Welcome To Day #12 of 21 Days of GratitudeUsing Gratitude to De-Stress - by Certified Prosperity Guide Bonnie Snyder of http://www.serenitypathways.com

It seems that as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey has been cleared the mad rush of the holiday season is upon us.

With all of the planning, scheduling, and shopping that most of us endeavor to accomplish over the next few weeks, it is not uncommon for people to experience this as one of the most stressful times of the year.

Today we invite you to focus on a wonderful way that you can use “gratitude” to activate your body’s natural relaxation response.

Savor: To appreciate fully; enjoy or relish.

Or, another way of stating it, Mindfulness + Gratitude = Savoring

The choice to slow down, to “savor” something, must be made consciously.  But–once you do–the benefits become very apparent.

You see - stress and happiness cannot co-exist.

So, as soon as you find yourself “savoring” something (anything), you have shifted your energy in a powerfully positive way.

Watch a short mindfulness video about “savoring” at: http://www.serenitypathways.com/todaysgift.htm

Action Steps for this week:

1) We’d invite you to make a commitment to yourself that, a half-dozen times over this coming weekend, you will unplug from the commercialism of holiday preparation and, instead, bring yourself into present moment awareness while you look for opportunities to
“savor.”

~ Savor the beauty in the sights aroung you.

~ Really pay attention to the cacophony of sounds.

~ As you prepare your meals - feel the textures, bask in the colors and luxuriate in the smells.

~ As you prepare to decorate - take extra time to unwrap each favorite treasure, delight in each piece and allow yourself extra time to reminisce about seasons past.

~ Be mindful regarding the family rituals of that are most meaningful to you and/or create new ways for your family to relax and savor time together.

As Bonnie Snyder of http://www.serenitypathways.com explains, “Happpiness comes from focusing in the moment. That is the magic of savoring.”

2) Mindfulness + Gratitude = Savoring

Join me, Bonnie Snyder, for a set of complimentary Prosperity Coaching Sessions on:

Monday Dec. 3rd at 8 PM ET
Wednesday Dec 5th at 1:00 PM ET

We’ll explore how to apply the energy of gratitude in your life to create more happiness and abundance. You won’t want to miss this group coaching session which will support you in playing bigger and creating prosperity more easily.

Register here to receive the telebridge information!

3) Continue your daily list of 5 things that you are grateful for in your online Gratitude Journal at:
http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game

In mindful appreciation of you!

Elyse

Advanced Appreciation

On Day 9 we suggested that, in addition to your daily gratitude journaling in your online Gratitude Journal at: http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game , you also begin playing “The Appreciation Game”.

And we promised that we would reveal more about the benefits of appreciation in one of this week’s posts.

Let us begin with this quote:

“Appreciation is a powerfully magnetic energy that helps you see the wider picture faster. As you appreciate, you see more and understand more. On an energy level, it brings intuitive breakthroughs and helps you realize God is within you. Appreciation magnetizes you to the Universal flow. When you sincerely appreciate what you have in life, you magnetize more of your heart’s desires. Mathematically speaking, if people spent half as much time appreciating what they have as they do complaining about what they don’t have, life would have to get better.” — Sara Paddison in The Hidden Power of the Heart: Discovering an Unlimited Source of Intelligence

This is why we adore playing “The Appreciation Game.”  (Did you give it a whirl yourself yet?)

There are numerous benefits of this game:

1) When you focus on aspects that you appreciate, you shift the energy around the thing that you are appreciating in an upward spiral.

As a result, when the law of attraction responds to your energy, you’ll be drawing a higher form of whatever you are appreciating right back to you.

2) You’ll also gain practice and strengthen your “appreciating” muscles (so that you’ll experience  the energy of “gratitude” and “appreciation” more naturally and more often.)

3) In addition, you’ll simply feel better — and that energy will expand into other areas of your life.

And, if that is not enough…

4) The energy of appreciation can also be used as a tool for transformation.

