Attitude of Gratitude
Photo credit: Cassie Goodluck Johnson
I wrote this article a few years ago for my blog Sexy Real Food. I now believe that a crucial piece to creating a life we desire comes from working on increasing our self worth. I didn’t mention that here but I’m still diggin’ this message and seems like a good time to repost. Hope you enjoy…
With the promise of a shiny new year ahead, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to raise my vibrational frequency and manifest more of what I want into my life. I had heard about The Law of Attraction, by now everyone has, right? Remember The Secret? I used to think, Sweet! Just wish for something I want and it will appear on my doorstep. Well, not exactly. There is a bit more to it than that. The Law of Attraction basically states that everything in the universe is made up of energy, that all energy vibrates at a certain frequency, and that this vibration attracts like vibration. This energy includes not only atoms and molecules that make up all physical matter, but also our thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Feelings of joy, love and peace vibrate at a higher frequency and will attract higher vibrational feelings. Anger, fear, and resentment vibrate at a lower rate and will attract more of the same. The same goes for thoughts and beliefs. Negative thoughts about ourselves and our lives will vibrate at a lower rate and attract lower vibrational thoughts. We eventually begin to believe these to be true and it can turn into a vicious cycle. We end up feeling bad, having long streaks of "bad luck" and not living the awesome lives that we are meant to live.
In doing some research on this subject, I stumbled across this quote. You cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought.* Whoa. It really made me stop and think. How many times do we get caught up in the stories in our heads about what we are lacking or why we are not good enough? We run around thinking about these stories, focusing all our attention on them and believing in them. We give them so much power and all the while, we are unknowingly attracting more thoughts and feelings that vibrate at a lower frequency.
If you find any of this rings true for you, take action now. There are things you can do to stop this downward spiral! Doing any activity that brings you joy, practicing yoga and meditation, being outside and finding gratitude are just a few of the ways to go about raising your vibration and begin attracting more positive into your life.
Gratitude is a great place to start because it brings awareness to the positive that already exists in your life, rather than focusing on what you do not have. Plus it feels good. And feeling good raises your vibration. It’s like saying a big “Yes please “ and "Thank you" to the universe and the universe likes it. So it gives you a high five back. Then you say “Thank you” for the high five and the cycle goes on and on. You soon begin to shift your vibration to a higher frequency and attract higher vibes your way.
Learning how to find the good in our lives, even in spite of challenges can be a powerful tool. It’s similar to using the breath in yoga practice. When a pose is difficult, you can always come back to your breath. When life throws you lemons, you can always come back to being grateful for what is good and look for the lesson that can come out of the experience. Being grateful opens our hearts, raises our vibration, and allows us to learn and grow.
I invite you to begin a gratitude practice. Keep a gratitude journal and write three things you are grateful for every morning or every night. Perhaps try it as an experiment for a month and see what happens. Then breathe, open your heart and notice the shift that takes place.