Having just celebrated Thanksgiving here in the U.S. I’ve found myself contemplating the essence of giving thanks…and where it takes me.
In my world giving thanks leads me to a feeling...a feeling of immense JOY and appreciation for whom ever or what ever it is that I’m recognizing I’m thankful for.
I’ve been playing with the vibration that surrounds saying thank you…just the words…and then really tuning in to the appreciation factor and feeling the words as I say them with appreciation.
Let’s walk beyond thanksgiving together…
Most of us when asked what we’re thankful for will say family…or perhaps one or two significant others in the form of close friends, partners, etc.
On the Road to Appreciation
Now if we simply say, “I’m thankful for my family.” The words alone may not conjure much vibrationally. But, if we allow ourselves to enter into the feeling realm of why we’re thankful for our family (or a special friend, etc.) we begin to see and feel within ourselves all the wonderful aspects that we love about them and it sends amazing ripples of love and appreciation through us.
From this place, we are beyond thankful.
We are in the essence of appreciation, we are in the essence of love and the vibration here is so high…we feel high!
Elated even. We are moved. Our hearts and souls are engaged.
Mother Nature leads us to Appreciation
When we surround ourselves with nature and we gaze out into her beauty it’s easy to find at least one thing we see that we’re thankful for. We may be grateful for the blue sky, the soft, gentle breeze, the trees that offer shade on a hot summer day, or the way the sun glistens on the new fallen snow.
We could just say we’re thankful for these things…
and I don’t know about you, but for me…I can’t stop there. I am easily taken in by the beauty that surrounds me…and suddenly I’m over come with immense appreciation for Mother Nature, for her grace, her steadfastness, her power, her magnificence.
What might shift?
Can you imagine how things might shift to the highest positive if we were willing to look at all of life through the eyes of love and appreciation?
What would happen if every where we looked we could only see something positive, something that we loved, something that made us feel good?
It reminds me of the post I wrote months back about Seeing Life Through Rose-Colored Glasses.
What if our eyes were equipped with a special filter that heightened our awareness to the good that surrounds us in every situation…even those situations that seem entirely dire and dim?
What if I told you that we ARE equipped with that special filter? What if I suggested that each and every one of us have that filter alive and well within us? What if I said the only thing necessary to turn it on, to activate it is our own willingness, our own conscious choice to do so?
Would you turn yours on? Would you turn it up, full throttle, and allow the world that surrounds you to be filled with things you feel good about? Things you love, things that make you feel better than ever?
Do you believe it’s possible?
I do. I’m living proof. I see the good stuff. I feel good in my life. Joy is mine.
Do I sometimes have to have my filter re-adjusted? No, my filter is made of perfection and can not be broken and it never loses it’s power. It’s me who sometimes needs adjusting.
It’s me who sometimes needs a tune-up. And all that takes is me noticing that I’m seeing things that don’t make me feel good, things that bring me down, things I don’t like. When I notice I’m seeing some of these things I know it’s time for a tune up.
3 Steps to a Quick & Easy Appreciation Tune Up~
- Think of and write down as many things as you can that make you feel good…keep writing until no more things come in right now.
- Think of and write down at least 5 things/people/places you love and allow yourself to move into the feeling place of why you love them…what do you love about them…how does all of it make you feel.
- Take yourself into nature and look for as many things as you can that look beautiful, things that bring out the wonder and appreciation in you.
If we’ve managed to block the flow of our special appreciation filter and there isn’t much we’re seeing that looks or feels good, it may feel challenging at best to do these 3 easy steps.
If you find yourself feeling that way, here’s a question to ask yourself. It’s one that when I ask it of myself, it gets me on track every time:
Do I love the way I’m feeling, do I want to continue feeling this way…or is there something better I’d like to be feeling?
OK…so technically that’s 3 questions. Bear with me.
As soon as we ask ourselves if we’d like to feel better…as soon as we glimpse the idea that we can…we’ve shifted into an opening that allows the feel better to come in.
Abraham says, “Look for the thing you like the best even if there’s only one thing in all of it that you like, give it your undivided attention and use IT as your excuse to be who you are. And as you use those things that shine bright and make you feel good as your excuse to give your attention, and as your excuse to be who you are, you’ll tune to who you are…and the whole world will begin to transform before your eyes.
It’s not your job to transform it for others, but it is your job to transform it for YOU.”
From this place we can begin our tune up…and get that special filter activated…leading us to the most amazing life experiences we could ever hope for…with ample amounts of Feel Good and JOY along the way.
I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. Life is meant to be JOYful, to be enJOYed. And one of the clearest, most easily travelled paths to experiencing that is the Road of Appreciation.
This quote from Abraham sums it up nicely~
“Appreciation is me being in sync with the whole of that which I am. Appreciation is seeing what ever I’m looking at through the eyes of Source.
A state of appreciation is a state of godliness;
A state of appreciation is being who you really are.”
So go Beyond Thanksgiving. Find yourself in a State of Appreciation. It feels good.
- How do you activate your special appreciation filter?
- How has living in a State of Appreciation made a difference in your life?
- …or if this road is new to you… How do you imagine being in a State of Appreciation may support the Feel Good in your life? *Remember, imagining makes it so!
You’ll enJOY this YouTube video from Abraham-Hicks on Appreciation vs. Gratitude. Fitting, huh? The Abraham quotes in my post came from this video…listen for them!
2. December 2009 at 10:48 am
Your post was a welcome distraction from the celebrity gossip I read about Tiger Woods this morning. I felt sad because it seems if you’re rich and famous you must also be one lonely person, because even your best friend and your mistress tell the whole world about your private life.