(Here we are moving into metaphysical territory - but stay with me for the logic of this…)

“When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears.” — Anthony Robbins

Today we have an advanced “appreciation” exercise for you so that you can discern the transformative power for yourself.

Today when you play the Appreciation Game (after you journal in your Gratitude Journal http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game ) we want to encourage you to also begin playing “The Appreciation Game” in a new way…

Today you will write three sentences to apply appreciation in three different ways.

Sentence 1: “What I like about _____ is…” regarding a situation (person, experience, or opportunity) that is going well for you. (Remember - what you focus on will expand.)

Sentence 2: “What I like about _____ is…” regarding a situation (person, experience, or opportunity) that you would like to see show up for you in a new, bigger way. (This way you will be sending out positive, expectant energy in advance around a topic that is important to you.)

For example: if you are wanting to attract more money, positive aspect the experiences of abundance that you have right now. If you are wanting to attract a new romantic partner, positive aspect all of the wonderful partners you have had in the past (only their positive qualities), positive aspect the people in your life right now (love surrounds you) and find positive aspects of all the new people you meet. This will create a vacuum that the Universe will have to fill.

Sentence 3: “What I like about _____ is….” regarding a situation (person, experience, or opportunity) that is NOT going well for you so that you can turn the tides and begin the creation in a positive direction.

Unleash the transformative power of appreciation today.

Elyse Hope Killoran
President,  Prosperity from the Inside-Out
http://www.choosingprosperity.com

A Testimonial for Gratitude by Max Wellspring

‘If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.’ — Meister Eckhart

During any given day what do you focus on with your thinking? The average person thinks about 15,000 thoughts per day and anywhere rom 80% to 90% of those thoughts are the same ones day in and ay out. What would happen then if we consciously began to focus those thoughts on being thankful, even when life is challenging?

What we know about energy is that it follows the focus of our houghts. In other words, whereever your attention goes, energy lows. Many of our ancient and modern sages insist that focusing on gratitude can bless your life in ways that will surprise and
delight you.

One of the ways this works is that being thankful for what is working in your life actually activates the Law of Attraction. This universal law states that “like attracts like” and it ensures that you bring into your experience whatever you are
predominately thinking about. The teachings of Abraham (http://www.abraham-hicks.com) state that “nothing can occur in your life experience without your invitation of it through your thoughts.” If you are focusing on everything that has blessed your life and makes you feel good, you are going to get more of that. It is a key to having healthy, loving relationships; to manifesting the material things we desire; and to experiencing the growth and life enhancing situations that are our birthright. You are a match to abundance. It is law and you have set it into motion.

We begin to understand then that the high vibration of simply being thankful without attachment to outcome makes you incredibly magnetic and dissolves any resistance to the steady and unrestricted flow of what you want in your life. In fact, one of the most powerful ways of expressing gratitude is to have the faith to be thankful for what you want as if you already had it…with a deep knowing that what you want is already given by Source. That which you want is seeking you. This is how the great avatars performed miracles. For example, an avatar like Jesus, with gratitude toward Source energy, was steadfastly in a state of knowing that the person to be healed was already healed, whole and complete beyond any diagnosis or set of circumstances. When we are aware of this, thanking Source should be the first thing we do - rather than the last.

In Neale Donald Walsch’s book, Friendship with God, it says that “gratitude can be the fastest form of healing.” Just remembering to be thankful in the moment can shift or pivot the emotions of fear, anger, frustration, depression, or sadness to a lighter feeling state. Even more profound healing can occur when we have the courage to be grateful for even the worst that happens. To no longer see your life circumstances as a problem, to see every person and every situation as a gift and as guidance from Source is to step through the doorway to deep compassion for yourself and others. With this perspective, it would be impossible to believe that you are separate, alone or a victim. You are powerfully connected to All That Is. Life becomes an adventure in which everything is a miracle to be celebrated.

