Chapter Intro
We’re conditioned to believe more is always better and that we must practically work ourselves into an early grave to acquire and hoard as many material things as we can. We are taught that abundance is finite and we have to snatch up all we can before someone else does. Then there’s the popular notion that we should just focus on “a career” and put our dreams on hold until our “golden years”.
I call BS. This way of life leads to one place, misery. This mindset damages our health and forces us to waste the best years of our lives.
It’s so easy to lose our way in life and forget about the blessings and abundance we’re surrounded by. Taking people, abundance, good health, or anything that adds value in our lives for granted eventually has the dire consequences of driving them away.
There is great comfort in pausing and taking a moment to feel gratitude for the things that add value in our lives. It attracts more good things to us. Every so often we should remind ourselves how lucky we are to even have the basic necessities, like enough food to eat, clothes, and a warm bed. Many people in this world would be envious to even have that.
Read on...
Chapter Six
It can be so easy to get swept up into a stream of anxiety and worry. We all have deadlines, bills, responsibilities and it’s sometimes difficult to juggle it all. What I’ve discovered is most of this anxiety and worry is completely imagined, caused by faulty perception. Our minds are great conjurers of all sorts of potential calamities that almost never happen. It’s amazing how quickly these feelings of anxiety and worry can be shut down instantly through a very simple shift in mindset.
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” ~Denis Waitley
Sometimes this state of gratitude happens spontaneously. For example, I was feeling stressed about preparing two books for publication this year and keeping up with my social media and freelance work. There I was, was walking our beagle in the biting, subzero January wind of Minnesota and cursing it. My face was scrunched up, my shoulders tense. Suddenly, an overwhelming warmth washed over me. The only way I can accurately describe it was a general feeling of content. That feeling was, “I am so thankful for my life. I am perfectly happy at this very moment.”
Instantly, the stress and worry melted away and I relaxed. Even the frigid wind didn’t seem so bad. After meditating for nearly a quarter century I realize how vital it is to keep our consciousness in this state of gratitude for as long and as often as we possibly can.
Why is residing in a state of gratitude so important?
First of all, striving to live in a state of gratitude makes us happier. This should be reason enough. Even more importantly, though, when we’re living in this state, we open the floodgates for more positive experiences and abundance to flow into our lives. This is how the subtle energies of our universe work. Like attracts like. You attract to you whatever thoughts and emotions continuously loop in your mind.
This doesn't mean passive acceptance of the bad things in your life but acknowledgement of the good. I repeat, living in gratitude doesn't mean passive acceptance of all things.
If you don’t believe that working to dwell in a state of gratitude for the wonderful things in your life works, I urge you to try it for a week.
There are a few, very simple, exercises called Mantra to help us to quickly ease into this state of gratitude. A Mantra is a sacred practice of repeating certain words or groups of words. These words are sacred to many Hindus and Buddhists and the repetition of them are believed to bring about great blessings and states of enlightenment to the person uttering them either aloud or silently.
Many English speakers who practice the art of mantra repeat the traditional Sanskrit phrases. I don’t do this because I believe having to think about the meaning of the words hinders the intended process. In my personal practice I repeat the English translations of classic Sanskrit mantras. For example, in Sanskrit the mantra, Dhanya Vad translated into English is, “I feel gratitude” and Kritajna Hum means, “I am gratitude.” These two mantras have worked very well for me.
“Give yourself a gift of five minutes of contemplation in awe of everything you see around you. Go outside and turn your attention to the many miracles around you. This five-minute-a-day regimen of appreciation and gratitude will help you to focus your life in awe.” ~Wayne Dyer
Putting It Into Practice
Whenever you feel negative, depressed, or feel like good things are slipping away from your life I urge you to try the following exercise:
Hold your breath for a count of 5; and
Exhale for a count of 7.
Repeat the following mantras until you feel your negative state of mind slip away:
I am gratitude.
I am gratitude.
I feel gratitude.
I feel gratitude.
Another, even easier to remember, mantra is -- "I'm thankful for...." and you can go on to recite anything that you can think of that you're thankful for in your life. Objects of gratitude can be clean air, good health, fresh water, ample food, a pet, a job, a car, a friend or significant other...literally anything.
