Gratitude from the Inside-Out

Being grateful for the good already in your life is a transformative energy that can bring more good your way. Often referred to as the Attitude of Gratitude, it activates the universal principle, the Law of Attraction, which states, “Like attracts like.” By putting your attention on the abundance already in your life, you draw to you more abundance.

However, when most people put their focus on existing prosperity, they usually list such things as family, friends, home, food etc. This type of gratitude list consists of things external to the individual. What are often omitted from such lists are those things internal to the individual. I call it Gratitude from the Inside-Out. This type of gratitude is as powerful(if not more so) than having thanksgiving for external things.

Quiets Negative Self Talk
I find that beginning my gratitude list with identifying my internal abundance ignites a powerful sense of self worth and self awareness. So often, we have within us an ongoing internal dialogue about the things we do not like about ourselves. I call this voice the Internal Critic. Internally, we berate ourselves for not being good enough, not having enough, or not being deserving. Listing the positive qualities that make you feel prosperous builds a strong counter-argument to the Internal Critic. The Gratitude from the Inside-Out List provides proof-positive that within you there is good. It is a testimony that you are worthy and deserving.


Connects You to the Divine
Gratitude from the Inside-Out strengthens your connection to the Divine. Each one of us is an individual manifestation of the Divine. Isn’t that what is meant by: “Man is made in the image and likeness of God?”

The qualities of the Divine are also within in the individual. Think of it this way: The Divine is the ocean. You are a drop of water from that ocean. That drop of water contains the same properties found in the ocean. The droplet is not as powerful as the ocean but contains similar qualities. So the argument follows that if you express appreciation for what is within you, you are also expressing appreciation for the Divine.

Additionally, the highest energy vibration is love. Love is the energy that brings you closest to the Divine. Gratitude from the Inside-Out is an expression of self- love. Love of self is just as important as love of another.

Self Love should not be confused with selfishness. The latter is a derivative of the ego while the former derives from the heart. The Gratitude from the Inside-Out is not about boasting and bragging. This gratitude list is about acknowledging and accentuating this truth:

There is good in each one of us.

Sample Gratitude from Inside-Out List
So what might such a list look like? Here is a snippet of my Gratitude from the Inside Out List:

• I give thanks for my compassion for others
• I am grateful I am a good listener
• I am thankful I am caring
• I am grateful that my mind and body are strong
• I am thankful I am a good provider for my daughter

To intensify the transformative energy that this gratitude list can create in your life, write the list and then speak it aloud while looking in a mirror. Be sure to look directly into your eyes as you recite the list aloud. This exercise often can be very moving and healing.

Here again are the benefits of the Gratitude from the Inside-Out List:

• Activates the Law of Attraction
• Attracts More Abundance
• Quiets Negative Internal Voice
• Reinforces your Connection to the Divine
• Promotes Self Love

In gratitude,

T. Dorsey

The Law of Attraction - 4 Daily Strategies

You may have become familiar with the universal principle, the Law of Attraction, through the hit DVD, The Secret, or perhaps, like myself, you have be on a road to self-discovery and spiritual awareness for some time and know first-hand how your thoughts can create the world around you. How ever you came to know the truth that you can deliberate create your life by the images and thoughts you hold in your mind, you know how important it is to keep your vibration positive and high. Yet on a day-to-day basis it may be quite a challenge to do so.

It is so easy to slip into a low vibration. It takes concentration to keep your focus and energy on what you desire in life instead of what is lacking in your life. You need strategies for maintaining a high, positive vibration. These strategies for keeping you on course must be practiced daily. Without clearly defined strategies to keep your attention on the good you desire, you can easily be pulled off course by the barrage of images and sounds in your environment that carry the message such as, “Life is hard.” “The world is violent.” “Following your dreams is impossible.”

For me, these strategies are multi-faceted. Journaling is strategy #1. It is both my greatest escape and my most powerful tool for making sense of my world. (For more on journaling see my post Journaling Tips for the Journey of Life)

Strategy #2 is meditation. I call my meditation period my Stillness Ritual. (For more information on my stillness ritual, see my post Making Time to be Still)

Strategy #3 is to write out exactly what I want in each area of my life. I keep this list by my bed and read it every morning and every night. I have read it so much that I have it memorized. Reciting in the mirror helps me to prevent the reading from becoming rote. It is also imperative that I really feel the emotions of having the things on my dream list. As I look into my eyes and recite the words, I also visualize what I am saying. By visualizing the things I desire, I am able to feel the feelings of having those things now. The imagination is a powerful thing!

Strategy #4 is to be mindful of what I ingest throughout my day. I am not talking about food (although healthy, nutritious food can certainly impact your state of consciousness). I am speaking about being mindful of what I read, listen to on the radio, watch on television and what types of conversations I allow myself to be engaged in.

I rarely watch the news. The day’s headlines are not often about anything uplifting that will help me maintain a positive vibration. Any information I read will come to me when I need it. I firmly believe that to be so. Someone will call me or I will hear what I need to know in passing. Occasionally, if I feel I want the news of the day, I will read it online. Reading it on line gives me the power to choose what information I want to read. Online news reading is far less jolting then watching television news.

Most people in my life do not engage me in conversations about the terrible, horrible events of the world. If I find myself in such a conversation, I try and redirect that person to a more uplifting topic. If redirection does not work, I excuse myself from the conversation completely.

Journaling, my stillness ritual, reciting my dreams aloud and being mindful of what I ingest are the strategies I employ daily to keep my vibration high and positive. Each day I want to takes steps to realizing my dreams, being of service and living peacefully and joyously. These strategies help me to do that. Days when despite my best efforts I do slip into the valley, I know that it still is all good because in the valley is where I gained some of my greatest lessons. While in the valley I also know that on each side of the valley is a mountain. Getting back to the mountain top is what this journey called life is all about.