Gratitude (Blog)

[Paul C]

I am grateful for this post Steve has produced and the members on this forum discussing the post.

Seeing gratitude in such a new light has affected me in a meaningful way. It strung many thoughts together concerning this area. It feels as if the world has taken on a brighter, sharper detail. Which should serve me well concerning art.

Thank you everyone.

[Rob S]

Hi Steve,

Great Blog. I felt it click inside of me as I read it. Progress was made today

I have a question related to this, you spoke about how gratitude is essential for the LoA, which I agree. I also see you have posted several blogs over the last little while discussing how to become a vibration match for your desires. My question is how can we explain when people who have no gratitude, always worry and are fearful, complain about debt, their job and relationships win the lottery (Or suddenly come into large amounts of money through other means)? I don't know how many times I have heard lottery winners say "I have so much debt and constantly worry about how will make my bill payments. Now I can finally be debt free". Or sick people who focus on their pain, suffering and desease and then suddenly become healthy again (without any change in medication or surgery etc). I knew a man once, a neighbour, who was not grateful for anything he had and complained day and night about what little he had and cursed his own life. He then won a wack of money on the lottery. Should the law of attraction not bring these people more of what they already have? I see how hard you are working to become a vibrational match for the $1 million, and yet these other people, working directly in the opposite direction somehow become a vibrational match for their desire to win the lottery?

I've seen the LoA work for me and I see it work for many others (who are not even aware of the LoA in their lives, but are constantly attracting exactly what they are putting out to the universe). I just can't seem to understand these other cases where ungrateful, complaining, whining, fearful people attract their desires overnight. Is there an explanation for this?

Thank you Steve for YOUR purpose in life <That's on my level 2 gratitude list>

Rob

[Frans]

Originally Posted by Rob S

My question is how can we explain when people who have no gratitude, always worry and are fearful, complain about debt, their job and relationships win the lottery (Or suddenly come into large amounts of money through other means)? I don't know how many times I have heard lottery winners say "I have so much debt and constantly worry about how will make my bill payments. Now I can finally be debt free". Or sick people who focus on their pain, suffering and desease and then suddenly become healthy again (without any change in medication or surgery etc). I knew a man once, a neighbour, who was not grateful for anything he had and complained day and night about what little he had and cursed his own life. He then won a wack of money on the lottery. Should the law of attraction not bring these people more of what they already have? I see how hard you are working to become a vibrational match for the $1 million, and yet these other people, working directly in the opposite direction somehow become a vibrational match for their desire to win the lottery?

I've seen the LoA work for me and I see it work for many others (who are not even aware of the LoA in their lives, but are constantly attracting exactly what they are putting out to the universe). I just can't seem to understand these other cases where ungrateful, complaining, whining, fearful people attract their desires overnight. Is there an explanation for this?

Great question, Rob. I suggest to start a new thread about this on the Intention-Manifestation forum.

[thijsvdanker]

@Bob

I think it has to do with the original goal that Steve set. The million dollar is not the goal in itself, being able to ecplain the LOA to others and have them experience it is. So the fact that Steve earns his million gradually gives him the opportunity to explain the process to us. If he'd won the lottery, al he could tell us is to buy the right ticket?

The other part of your question is what really interests me. Why do some people for whom the LOA shouldn't have brought the "good stuff" receive it anyway, and why do people who (in my opinion) live the live by more positive intentions get struck by deceases or other horrible events?

[Love]

I still don't understand how to be grateful for something bad. I can understand, maybe you're grateful to have learned a lesson, and maybe you're grateful that you have the options and choice and life that brought you into the bad situation to begin with, but I'm confused as to how to actually be grateful for the bad thing itself.
For example: a broken car. I'm grateful to know that I need to take better care of cars. I'm grateful I'm in life in the first place and can make my own decisions.
But how to be grateful for the broken car itself?

[Dave Kaminski]

Originally Posted by Love

I still don't understand how to be grateful for something bad. I can understand, maybe you're grateful to have learned a lesson, and maybe you're grateful that you have the options and choice and life that brought you into the bad situation to begin with, but I'm confused as to how to actually be grateful for the bad thing itself.
For example: a broken car. I'm grateful to know that I need to take better care of cars. I'm grateful I'm in life in the first place and can make my own decisions.
But how to be grateful for the broken car itself?

Be grateful of the fact that you had a car in the first place, or that you have a broken car. Not everyone has these assets.

Be grateful that you'll take better care of your cars in the future and that your car didn't hurt you when it broke. Be grateful that there are people out there who can fix cars and be grateful that things can even break! Just be grateful of the experience of having a broken car. You never know, you could meet someone at the mechanic's or find a new job while you're there or you might've avoided a fatal car accident while it was broken.

Just be grateful. Fully.

