Living in a continual state of thankfulness allows us to manage life with ease.  True thankfulness is holding a state of gratitude for life’s learning opportunities and for Spirit being present to get them to sink in.  How can we build more gratitude into our spiritual skill set, in ways that help us navigate through daily complexity?

Yes, You Can Cope.  Affirm it!

First, learn to affirm your innate ability to cope.  For example:

• I can do anything I set my mind to
• I am strong enough to withstand any criticism that comes my way
• I navigate through this course with ease
• I have the ability to see this situation through because I believe in myself
• I live through this day effortlessly
• I help people wherever I go by being an example of strength and wisdom
• I feel on top of the world with spirit, who knows no boundary
• I’m smart, competent, and wise

Remember You are Unlimited, Divine Spirit

Affirm that Spirit is a part of each day and every circumstance, and invite it to become part of your skill set, in whatever manner that feels right to you:

• I rely upon Mother/Father God to help mange this situation
• I feel content knowing spirit helps to choose what is best for me
• God can tackle this situation and work through me
• I channel divine love to aid in this situation
• With each breath I take, I am blessed and supported by a higher power
• The Goddess gives me healing power for this situation
• I am expressing the light of Christ consciousness with every word I speak
• I am supported by the universe

Widen Your Perspective on Deep Appreciation

The third and most certain way to manage complexity is to live in a state of deep appreciation for all you have.   But how can we be thankful for traffic jams, lousy weather, lost dogs, and missing luggage?  The answer is: widen your perspective.  Being thankful extends beyond the thanking we do for material possessions, job security, or life accomplishments, which is easy.  A thankful state of mind and heart pertains to the continual acknowledgment that, in each and every instance you experience something far less than ideal, the experience is for your greater good. In doing so, you are relying on your higher power, and strengthening your connection to the Divine.  For example:

• I am grateful for this opportunity to learn more about my capabilities
• I thank the universe for showing me this situation so I can be more compassionate toward others
• I appreciate all the beautiful parts of my body because I am a wondrous creation
• I welcome this challenge in my life and am thankful I can inspire others
• Because of the family I have chosen, I am thankful to be even stronger than yesterday
• I receive all my good with a thankful heart and rejoice in my blessings
• My difficulties today allow me to cultivate wisdom.  I am a wise soul!

Adopting this type of thankfulness puts you in the Superbowl of big picture thinking. You are not thanking the universe for giving you a bad circumstance, which will only generate more bad happenings. Instead, you are flourishing in a state of complete appreciation for what life has to offer.

Use the Law of Attraction

Don’t you always feel more inclined to give more to someone when they are enthusiastic and appreciative?  Consider the times you have helped someone and have been overwhelmed with thanks.  Didn’t it make you want to give more?  Like does attract like, unlike what you’ve been told in the past. Although at a sub-atomic level, positively and negatively charged particles are attracted to particles with the opposite sign, and repelled by particles with the same sign, it’s not a good model for our own behavior and attitudes. This theory of the electromagnetic force does not account for the state of the heart.   The truth is that Like Attracts Like which is the Law of Attraction.  So put it to work!

If you want to be a person that is appreciated then continue to give unselfishly, thanking others for all they do.  The same is true with the universe.  Life provides exactly what we continue to acknowledge. You’ve got to learn to love life, be in love with life, at an intimate level.  Anytime we acknowledge life is good, we are entering a state of gratitude.  Be thankful you have an opportunity to challenge yourself.

Practice to Get the Energy to Return to You
 
Practice!  Write thanks to yourself, and to others, on a regular basis.  Wherever you go, show up with a compliment.  When you visit someone, bring something positive in the form of affection or caring.  Tell your friends how much you appreciate their sense of humor or their graciousness and never assume they don’t need to be thanked.  Write thank you notes for dinners, gifts, and prospects you receive from all people in your life – your family, your partner, your children, and your business colleagues. When people receive your thanks, especially in written form, they take a little bit of your spirit throughout the day.  Quit procrastinating and learn to get the words out of yourself.  Once you learn how to do that, you will be amazed how that energy comes back to you.

