Gratitude After Thanksgiving

Holidays are a great way to soak up our good fortunes. It could be the “little things” like clean water, the heater keeping your house toasty, the comfy bedsheets helping you sleep, or maybe the healthy food in your fridge. But these holidays are only a teeny-tiny fraction of our lives, so maintaining daily gratitude is key for overall happiness & success—the metaphysical makes the physical.

Gratitude doesn’t bring joy, peace and allll the other positive words into just your life; it brings goodness into every person, plant and creature’s life on earth. It magnifies into the human collective consciousness. Consistency is key, however, and compassion here and there won’t cut it. You must show it every waking day, every settling-down night. Why? To prosper a plethora of stabilizing, growth-promoting and healthy facets and dimensions. It is truly NOT just for you, but when you give gratitude and thanksgiving, it is for everyone you know and do not know. If everyone has a positive mindset, it’s a higher frequency on the ENTIRE PLANET!

What does this lead to then?

A higher frequency equals a healthier biological framework. A healthier biological framework slows down the wavelength—it’s anti-aging and pro-longevity at its finest. This means less death, brain fog, sickness, regret, despair, anger, resentment, war. Less stubbornness, sleepless nights, racing thoughts, acne, indigestion, aching, thirst, and famine.

This means more love.

It's a quantum physics thing that cannot be put into words. It’s the deja vu, the repeating dreams night after night, the out-of-body experiences, the swirly-twirly-whirlies, the carefree smiles, the beloved flow state, the mind of clarity, the slow-beating heart and deep breaths in your lungs without any murmur or tightness. Yes, all of that can happen every day, but whether people like it or not, it always, always begins with mindset.

Mindset and realization are the first steps into a wakefulness practice.

A ‘Gratitude after Thanksgiving’ practice, to be exact. Practice is something you do over and over for days, weeks, and months until the desired result sprouts deep into the nourishing soil. HOWEVER, once the practice stops in consistency and repetition, it eventually becomes lifeless. No water. No sunshine... it then doesn’t exist. Practice loses its roots.

~Journaling~

Whenever I’m feeling stuck in a rut, whether it’s intellectually (brain foggy), emotionally (run-down and sad), or perhaps financially (paycheck to paycheck vibes), I ALWAYS like to open up and dive into my journal. A journal is one of the most fulfilling ways to find zen, despite the chaos around us in this 3D world. It’s transcribing the 3D into the bittersweet 4D and eventually morphing healthy thoughts into reality. Thoughts you never knew you had—all with a pen and paper.

What is the appropriate amount of journaling one should do? I know a LOT of people doing it every day while others suggest once per week. The arguments against doing it every day are that it can be tedious and feel forced. But I believe doing it everyday is key to making it a practice! I think journaling should become a practice that comes from within. It becomes something that feels like it is calling your name and you say to yourself, “I MUST do this now” vs. “I NEED to do this now.” See the difference? ‘Must’ is much more powerful and connects to your spirit vs. ‘needing’ with your ego. ‘Must’ should also coincide with a feeling of ‘wanting’.

To make it FUN & building—here are the most effective questions to journal about:

1. What was my favorite moment of the day?

2. What was I most grateful for today? (Write down 3-5 things you are especially grateful for)

3. What was my biggest accomplishment today?

4. What could I have done better today?

5. What was the most important lesson of the day?

I typically settle down with a warm cup of herbal sleep tea, a soft blanket, my blue light blockers, and a little smooth-soothing binaural beats or meditation music to boost the ambiance. I pick up my special one-and-only 200+ blank-paged journal (purchased from Hobby Lobby) and begin writing.

“Thanksgiving day— a day for ease, energy and peace”

I start every session with the date written boldly on top, the artist’s way, along with a brief title explaining the main scope of the day—a summary in a sentence. Overall, I like to write in a short story fashion, embodying the day in a first-person scene.

It’s an escape. Pure passion and commitment. No erase marks needed; leaving only what is kindling from my mind in THAT very moment.

Journaling a mere 1-2 pages daily can be liberating and empowering. I mean, it is one of the easiest and healthiest ways to ‘run’ from the past AND future, plus you begin to live more present. Writing is a gift, or should I say a ‘present’ that takes you to the present. Putting down your progressions and inhibitions is a part of the human design; every human's essence.

But, journaling should be fun and free without barriers like “it has to go this way” or “that way.” It cannot include any sort of strict structure. It flows with your personality, perspective, feelings and emotions for the day. I swear by it and you should too!

Gratitude comes in many forms however, so making sure to incorporate it OUTSIDE of being alone with a pen and paper. Yes, duh, you have to put those words into action. They can’t be ‘held in’ without a real reading for the planet. Action always speaks louder than words. You know that.

So, take what you will and reach out to the person you love. That homie. That family member or neighbor. Your mother, father, old friend, UPS worker, your coworker, the supermarket grocery store clerk, client, compadre, cable guy. These people are running the show with you. They deserve the best, as equals. The echo of your truth thrives within them whether you think it or not.

It could be a simple text if you don’t have time to talk or you can send them a genuine voice memo, one of my favorite ways to communicate in 2020 and beyond. You can hear the authenticity in people’s voices vs potentially interpreting some words in the wrong tone.

~Meditation~

Meditation is another key element to living with gratitude after thanksgiving. It’s not always easy with a wandering mind, but maybe the wandering mind is necessary in those moments. Maybe thinking critically and aggressively can spark new ties with other people and give important insights for your future. During a gratitude meditation you visualize all the things in your life that you are grateful for, which is a little different than the common breathwork and clear mind meditations we all hear about.

Spend valuable time, maybe 10-20 minutes every morning, thinking about all you are grateful for. It is important to give each person or item the concentration it deserves. You can take the time to go through all the people you are grateful for or all the physical objects you are grateful for, it truly doesn’t matter. What matters is that your heart is growing and your aura expands outward.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Practicing gratitude daily IS a practice. It isn’t something you will always remember to do until it becomes a common reminder. That’s why I have the ‘Brain.fm’ or any other poppin’ meditation app remind me at a particular time everyday to meditate and set that gratitude forth. Or, I will simply put it on my reminders app on my phone.

The easiest reminder to practice gratitude is by placing little sticky notes in areas around your house. They could say anything like “Love wins” or “give gratitude” or “you are blessed with abundance”... literally anything!

People deserve you and you deserve them. Hold true to gratitude after thanksgiving.