Finally, just to know these principles is not enough. Actually living and breathing gratitude ‘walking the talk of it’ takes it from just another intellectual concept and makes it come alive in you. In her book, Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach provides us with an excellent tool for bringing gratitude into our lives on a daily basis. She advises keeping a gratitude journal in which you record at least 5 things that you can be grateful about every day. In fact, her stance about the gratitude journal for the year long process outlined in her book was adamant. Doing it was not an option. She felt that, without gratitude, all the other benefits of simplicity, order, joy, prosperity, beauty and harmony “would not bloom and flourish.”

The results of a study on gratitude http://www.acfnewsource.org/religion/gratitude_theory.html, indicated that “…daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, was more likely to help others, exercised more regularly and made more progress toward personal goals. According to the findings, people who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved. The researchers also noted that gratitude encouraged a positive cycle of reciprocal kindness among people since one act of gratitude encourages another.”

So now that we know all of the benefits of gratitude, I invite you to be grateful whenever and whereever you can. Choose to have a good portion of your 15,000 thoughts today be focused on thanksgiving. Bless your life and it will bless you. This is Grace.

By Max Wellspring http://www.thewellspringsolution.com

Today’s action steps:

1) Listen to Max Wellspring lead yesterday’s live “Gratitude Activation” here

2)Want even more support sustaining the power of gratitude in your life?  If you are excited about the opportunity to be supported with mini-energetic boosts during the 21 Days of Gratitude, then you will love having an in-depth way to experience even more energetic tools to expand gratitude. Join Max for a powerful Energy Activation 1-hour-long teleclass on November 29th.  Experience ease and joy at this potentially hectic and emotional time of year.  Learn more and register here!

3) Continue your daily list of 5 things that you are grateful for in your online Gratitude Journal here: http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game

Choosing Gratitude!

Elyse

** Important Reminder: Two chances today (Tuesday, November 27th) to participate in our second, live energy activation led by Certified Prosperity Guide Max Wellspring. Your choice of time: Morning - 10 AM ET or Evening – 8 PM ET.

To join: Dial into 1-218-486-1300 at the appropriate time. You
will be prompted to dial the bridge #:328780.

All calls will be recorded and posted tomorrow on the site so that, if you cannot make the call, you can listen to the recording at your convenience during the week.

Welcome To Day #9 of 21 Days of Gratitude

I promised that I would be blending information from hard sciences along with insights from metaphysics in our daily gratitude messages.

With this in mind, can you discern who (a scientist or a spiritual philosopher) might have said the following?

“You have — within you — the fuel to thrive and to flourish, and to leave this world in better shape than you found it. Sometimes you tap into this fuel - other times you don’t. But the sad fact is that most people have no idea how to tap into this fuel or even recognize it when they do. Where is this fuel within you?

You tap into it whenever you feel energized and excited by new ideas.
You tap into it whenever you feel at one with your surroundings, at peace.
You tap into it whenever you feel playful, creative, or silly.
You tap into it whenever you feel your soul stirred by the sheer beauty of existence.
You tap into it whenever you feel connected to others and loved.

In short, you tap into it whenever positive emotions resonate within you.”

Would it surprise you to learn that the mission statement above is copied directly from the web site for “The Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill”? (Site: http://www.unc.edu/peplab )

Purpose statement for the Lab:

“Our goal is to uncover the universal recipe for human flourishing and to give this recipe as a gift to the world. Our science to date tells us that genuine positive emotions may in fact be the single most important active ingredient in this recipe for flourishing. When this ingredient is lacking, or in poor supply - people get stuck. They lose their freedom of choice. They become stagnant and painfully predictable. But when this ingredient is in ample supply - people take off. They become generative, creative, resilient, ripe with possibility and beautifully unpredictable.

Obviously, as we have emphasized over and over again in this 21 day project, “gratitude” is a feel-good emotion.

The more that you can consciously induce the emotional experience of “gratitude” the better off you will be - as far as health, relationships and business success.