So when I read these words: “What would happen if every where we looked we could only see something positive, something that we loved, something that made us feel good?” – I wondered if I could put on glasses to see Tiger’s situation as positive and good-feeling.
I’ll give it a shot:
Well, I know a lot of golfers who might be relieved to hear Tiger really is human. Surely there will be other women who are relieved to know they’re not the only ones experiencing unfaithful husbands. TMZ is probably excited to have something to report on.
Maybe there is something good about unloading secrets? Maybe it gives him a chance for a clean slate. Maybe it’ll actually lead to better relationships (and maybe better future decisions more aligned to his values).
All right, Debra – I thought that was gonna be a good trick to see something good there, but you’re right – it just takes a little effort and practice, doesn’t it?!
Thanks for the inspiration!
.-= Jeannette´s last blog ..Let’s Get Ahead of Ourselves =-.
2. December 2009 at 11:21 am
Oh Jeannette…have I told you lately how much I love you?
I love that this is where you went with the post…and I love where you’re taking me even more.
A (small) part of what inspired this post in me today birthed from an interesting experience I had last Saturday afternoon.
I was in a car accident. (I’m completely fine, and so is the other woman involved…no injuries!) The accident was my fault.
I was driving along in the most ecstatic state of appreciation…seriously. I was thinking about how much I’d just enjoyed my day at the salon, great clients, great conversation, etc…I was appreciating the intense BLUE of the sky in that moment while driving…I was appreciating my life, the loves in it…and I was thinking about how happy I was that I was going to have time to go riding yet that afternoon!!
As I was driving along in my state of appreciation apparently I was a little lost in it…and not quite present enough in my absolute now.
I swear the light was green. Heck, in the euphoric state I was in (just purely me…no enhancers for me!!) every light would probably be green! There were no cars in front of me…just the open road…and an intersection.
A woman pulled out to make a left turn, coming into my lane of traffic. What?!? How could this be??? What was she doing??
I snapped into the absolute moment in a nano second and realized I must be going full speed through a light I was meant to stop at! It was her turn, not mine!
In that moment I was HYPER Aware. I did my absolute best at creating the best possible scenario. In those few seconds before the crash I looked for the best route to navigate for the least impact, I looked out for others visualizing a clear path-keeping others out of harm’s way, I surrendered and knew everything would be (was) OK. …and then we crashed.
We side-swiped each other.
Besides the fact that I was in a State of Appreciation that seemingly led me out of the immediate moment and into an accident, what does this have to do with this post you may ask?
Sounds a little twisted at best, I know.
Trust me, for a few min’s after it all happened I had myself questioning this whole LOA thing…what we create…if being in a constant state of appreciation is really a good thing, like maybe not so great while driving??
But honestly, even in that “oh this kinda sucks and it’s my fault” situation there was even more to be in appreciation about.
*We didn’t get hurt.
*The woman I caused an accident for was/is extremely understanding.
*We hugged 3 times during the after moments!
*I apologized and her heart was wide open to receive it.
*I met a really nice person & her hubby, under not so great circumstances maybe…but we may not have met another way.
*My car (and hers) are fixable.
*The officer was kind and (stoically) understanding.
*…it was still a sunny day when it was all said and done.
*My family embraced me and said, don’t worry about it…it’s all OK
*…and my list could easily go on.
Now, I could choose to dwell on the, “Wow, what a jerk I am for not paying attention, how could I be so irresponsible, what if something worse had happened, etc.” picture…’cause trust me, those thoughts were (sometimes still are) there.
But, I don’t dwell there ’cause it’s yucky and it doesn’t feel good.
I can find my way to the feel good in anything. My life depends on it. How else am I supposed to rock my Joy of Brilliance so deep??
Thanks Jeannette…
I had a feeling I’d be able to share this bit in the comments…just didn’t know how, when or where. It’s good here. Right up front. Nice.
See? Another thing to appreciate!!! …and we journey on.
2. December 2009 at 10:56 am
Not to mention this too … he’s healthy, he’s ridiculously talented, he’s rich, he’s got a lot of things going for him. I mean, of all the problems to have, this is probably a pretty good one. Too many beautiful women in your life – I know a lot of guys who’d love that problem. he he
Funny how this gets easier the more you practice it, huh?!
.-= Jeannette´s last blog ..Let’s Get Ahead of Ourselves =-.
2. December 2009 at 11:22 am
Hahaha!!!
Easy-Peasy! …and so much FUN!
2. December 2009 at 11:47 am
Okay, Debra, this is exactly what I was thinking about this morning. I was thinking that Good Vibe University could use a Peacemaking expert (or three) – or alternately their titles could be “Pollyannas.” People who are adept at seeing the good where others don’t.
That’s what I spend a LOT of time doing with clients – helping them see it differently. In a way that feels better.
And I thought how nice it would be to have someone always at the ready to help us do that at GVU.
You’re the Queen. Of Rose Colored Glasses. I love it!!!
PS – I just heard Abe talk about “near misses” in traffic on the Tahiti Cruise. Have you heard it? I’ll forward the details if you like.
.-= Jeannette´s last blog ..Let’s Get Ahead of Ourselves =-.
2. December 2009 at 12:03 pm
Love it! Love it all… GVU Peacekeepers, Pollyanna’s, Rose-Colored Glasses Queen…!
It sure does make a HUGE difference to have a cheerleading/navigation team of support surrounding us at all times. I know how much I appreciate that…and that’s probably why I see the value and JOY in offering that support to others.
Would love the details for the “near misses” in traffic from Abe!! I haven’t heard that one yet. Muchas Gracias, Amiga!!
12. December 2009 at 3:25 pm
Wow loved reading this article. I added your rss to my reader.