students' safety. It bought me space to do some huge healing for myself that would have been put aside had I been busier- every cloud really does have a silver lining!

"In everything give thanks," is without a doubt the best verse my religious upbringing gave me. Oh sure, there are lots of others, but what it comes down to is being intentional about living a life of gratitude. When things really stink, I try to say thank you for that specific stinking thing (usually through gritted teeth, I am no Pollyanna!) and usually that is enough to make me laugh at least. It's easy to get caught up in a spiral of negativity and gloom. It's a challenge, but really, really fun, to set in motion a spiral of goodness and gratitude.

I wrote an article a while back about givine thanks through good and bad. My point was that we can always find something to be thankful for in the positive, but we need to work to be grateful for the negative things that happen in our lives, too.

The negative things are the things that make us stronger and cause us to grow. I will admit that it is sometimes only possible to thankful after the fact when we have had time to consider what rrole they might have played in our lives.