{"id":459,"date":"2010-11-13T02:53:27","date_gmt":"2010-11-13T09:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/?p=459"},"modified":"2011-02-16T01:53:31","modified_gmt":"2011-02-16T06:53:31","slug":"the-power-of-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/?p=459","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cGratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,<\/p>\n

and creates a vision for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

~ Anonymous ~<\/p>\n

\u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665<\/p>\n

Thank You.\u00a0 Merci (French).\u00a0 Efharisto (Greek).\u00a0 Mahalo (Hawaiian).\u00a0 Grazie (Italian).<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to learn to say “Thank You” in other languages.<\/p>\n

\u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665<\/p>\n

What is gratitude?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Princeton Dictionary defines gratitude as “a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation”, and Wikipedia describes it as “a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive”.\u00a0 Gratitude is mutually beneficial for the giver and receiver, a win-win situation.\u00a0 “Thank You” feels good whether you hear it or say it, especially if you are blessing someone’s life.\u00a0 Recent attention has been brought to the importance of gratitude in manifesting one’s desires.\u00a0 Law of attraction suggests advanced praise activates attracting one’s desires.\u00a0 Spirituality also confirms the importance of remaining grateful in every situation as a way of activating and receiving blessings.<\/p>\n

\u201cGratitude helps you to grow and expand;<\/p>\n

gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life<\/p>\n

and into the lives of all those around you.\u201d<\/p>\n

~ Eileen Caddy ~<\/p>\n

Why is gratitude important?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neale Donald Walsch, author of “Conversations with God”, suggests our souls choose certain situations ripe with valuable lessons to gain greater wisdom.\u00a0 He reveals that accessing this knowledge shifts one’s perspective to automatically engage gratitude.\u00a0 Gregg Braden, author of “The Divine Matrix”, suggests gratitude is fundamental to our survival as we approach 21 December 2012, the dawning of a new world age.\u00a0 He reveals the future of the world is currently being shaped by what people choose to believe, and the future is literally being created by the thoughts people think.\u00a0 Gregg states this new world age accounts for many people who have been affected by the random passing of loved ones and other curious events in recent years.\u00a0 He shares that we are being offered massive growth opportunities to step into higher consciousness and experience a greater sense of gratitude than ever before.<\/p>\n

How can gratitude work for me?<\/strong><\/p>\n

2010 has been a crazy year for many people, including me.\u00a0 I found myself searching for a deeper understanding of God and universe in an attempt to make sense of the year’s weird happenings.\u00a0 I explored religious philosophies and scientific theories, which only led to more questions.\u00a0 My life began to seem like an alternate reality, and one day I simply prayed to know The Truth.\u00a0 It seemed like it was one thing after another, and I was at my wit’s end.\u00a0 I was attempting to make a note of something with a brand new ink pen that simply wasn’t cooperating.\u00a0 Have you ever had one of those weeks where it seems everything is going the opposite way in which you’d like?\u00a0 Well, I was there, and this just was just too much.\u00a0 I asked aloud, “What do you want from me?\u00a0 How do I get things to work out for me?”<\/p>\n

\u201cAsk and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;<\/p>\n

knock and the door will be opened to you.<\/p>\n

For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;<\/p>\n

and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”<\/p>\n

~ Matthew 7:7-8 ~<\/p>\n

Ask, and You shall receive.<\/strong><\/p>\n

God (or Jehovah as I call Him), or however you choose to address Him, spoke to me as clearly as if you and I were having a conversation.\u00a0 He said, “Stop asking me for things, and start trusting Me.\u00a0 Surrender your heart to Me.\u00a0 You are my child, and I know your heart.\u00a0 I love you and am working all things out for your good even if it doesn’t make sense now.\u00a0 Pray with praise as if you have your heart’s desires.\u00a0 Say ‘Thank You’ instead of ‘Please’, and remember to praise on others’ behalf, too.”\u00a0 The Voice disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and I sat in humbled in silence.<\/p>\n

