Gratitude and the Laws of Attraction

When I was reading Neale Donald Walsch's book Conversations With God, I was impressed with what he said about being grateful. He says when we express our gratitude for something, we imply that we already have what we are expressing gratitude for and the very act of feeling grateful is powerful enough to attract more of the same to ourselves. It set me thinking about the poem I learnt as a child that went something like this:

Thank you God for the food we eat,
Thank you God for the world so sweet,
Thank you God for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.

There is more to the poem than this, but this is just about how much I can recall! I can still recall my school days when we said this prayer. Later when I was just out of college I taught tiny tots for a brief spell. Chanting this short prayer with them was a daily routine. But what I enjoyed most about the exercise was watching them as they closed their eyes and joined their hands in prayer, with innocence and faith written all over their cherubic faces! It brought me immense joy and I always felt uplifted with the energy of their pure hearts. Many times during my life I have consciously or unconsciously repeated this poem to myself and thanked God, filling my heart with joy and peace, each time I did so, not realizing its immense power over my life. Now when I look back, I realize what I had unknowingly done: I had set the Laws of Attraction in motion through the act of thanking and augmented its power further with the feeling of very powerful positive emotions like joy and peace! Having now consciously understood how the laws of attraction actually work, it is easy to realize how they shaped my life, reaffirming the fact that we create our own reality.

The first principle of Reiki states: Just for today, I will live from the attitude of gratitude.
Living from gratitude suggests living from abundance, and that was what nature intended for us: abundance in all spheres of our lives. Just focusing on feeling good and thankful is magnetically powerful enough to attract greater abundance in life. Abundance not just in material terms but in other terms as well. Focusing on lack has the opposite effect. It takes you away from abundance to insufficiency and creates disharmony with universal laws. When you feel grateful, you act from a level deep within your core that speaks volumes of your self-esteem and worthiness to receive all that you have come to this physical plane to experience. You are firmly rooted in the belief that there is enough for everyone and that the Universe is well balanced and has innumerable gifts to offer to each one of us.

Even as I write this, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all that I have received in my life, from my parents, siblings, my partner and family, friends, relatives, my teachers, job, creature comforts, good health and what-have-you. The list is very long indeed! I also feel deeply grateful for the people who have come into my life and guided me in several ways consciously or subtly through their powerful positive vibrations, but surely playing a role in uplifting me towards something higher, towards something better and in some way helping me to fulfill my soul agenda in this life.

Another song I learnt in school went like this.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

Counting your blessings is another way to bring in that feeling of gratitude and setting the laws of attraction in motion. It is impossible to feel anything but joy in your heart whilst counting your blessings. Positive feelings are positive energy that attract situations replete with abundance!

Feeling gratitude is a small act, but immensely powerful and spiritually empowering. Gratitude is a very powerful positive energy that can bring into your life other like-minded souls and this again can be very uplifting.

Let gratitude be the first thought you think each the morning and the last one before you retire each night. Soon you will begin to feel its immense power in your life.