I’m thankful for…
I’m thankful for…
These mantras are simple enough to easily remember but are very powerful and can be practiced silently anywhere. I particularly like to practice them while walking. There’s something about the rhythmic sound of footsteps that make the recitation of mantra especially effective.
Try these exercises once a day for a week and see how your life changes.
All for now.
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
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Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel.
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Let’s Keep In Touch
This was such a good chapter! I tried this today, actually. I was super stressed at work, "so much to do, so little time, etc." and was resentful and frustrated at my timelines and how things keep being "dumped" on me. And then I realized, I have 3 bids I'm working on, and 5 more on the way. While the other girls have maybe 2 each. Total. I felt a feeling of gratitude, and slowed down, and breathed, and remembered I usually like to laugh and goof off. And I haven't done that in awhile.
If I have to GIVE some of my easier work away, because I can't get to them all, this is a blessing for everyone. My bids stack up 2 a day and our estimator is busier than he's ever been. He's getting annoyed. LOL. But these people want ME to work on the interior their homes. I don't even have to try anymore. They walk in, want my expertise, I try to shoo them away, I use a mentality of "I'm a little busy, let's reschedule" I tell them "I'm booked up for 2 weeks" and this makes them want me more.
LOL.
This is a good problem to have. And I am grateful I have it. And my higher self and I will find a way to make it work so I do not feel deficient and inadequate to the challenge. But worthy and valued for the influx.
Thank you @littlescribe! Do you do interior design work? It's funny, one of my good friends (@luckyfellow) and I were just discussing the other day how we chased success for two decades and now success is chasing us. It's a good feeling when you think about it that way isn't it? That doesn't mean sometimes we don't feel overwhelmed though, that's just all part of being human. Little pauses and things like mantra and meditation are good tools to keep us on track. I appreciate your comment!
Also, you and @luckyfellow are good friends? That's awesome. He is a TALENTED fellow. His name should be @talentedfellow.
Yes! We've been friends for over twenty years. He's a really good person and I'm luck to call him my friend!
I do, yes! My specialty is bathrooms, kitchens, and trim work. And I coordinate textiles, furniture, lighting, cabinets, etc.
I literally just got three more bids in the period of time that has passed in responding to your comment. LOL. It's insane.
It's so funny how much more people want you when they can't have you. But they just can't have me. I'm not available. I have literally called clients and said, "I can't do your job this week or the next, so and so will be able to help you right away, I know you were in a hurry. She's great, she'll do a fab job, etc. etc." And they tell me, "No, we'll wait." And they don't even know the other gals. They just know they want me. I should be more excited. Not resentful! LOL.
Anyways, I'm just trying to show some gratitude because I've been frustrated at how my plate is too full. But if I manage it well, then it's not too full. It's just right. I create all the time I need. And I have all the time in the world. And they get my full attention. And that is better.
That's awesome! I'm sure you've been in super high demand throughout the pandemic. People were taking their vacation funds and socking them into home renovations.
It is true! They were. Our sales have been up this year. Even though prices and shipping have doubled. It's insane. We have a TON on new builds in Utah because we have an influx of folks moving in from NY and LA. They all say the same thing. Their home states are going to pots. And they need to get out. They live in these $5M homes and just outside their windows the streets are littered with homelessness, crime, vandolism, drugs, and filthy living. It makes them sad to see such deplorable situations, and they don't want to have to look out their mansions and see it. LOL. So they move here to the beautiful Utah Valley, where homelessness is apparently low, and the views are beautiful.
But the Utahns hate the Californians, and they are artificially inflating our housing market. I don't mind, though. We could USE a little diversity here, and frankly, my home value went up $80K this year, and my sales are at an all time high. So who am I to complain? It's been hard on the economy here in some ways, as people can't afford to live here whereas they could before. So prices are going up all over the place, apart from pandemic issues. Just housing boom ones. Anyway, bla bla bla. good and bad I guess.
Just reading the introduction made me so happy.
I sent the link to a friend who was really depressed about certain things.
I initially told her this but reading from your perspective makes it even better.
Gratitude is one thing I have decided to always do.
I have been seeing a lot of children die and a lot of cancer patients who are almost dead and all I can say is I am thankful for good health.
I eat what I want and go where I want.
I believe in the saying that anyone who is thankful for things he has today, he will receive more tomorrow.
