The Power Of Appreciation
by Kelly Tobey
Lets look at how
appreciation opens the door to recognizing the abundance we already
have, as well as putting in place an energetic path to inviting in more
abundance.
We can “have” lots of things, but until we appreciate what
we have, we do not actually “receive” what we “have”. This is
why you can have people that look from the outside like they have lots
of abundance in their life yet they may be deeply unsatisfied
underneath. They have not learned to appreciate and really receive what
they have.
On the other hand
you may see some people that do not have much of an accumulation of
things around but they are quite joyous. These are people who have the
ability to really receive through appreciation.
Of course there are
people with lots of things and that joyously receive them, as well as,
people who have very little and that are deeply dissatisfied because
they have not learned to appreciate and receive what they do have.
The point is, that
feeling abundant has much more to do with our ability to appreciate than
to do with what we have.
This does not
negate the idea of opening to even more in our lives if that is what we
would like to do. We can be deeply appreciative of what we do have and
still be open to receiving more. Where some of us can get caught in
contraction is when we start negatively comparing what we do have to
what we want to have. An indulgence in this way of thinking can lead to
the “never enough” syndrome because no matter what we have, we can
always come up with a list of things we still do not have. There can
always be something to negatively compare what we do have to.
When we are in a
state of appreciation our energy is naturally open and receptive. In
this state we are likely to attract even more into our lives. On the
other hand if we are focused on not having enough and are dissatisfied
about it, our energy is more contracted. When we are contracted we are
not as capable of drawing things toward us and even if we do, we will
not fully receive them. Imagine the image of a hand expanded open. It is
able to receive something in it. Then imagine the image of a hand
contracted shut, of course it is incapable of receiving.
How do we expand
our energy into an open expansive state? We practice appreciation.
Bring to mind those
things that we do have or have had in our life that can be appreciated.
Do not let the things that we do not have but want, and the things we do
have but do not want, dominate our time and focus.
With that in mind
you can create a list of people, things, and experiences that have some
qualities that you appreciate. If you want you can write them out in an
appreciation journal. If your mind starts slipping into the contractive
pattern of focusing on what you do not like about those people, things
and experiences, gently guide it back to focusing on what you
appreciate.
You can also create
a practice of making a daily entry into your appreciation journal that
consists of a list of at least 5 things you appreciate for that day. To
enhance the expansion further make at least two of the appreciations
ones about yourself.
When you are having a bad day and feel in a contracted space you can refer back to your appreciation journal. It will typically get you kick started towards an expansive state again.