Living in a continual state of thanks for being alive and well, and having a chance to improve the lives of others through your words and actions, turns negative situations around very quickly.  By allowing life to happen through you, you offer your own unique thumbprint of the Divine.  That is called living with joy.  Thankfulness of the present is an element of almost every affirmation.  Live in a continual state of thankfulness, express it in your words and actions, and you will be among the most endeared people on this planet. Without a thankful mind set, we do not nearly have as great an opportunity to explore the limits of our patience and our capabilities as loving individuals.

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts on Gratitude! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!
 

Emmet Fox, a 1940’s new thought minister, stressed the importance of setting a mental equivalent to create an abundant life, borrowing the term from chemistry and physics.  If engineers can work out the equivalent of heat in order to determine how much energy it represents in the form of another energy, so can we.   What does this say about the way we are perfectly capable of instituting positive change in our lives and world?

You can create the equivalent of every experience or object in the physical world by changing the thought to which it corresponds.  Whatever you want in life – a satisfying job, healthy body, friends, or opportunities, you must first set a mental equivalent to attract it.  If you have something you want to be rid of – ill health or strife, then begin by striking the belief that those ideas and experiences must be part of your world and the world at large.

Just like cleaning closets after a holiday, limiting belief systems must change in order to create new realities.  Instead of old baggage, we can choose positive, empowering thoughts to provide a foundation for our experiences and what we demonstrate, not just in the business world, but in our personal lives as well.  Have you examined your finances and things don’t look too good? It’s an invitation to abandon old assumptions about lack.

Put together a prosperity mindset

To open room for an abundant life, create a new mental equivalent.  Ask yourself:

• What would you like to see happen? Whether it is a bigger bank account or more love, feel what you want with tremendous passion and clarity.  Be grateful, and rejoice in the abundance of everything. You can notice joy and prosperity everywhere and view the world with awe.

• Where do your past prosperity and abundance attitudes come from?  Creating an abundant life is about mastering the process of thinking.  Your abundance is not determined by outside conditions but is a manifestation of your beliefs about what is possible. Take an inventory of faulty thinking and release old, outdated ideas about lack, what you deserve, or even old family and cultural attitudes about money.

• Be thankful for what you have and what you are about to receive.  An attitude of gratitude is necessary to change your energy around. You are making the universe a big, shopping list for all you desire – be happy and grateful for it! By having a mindset of joyful thanks, you are resonating with all things that bring you joy – and you will attract more.  Like attracts like!

Stay on track with higher level thinking

• Believe you already have everything. After you have asked, it will be given.  When you begin to live life with a sense of positive expectation, you will attract what you desire.  It’s the premise behind the Law of Attraction!
 
• Know that you are unlimited.  There is nothing holding you behind. You are part of the All, which is an unlimited idea.  Therefore, your life is without limits.  God is universal, and there is one infinite mind in this galaxy and beyond.  Start thinking big!

• Be responsible for your outcome.  Practice visioning your good, and take the action needed to show the universe you are serious about it.  Remember, manifestation takes some practice. Get started today!

• Practice Clarity and Interest.  Keep visualizing what you want and feel its presence in your life today.  Experience the emotions (joy!) of what it is like to have what you desire. Make decisive choices anchored in the present moment.

Finally, you can anticipate positive change by affirming daily.  Here’s an affirmation to help you unseat old programs when a negative impulse strikes!

Can’t Afford Mindset

When I dwell on the idea of lack, I build a consciousness of lack and it attracts more lack.  Whatever I ask for, I receive, because the natural state of the unlimited universe is to provide for me.  I now have the mindset of abundance because my source is unlimited!  I am part of a universal order that provides an abundant and inexhaustible supply.  I see abundance reflected in all areas of my life.  My income and all things that are valuable to me are prospering and growing bigger as I notice how much abundance there is in the world.

