The Gratitude Hype

So what’s with Gratitude? Jenny Ibbotson explores how living a life filled with gratitude brings about joy and abundance in every aspect of our lives.

Everyone is talking about gratitude! Almost every personal development book has a section on gratitude. We are told that it is vital to be grateful – not just for the good things but for everything that comes into our lives. Every person, event or circumstance. Many coaches and inspirational speakers and writers suggest a gratitude journal. But why? I used to wonder why there was such emphasis on being grateful – and for everything. I know it makes you feel better but I wanted to know why and I wanted to understand how this could change things for us. When the light finally went on I realised that gratitude would, and indeed did, change my life in the most wonderful ways.

Lets begin with Energy

You’ve probably heard that everything is energy. What does this really mean for us? Albert Einstein came up with that wonderful and life-changing equation E=mc2 which means in its very simplest translation that energy is mass or matter, and that matter IS energy. That means everything. The very smallest ‘particles’ that we can identify are sub-atomic particles and they are in essence the building blocks of all ‘matter’. But scientists have discovered that they are not in fact particles even though we call them that. They are simply filaments of energy – vibrations of light pulsing away in our very cells.

So moving away from the science of it, the bottom line is that we all consist of energy, you, me, oak trees, rocks, air, water, cars, bricks, everything. We are all the same stuff and we are all vibrating at different frequencies – some fast, some slow, and some in between. This gives new meaning to the concept of being connected, of being one with the universe. It also explains why you may walk into a room and feel the vibes – happy or tense. It explains why, when you are house hunting and you walk into a house, you like the ‘feel’ of it. It explains why you may say “I am feeling pretty low today”. That is perfectly accurate because your vibrations are literally at a low frequency.

So it’s worthwhile remembering that you are always vibrating at a particular frequency because you are a bundle of beautiful energy.

Back to gratitude

We are manifesting our reality in each moment and what we create depends a great deal on how we are vibrating. Every emotion, every thought, every belief, even the words we use, affect our vibrations; and gratitude lifts us to a super-high level. It changes the way we see the world and it changes the world. So if you can, be grateful for everything – the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’. It is the sense gratitude, the joy you feel, the celebration of life, and the bliss, that brings the good stuff hurrying towards you.

A daily practice

Try using a gratitude journal or incorporating your ‘gratitude’s’ into your regular journal. You could say them to a partner or a friend, tweet them, record them on facebook or my personal favourite, start a skype chat with a group you trust and share your gratitude’s every day. Stay aware of the fact that you are surrounded by wonder.

Jenny Ibbotson is the author of The Obedient Universe, which is about creating a life of joy and abundance. You can find out more at www.obedientuniverse.com

Count your blessings - all of them

Life is a theatre, so invite your audience carefully. Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives.

There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of, or at least minimise your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not going anywhere relationships or friendships. 

Observe the relationships around you.  Pay close attention.

Which ones lift and which ones lean?

Which ones encourage and which one discourage?

Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill?

When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse?

Which ones always have drama or don’t really understand, know or appreciate you?

The  more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

Remember that the people we hang out with will have an impact on both our lives and our income.  And so, we must be careful to choose them carefully, as well as the information with which we feed our minds.  We should not share our dreams with negative people, nor feed them with negative thoughts.

So – who is in your front row?

Have your read our 10 Tips to Banish Negativity?

10 tips to banish negativity

“If scarcity is what you see, it’s scarcity you’ll find. If prosperity is what you see, it’s prosperity you’ll find. Which would you choose to see?” Camilla Hazell

Almost everywhere we turn, from friends, to family; to colleagues to the media we hear reports of financial doom and gloom.  Retrenchments here, property sales down there… And doesn’t misery love company? We have little choice about what everyone else is saying, but we certainly have a choice in what we say, what we think & our perception of the situation. Read the rest of this entry »