\n

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.<\/p>\n

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,<\/p>\n

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.<\/p>\n

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,<\/p>\n

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”<\/p>\n

~ Philippians 4:4-6 ~<\/p>\n

\n

Did I imagine The Voice?\u00a0 Could something this simple really work?\u00a0 The ink pen had embossed lovely scrolls on the paper where I had been scribbling without success.\u00a0 I took a breath and said, in my head, “Thank You for this pen writing.”\u00a0 The pen magically began writing within seconds.\u00a0 I was certain it must merely be coincidence.\u00a0 I began testing the gratitude principle on other things, including a challenging situation beyond my control, and even that began to transform almost instantly.\u00a0 I was quite pleasantly surprised by the immediately positive results …all from saying, “Thank You” in advance.\u00a0 I was, in a word …astonished.<\/p>\n

Why is gratitude so effective?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘Thank You,’ that would suffice.”<\/p>\n

~ Meister Eckhart ~<\/p>\n

\n

Doors open.\u00a0 Light bursts through windows.\u00a0 Possibility blossoms.\u00a0 Blessings bloom.\u00a0 Miracles manifest.<\/p>\n

Gratitude is the ultimate confirmation of faith because it is so certain of receiving that it praises in advance.\u00a0 Someone once explained it to me this way –\u00a0 we know gravity is a law; therefore, we go through the day trusting it is active without questioning it.\u00a0 True faith is the same principle.\u00a0 We walk in belief knowing that we will see what we believe versus waiting to believe until we see.<\/p>\n

Gratitude is our Love Song to The Creator.<\/p>\n

\u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665
\nThe Power of Gratitude is dedicated to Amazing, Gorgeous, Talented, and Wonderful You.\u00a0 Thank You, My Dear Readers, for sharing your kind comments and radiating your awesome light.\u00a0 You are a gift.\u00a0 You are BeLove(d).\u00a0 Shine on.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a92010 Susan Stackpole\u00a0 www.susanstackpole.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665<\/p>\n

Care to use this article for your e-zine or newsletter?\u00a0 Please include the following<\/p>\n

Susan Stackpole<\/strong>, certified creative consultant <\/strong>and results expert, <\/strong>is the #1 coach <\/strong>helping celebrities<\/strong>, VIPs<\/strong>, and You<\/strong> celebrate your inner superstar and manifest destiny<\/strong>.\u00a0 Ignite your potential<\/strong>, jump-start your success<\/strong>, and achieve quick, effect results <\/strong>while living your dreams<\/strong>.\u00a0 Please visit www.susanstackpole.com<\/a> for free resources on living your best life<\/strong>.\u00a0 Sign up for the monthly newsletter, which includes celebrity tips<\/strong> on manifesting destiny in style<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 Contact Susan<\/a> to map your destiny<\/strong> today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.\u201d ~ Anonymous ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 Thank You.\u00a0 Merci (French).\u00a0 Efharisto (Greek).\u00a0 Mahalo (Hawaiian).\u00a0 Grazie (Italian). Click here to learn to say “Thank You” in other languages. \u2665 ~ \u266b ~ \u2665 ~ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,133,3],"tags":[135,134,156,157,158,159,99,140,118,100,160,141,149,138,142,55,152,161,56,162,163,164,151,153,137,154,165,166,155,143,39,116,167,168,150,145,139,148,57,136,170,169,146,171,27,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180,147,181,182,183,144],"class_list":["post-459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-gratitude","category-love","tag-135","tag-134","tag-amazing","tag-ask","tag-belief","tag-beloved","tag-blessings","tag-conversations-with-god","tag-creation","tag-creator","tag-desires","tag-divine-matrix","tag-efharisto","tag-eileen-caddy","tag-elohim","tag-faith-2","tag-french","tag-future","tag-god","tag-gorgeous","tag-gratitude-2","tag-gravity","tag-grazie","tag-greek","tag-gregg-braden","tag-hawaiian","tag-heart","tag-humility-imagination","tag-italian","tag-jehovah","tag-joy","tag-language-2","tag-laughter","tag-love-song","tag-mahalo","tag-matthew-77-8","tag-meister-eckhart","tag-merci","tag-miracles","tag-neale-donald-walsch","tag-past","tag-pen","tag-philippians-44-6","tag-philosophy","tag-possibility-2","tag-prayer","tag-present","tag-radiate","tag-receive","tag-religion","tag-science","tag-shine","tag-surrender","tag-talent","tag-thank-you","tag-theory","tag-voice","tag-wonderful","tag-yaweh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=459"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":462,"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459\/revisions\/462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susanstackpole.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}