In “Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier“, Robert Emmons Ph.D. even goes as far as to say,

“Happiness can add as much as nine years to one’s life expectancy. What about net worth? A longitudinal study of college students found that happiness levels in college predicted income sixteen years later. The most cheerful students earned $25,000 more per year than their most dour classmates.”

Hopefully, sharing this information today has served to reinforce your commitment to the 21-day gratitude practice.

So, in addition to your daily gratitude journaling in your online Gratitude Journal at: http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game , today we want to encourage you to also begin playing “The Appreciation Game.”

The Appreciation Game:

The Law of Attraction guarantees that we will draw toward us the energetic equivalent of what we are sending out. Today, make a game of finding positive aspects of the people, opportunities and events in your life. Begin the game by stating “What I like about _____ is….” and let your imagination run wild.

In the comments section below, write three elongated sentences that begin with the phrase: “What I like about _____ is….”

“Appreciate anything - even if it seems silly. Look around you for something to appreciate. Look at a lamp and appreciate Thomas Edison. Look at the carpet and be glad it’s not cement. Look at a chair and be happy you don’t have to sit on the floor all the time. Appreciate yourself for trying to appreciate. Anything can be appreciated.” — Doc Lew Childre

We’ll reveal more about the benefits of “appreciation” this week.

Appreciating you!

Elyse Hope Killoran
President,  Prosperity from the Inside-Out
http://www.choosingprosperity.com

Let’s start this week off with high energy.

Something fun, playful and a bit silly.

Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NeMC1Fl3J0 (3:20)

Action steps for today:

1) Can you really get into the energy of the Gratitude Dance?
Do you have enough child-like openess to try it for yourself? Can you
share the video with others and spread the message of happiness and
joy in the moment?

Share your comments below.

2) Continue your daily list of 5 things that you are grateful for in
your online Gratitude Journal at:
http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game

3) Join the live group call tomorrow:

Our second live energy activation led by Certified Prosperity Guide
Max Wellspring

Tuesday, November 27th at your choice of time: Morning - 10 AM ET or
Evening - 8 PM ET

What you will experience:

~ 15 minute mini-energy exercise to release any blocks or resistance
and a 15 minute debrief and check-in for a total 30 minutes of
support to anchor yourself in gratitude each week of the 21 Days of
Gratitude.

To join: Dial into 1-218-486-1300 at the appropriate time.
You will be prompted to dial the bridge #: 328780

All calls will be recorded and posted on the site so that, if you
cannot make the call, you can listen to the recording at your
convenience during the week.

Elyse Hope Killoran
President,  Prosperity from the Inside-Out
http://www.choosingprosperity.com

On weekends we’ll be resting and savoring the deliciousness of our discretionary time.

Here is a quotation to ponder.

“When you are praising, when you are appreciating, when you are acknowledging value, when you are looking for positive aspects, when you are laughing, when you are applauding, when you are joyous, when you are feeling that feeling of appreciation pulsing through you, in those times, there is no resistance within you. You are, in those moments, vibrationally up to speed with who you really are.”
http://www.abraham-hicks.com

Share your comments below.

Continue your daily list of 5 things that you are grateful for in your online Gratitude Journal at:
http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game

On weekends we’ll be resting and savoring the deliciousness of our discretionary time.

Here is a quotation to ponder.

Brother David Steindl-Rast says: “We go through life in a daze. A power failure makes us aware of what a gift electricity is, a sprained ankle lets us appreciate walking as a gift, a sleepless night, sleep. How much we are missing in life by noticing gifts only when we are suddenly deprived of them!”

Share your comments below.

Continue your daily list of 5 things that you are grateful for in your online Gratitude Journal at:
http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game

Proactive Gratitude

Do you want to feel good, live a meaningful life and be abundant?

Laura King, a University of Missouri psychologist, says “Quit reading self help books and start helping others.”

Positive Psychology researcher, Keitko Otake and her colleagues, asked participants in a study to keep track of every act of kindness they did for a week. After one week the kindness group felt a boost in happiness and were much happier than the control group.

