The Gratitude - Alignment - Abundance Connection
Incorporating space for #gratitude is critical in a daily self-reflective practice. Beyond helping with stress management and boosting happiness, gratitude is a critical element for achieving energetic #alignment and serves as a catalyst for attracting #abundance.
Tips for establishing your gratitude practice:
Be real about what you’re grateful for.
Some days what comes up for me is that I am grateful for the breeze stirring the wind chimes outside my
window. The sound of my chimes brings me unending joy - how can I not be supremely grateful for the wind? Some mornings I am most grateful for the stars offering their last twinkling of the night before the sun rises. Some mornings I am grateful for the cardinals chirping and the robins crafting their nests. Some days I am grateful for time spent reconnecting with friends the night before, or the curiosity of my children, or the support of my husband.
Name what you feel grateful for. To express authentic gratitude, name the things that are bringing you the most joy or catalyzing powerful emotions in that moment. Without a felt experience, gratitude is false, or at best, a half-truth. Name what you feel grateful for. Knowing what you’re grateful for and feeling gratitude are very different things.
Make it a habit.
Establishing a daily gratitude practice will help you maintain or reestablish energetic alignment. Each day is a fresh opportunity to attract abundance. Not to mention that expressing gratitude feels amazing!
Be flexible with the timing of your practice.
I humbly submit that setting aside time for self-reflection and gratitude daily is more important than when you do it. Upon waking is the time that I have the least physical energy of the day, but it’s the time when I can most easily tap into my intuition and emotions. Morning journaling doesn’t work for everyone, though; maybe you’re a mom with interrupted sleep cycles (ahem) and setting your alarm for sunrise is a hard no, or maybe you have an atypical work schedule, or maybe you’re just a night owl… work with what comes naturally to you. When do you have the capacity to access authentic gratitude? That’s the time for your reflection and gratitude practice. Don't sabotage yourself before you even get started by choosing a time of day that just doesn’t work for you.
Get creative with your outlet.
I prefer to journal for my reflection and gratitude practice, but contrary to what many teachers suggest, I type rather than handwrite because I find it more efficient for keeping up with my thoughts, and there’s the bonus of the quick Command+F search. For the tech-savvy, there are a variety of journaling apps that can help you get started. And if journaling isn’t your thing, what about voice recordings? Drawing or painting? Simply getting quiet and meditating on what you’re grateful for? The options are endless. Choose the type of practice that will support you in forming a routine that you look forward to. The act of doing supersedes the how.
Notice other times that you’re grateful.
Cultivate awareness of those sensations. Feelings of joy are an expression of gratitude - take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate those feelings.
Your gratitude practice can offer some unexpected benefits too.
Practicing gratitude can deepen your creativity. There’s poetry in gratitude if you open yourself up to the myriad ways you can express it. If you’re a heady type, practicing gratitude is also a great way to connect with your emotions as you work toward energetic alignment.
The best part? Your daily gratitude practice will open your eyes to the abundance you already have in your life and open your heart to invite and embrace even more abundance.
A time of self-reflection, including a gratitude practice, are the underpinnings of what I call Intentional Alignment, which you can read more about here.