So yeah.. This is a really great pos
I'm glad to hear that @bhoa and I hope this helps your friend when she reads it. Expressing gratitude is often like a switch that instantly allows you to see your life in a different light. Thanks!
Thank you for this reply. I plan on doing the gratitude task as soon as I am done with work today
You are absolutely right Eric, gratefully make our lives calm. One of the causes of people becoming stressed is because they are never grateful for what they have.
The constant longing for more and better is encoded into our DNA but adds so much stress to our lives. Feeling gratitude gives us a break from that, room to breathe. Thanks for your comment!
You're right, gratitude is the most forgetful thing. Not being grateful is mean. We should be grateful to everything that surrounds us. There is nothing in the world more beautiful than an abundance of gratitude. Thank you very instructive for all of us.
I totally agree, when we're ungrateful it causes great harm to us personally. We miss out on so much abundance because of it. You're very welcome. Thanks for reading and for your comment!
Ah, this is kind of what we were talking about the other day. When we were talking about gains and always wanting or striving for more. Being able to be grateful for what we already have is so important. Even the smallest of things.
I was reading an article the other day about the 4 7 8 method of breathing. Similar to your 5 5 7, but it feels much harder to accomplish than what you have presented here. I honestly think the exhaling for a full 8 count is harder than the holding it in for seven! :)
Exactly! It's just making that determination, setting your "freedom number" well before you need to, and then reminding yourself continually this is enough so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. Remembering to be grateful definitely helps to make remembering this is enough a whole lot easier.
I bet that 4-7-8 method is more difficult. I wonder why they would want that large of a discrepancy between the inhalation and exhalation?
Yeah, I am not sure. The article was targeted at helping you fall asleep, so maybe that is part of it. I don't honestly know. Holding it that long maybe they figure you will just pass out from lack of oxygen! :)
Funny! I bet it can give you quite a buzz too!
Looks like I have a lot to catch up on! I moved myself and my stuff 300 miles a week ago. I sure could have used some meditation! HA! Like I had a moment to go still!
Reminds me of a saying that went something like this:
Spend 10 minutes a day meditating. If you don't have 10 minutes, spend an hour.
I've been posting every few days and am halfway through the chapters now. Moving is such hard work, plus you have the emotional aspect of it. How's the re-nesting going? There's a lot of wisdom in that saying! Oftentimes taking that hour to meditate makes us so much more efficient when we tackle our tasks again we get them done in 1/5 the time.
I am surprised by this type of curation
We want quality:
@appreciator / @steemed-proxy / @buildawhale / @gringalicious / @kommienezuspadt / @themarkymark
INTERCOMMUNITY - HIVE - AFFILIATE team.
So on my side I select this article for its brief summary and the desire it gives to want to live the rest and discover the book, the methods (to compare) and the author.
Thanks for the support!
I have never heard of Mantra, but I like such breathing techniques. Sometimes I try them to get relaxed.
I inhale and hold my breath for six seconds, after that;
I do clenching fists for 60 seconds, then release my hand.
Mantra is much like prayer, it's very powerful. The breathing exercises definitely work for relaxation. Did you start doing that particular technique on your own or did you read about it somewhere?
I read clenching fists for 60 seconds.
in my beliefs and also part of my culture: when we say: "Alhamdulillah aka Thank You God" for everything we have, received and we have done (the good one for sure, but can't forbid others saying that when done bad things too) is a simple way to show gratitude. I feel happy when I do that. Thank you @ericvancewalton, you have just reminded me that I need to repeat that "mantra" more often now. Sometimes I forgot to show my gratitude for the life, friends, healthiness, and family I have today.
life is not just a gift but a treasure, and you are one of the treasure I found today
Isn't it amazing how these mantras wash away anxiety and that prickly unsettled feeling of wanting more? It truly it a gift. Thanks so much for the comment and I'm glad this post added something positive to your day!
Yes, it is amazing. Words are a prayer in my beliefs too. So, when someone sends a positive vibe with his words like you, it reflected back at you too. We both are happy, just that simple.
Very true words! All of our actions our reflected back on us, good and bad.
@freedomprepper this is the book I meantioned, it seems to be really great as far as I understand it with my unsublime english :-) hope you like it
Thanks ;o). That is indeed a fantastic way to promote a book or to widen ones audience.
Dhanyawad(thankful) is very common word of hindi language. It is word. Mantras are combination of words.