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!

For many, many more affirmations on generating abundance, please see The Women’s Book of Empowerment: 323 Affirmations that Change Everyday Problems into Moment’s of Potential, available at www.thegoddessnetwork.net, amazon.com, and Borders and Barnes and Noble stores nationwide!

Attract a New Love Interest by Being Positive

Starting over from painful circumstances is never easy, especially when you have invested so much energy into others.  We tend to look at people as energy investments.  But no matter how the energy stock may rise and fall, it is certain that energy is limitless and so is your capacity to love.  Be comforted that you are not alone.  Believe in what you can do and who you are!  Love yourself and move forward.  The world needs you and all you have to offer!

To get on the positive thinking track about relationships gone sour, you must use affirmations to stay in the present moment.  Your most powerful and productive time in life is today, not yesterday or tomorrow.  Spend time living in the present.  When you allow yourself to be bogged down by old mental programs (old memories that don’t serve you well or reacting to the present from past emotional states) you are compromising your ability to grow.  This is especially true with relationships.  Old hurts and emotional baggage from the past can thwart what you receive in the present.  If you spend all your time thinking about what you don’t want, by the Law of Attraction the universe will provide you with exactly what you’ve spent time thinking about – more things you don’t want.  So move forward!

Attracting a love interest is largely about setting a new mental equivalent.  To do this, you need clarity about what you desire, and having the passion (or vision) for it. Visualize that person in your world and what it feels like to have a nurturing relationship. And then take action! Get out there and magnetize people by taking care of yourself and treating others how you would like to be treated. Practice positive verbiage at work, home, and in front of the mirror in the morning. 

Dating and divorce can be challenging but you are moving through it … and not stuck there permanently. Here are two affirmations to keep your spirits up and will help you feel more empowered by moving forward.  Remember, focus on the present!

Can’t Find a Relationship When Dating

“My path to love is no longer littered with rocks and diversions.  I sweep away each disappointment with ease.  At this moment, I am becoming more open-minded and loving to everyone around me.  From this day forward, I rejoice in my learning journey and put my love path to music.  I am an incredible soul who can dance on any path!”

Leaving a Relationship or Facing Divorce

“I leave this relationship with grace and dignity.  I know my own soul must grow in an area outside the perimeter of this relationship.  No matter how painful the past, I am thankful that this venture has been part of my learning journey because it helps me to further define myself.  My ability to give and receive love remains intact.  My heart is healing.  I have tremendous capacity to love others, no matter the circumstances.”

Renew your awareness in the present moment and have patience! Like attracts like, so regularly check where you are spending time mentally.  If you want more love in your life, then be lovable.  Be the idea of love in as many productive ways you can imagine and you’ll see results!

© The Goddess Network, Inc. and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D.  2007.  All Rights Reserved.  See http://www.thegoddessnetwork.com/connect.php?page=eshow for more empowering thoughts on love! Register for The E-Show, a series of enlightening lectures!
 
 

Given the amount of complexity we’re juggling, these times demand a positive outlook. It sounds simple. We should begin each day based upon the present, enriching ourselves with whatever today brings. But do you find it difficult to generate a positive attitude given natural disasters, unemployment, or illness?

Creating a positive attitude means viewing every day as a new choice, no matter how we slice it. We get to start over the minute we get out of bed. The sun comes up in spite of our mistakes or despair we must face. I believe we are meant to continually move forward - and focus on life as an incredible universe of opportunity.

Use Affirmations to Stay on a Positive Course

An affirmation is a positive, present day statement that declares your current state of mind and expectation as valid. It acknowledges to the mind and body that what you hold in your mind is real. Affirmations are a spiritual idea, and non-quantitative. They are based on the universal truth, “As within, so without.” (more…)