If you want to receive a tremendous dose of positive energy, challenge yourself to see how many acts of “proactive gratitude” or spontaneous acts of kindness you can do in a week?

These are the small things. Not what you can buy but what you can you do to help and support others. Not the things you feel obligated to do but the things you choose to do with an open heart.

Today’s action steps:

1) Keep track of the small things you do for others for the next week.

Share your comments below.

2) For inspiration, visit the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation at:
http://www.actsofkindness.org/

3) Continue your daily list of 5 things that you are grateful for in
your online Gratitude Journal at:
http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game

Appreciatively,

Elyse

Dear Ones,

Having an attitude of gratitude will change your life!

Literally and figuratively.

In fact, from the “Prosperity from the Inside-Out” perspective, gratitude and appreciation are the most transformative energies that are available to us.

With the United States’ Thanksgiving celebration arriving today, this is an ideal time for each of us to focus on the magical catalyzing effects of gratitude and appreciation.

The Universe acts much like a giant photocopier — bringing you more and more of what you already claim to have.

This is why you can’t get rich by hating being poor - but you can get rich by honoring the wealth that you already have.

We know that many of you are going to be far away from your computers today but we trust that you’ll be wrapped in the energy of gratitude in wonderful ways.

If you have come to the web site today, we’d love to hear about what you are grateful for.

Let us create a chain of prayers, celebration and gratitude.

Here are few to inspire you…

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

An Iroquois Prayer

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams,which supply us with water.  We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squash, which give us life. We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit. We return thanks to the wind, which, moving the air, has banished diseases. We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have given us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to our grandfather He-no, .., who has given to us his rain. We return thanks to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children.

O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen.

- Samuel F. Pugh
We give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
- ritual chant

Please share your thoughts, prayers and gratitude below.

To a happy Thanksiving,

Elyse

Positive Psychologists Prove: Gratitude Is the Best Approach to Life

The results of a study on Gratitude (Gratitude and Thankfulness by Robert A. Emmons, University of California, Davis, and Michael E. McCullough, University of Miami) shows that a daily focus on gratitude leads to:

~ higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism & energy
~ lower depression
~ decreased stress

along with an increased likelihood of:

~ helping others
~ exercising regularly and
~ making greater progress towards personal goals.

In addition, the findings reveal that people who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved.

(Review highlights of this research in the new book “Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier” and at: (http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/)

The findings led investigator Robert Emmons to this conclusion:

“Our groundbreaking research has shown that grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness and optimism and that the practice of gratitude as a discipline protects a person from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed, and bitterness.”

He goes on to speak about the theme of this project: that practicing gratitude acutally increases the prosperity in one’s life…

“So gratitude is a key to happiness, as I will argue from a scientific angle. And happiness is a good thing. An implicit assumption that many of us hold is that happiness depends on happenings - by what happens in our lives. We believe that success in life - whether the boardroom or the bedroom - makes people happier. Yet a recent review of the scientific literature on happiness revealed that happiness yields numerous rewards for the individual and precedes these outcomes. This means that happiness makes good things happen. It actually promotes positive outcomes. The benefits of happiness include higher incomes and and superior work outcomes…larger social rewards…more activity, energy, and flow…better physical health, and even longer life.”

Today’s action steps:

1) Consider the information above and let it percolate within you. Is gratitude more powerful than you had first thought?

Share your comments below.

2) If you were not able to attend one of the live energy activations led by Certified Prosperity Guide Max Wellspring,  we’ll be posting the audio shortly.  If  you would like to review the 2-Point Energy Process that Max shared in today’s call, go here.

3)If you were not able to attend one of the live energy activations led by Certified Prosperity Guide Max Wellspring, listen to the recording here.

4) Continue your daily list of 5 things that you are grateful for in your online Gratitude Journal at: http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game

With joy and wonder,

Elyse