It is essential. Gratitude is one of the higher vibrations in this life and it attracts a super-flow in your life. Without gratitude one can become arrogant, and isolated. Until you really look at all that you have, and appreciate all that you have been given, things can be meaningless. Did you have anything to do with your looks? Or your eye color? Or a perfectly healthy body? Or where you were born? Or that you live in one of the freest countries on earth? And that you don't experience war first hand? Not at all.

Have gratitude for all that has been created for you. Think, that you can see clearly the trees and beauty around you, that you can breathe clean air, that right now and just where you are, you are capable of so many things. Be grateful for the knowledge that you have been given or that you have learned. Be grateful that you have so many people who love you deeply and profoundly.

Be grateful for every experience that has strengthened you and shaped you into the person you will become. It is easy to say that I did this all, but there are so many people who have contributed both knowingly and unknowingly to your success, your emotional support, balance in your life, and your strength. There is a force right now in your life that keeps you on track; be conscious of that.

There are people that you meet who have a deep impact on you in one encounter. There are other people that you develop relationships with over time. There are teachers who are great, but you don't really know their impact until many years later. There are guides who have been fortuitously placed on your path at just the right moment, to comfort or strengthen you. There are many who respect you just because of who you are, what you say, and how you have touched their lives. Have gratitude for all of these.

With a spirit of gratitude, you can call things to you before they have unfolded. That gratitude says to the universe that you are open to receiving and have already received something in your heart. You put into action a cause and effect that the universe creates according to your suggestion and gratitude.

The gratitude draws it in like a magnet. When you want to create and receive, thank the universe for bringing it to you before it happens and it will be manifest for you. ?Thank you for healing me.? ?Thank you for bringing in the right person for me.? ?Thank you for my house with the big windows.? Put it out with gratitude and stay open for it and it is on its way. It could take some time because just the right set of circumstances has to come together to give you the absolute best results.

Oh, and one thing about gratitude, you have to feel it. You cannot just pretend. When you have gratitude there is an energy shift change to a higher vibration in your body that interacts with the universal energy. Without that shift change of energy, you will not manifest the way that you want. Without gratitude very likely there will be a stagnation of anything new that may come for you. And sometimes you experience a reversal, because if you are not grateful for what you have, it starts to leave.

Practice gratitude right now. Take nothing for granted. This moment is so short. Just as you made your JOY LIST of ten things, there are ten things that you can think about right now that you are grateful for. Make a GRATITUDE LIST. It can be longer than ten but make a start. Say it or read it out loud everyday. It only takes a few minutes to change your thinking, and consequently your receiving.copyright 2006 Yoga Kat