[Adrienne]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

Be grateful of the fact that you had a car in the first place, or that you have a broken car. Not everyone has these assets.

Be grateful that you'll take better care of your cars in the future and that your car didn't hurt you when it broke. Be grateful that there are people out there who can fix cars and be grateful that things can even break! Just be grateful of the experience of having a broken car. You never know, you could meet someone at the mechanic's or find a new job while you're there or you might've avoided a fatal car accident while it was broken.

Just be grateful. Fully.

Completely agreed. You beat me to that explanation Dave I was thinking the same thing. There is always something to be grateful for.. Because everything is worth being grateful for. Sometime it is a little harder to see, but it is there.

[Antemeridian]

As a new reader of the forums, and a relatively new reader of the blog (other than the polyphasic sleep series which I stumbled across a few months back, and found EXTREMELY interesting), perhaps this is just because I'm new, but I just had a quick question regarding this post.

Basically, are we supposed to feel grateful for the event/item/person/etc. itself, or are we supposed to look for the underlying lesson/etc. behind that reason of gratefulness?

I've been trying this lately, but I've been wondering that if I try to look to the deeper meaning of everything, does that turn potential level 2 gratitude into level 1 gratitude, because I'm trying to find the positive in it? Or is that the point, that by being grateful for everything, including negatives, things generally become more positive, or we can see the positive in a situation far easier?

Thanks in advance!

[Jeremy Bennett]

Originally Posted by Antemeridian

Or is that the point, that by being grateful for everything, including negatives, things generally become more positive, or we can see the positive in a situation far easier?
Thanks in advance!

Yes! - I've also found that as I gain more understanding, in seeing things (better) how they really are, I see deeper - to the deeper meaning and significance of things, and see better, just exactly _how_ the unseen (or things in the spiritual realm) so very tangibly effect the things that you _can_ see, in the physical realm (or that you experience).

You're welcome! ... in advance

[Love]

Ok, I guess. It's unconditional gratefulness. Like unconditional love. And since I believe unconditional love is possible, unconditional gratefulness should be possible too.

[rwysong1]

Wishing that parts of the past had not happened can take a lot of energy. Being grateful for those events can be exhausting. Hiding from them, futile. Honesty commands that assimilating them may never occur. The process, not the outcome, may be the payoff. But this element of gratitude, seldom confronted at all, must be confronted first.

[chasmyn]

Originally Posted by rwysong1

Wishing that parts of the past had not happened can take a lot of energy.

This I definitely agree with. A lot of energy that can better serve a person if used for gratitude. And practiced, gratitude becomes easy. I don;t think it is exhausting when it is true gratitude. True gratitude energizes, fills you up.

[qiflow]

Originally Posted by John Wesley

Interesting way of considering the link between gratitude and achieving success. I think this relationship is one of the reasons why becoming wealthy can be so difficult. We originally want to be wealthy because we're dissatisfied with our lives. In this state we're the opposite of grateful, making it very hard to attract success. When you're feeling a lot phase 2 gratitude, people can sense the positive energy radiating out of you and want to help you succeed.

One problem with this is that it's very hard to control your feelings. You're either grateful or not, I don't think it's a choice, and this oscillates back and forth.

Hi John,

Your feelings are very difficult to control. However, you can direct your thoughts, and over time, this affects your feelings. There is a link between habitual thoughts and emotions. This is talked about a lot in the works of cognitive therapy.

[qiflow]

Originally Posted by Love

I still don't understand how to be grateful for something bad. I can understand, maybe you're grateful to have learned a lesson, and maybe you're grateful that you have the options and choice and life that brought you into the bad situation to begin with, but I'm confused as to how to actually be grateful for the bad thing itself.
For example: a broken car. I'm grateful to know that I need to take better care of cars. I'm grateful I'm in life in the first place and can make my own decisions.
But how to be grateful for the broken car itself?

Just be grateful for the bad for whatever lessons you were able to learn from it.

[Marierama]

For quite some time now I have practiced giving thanks for five things in my life. I do this every morning and every evening. Often in the evening, just before I fall asleep, I recall synchronicities that may have happened during the day, small miracles that draw me back to a state of awareness, of being in the present moment.

This being said, there is another aspect of gratitude that really works for me. If I find myself with negative or angry or unproductive thoughts and feelings, as soon as I become aware of them, (I become the Observer), I cut those thoughts at the base, as it were, by once again giving thanks for five wonderful things in my life.

Because I am used to naming what I am grateful for, this is a sure way to change my negative state immediately. One cannot be angry or frustrated or upset and be truly grateful at the same time.

Gratitude is a powerful tool.

[Savage]

How can we be grateful for seemingly negative experiences?

By recognizing that the source of our greatest pain is also the source of our greatest joy. It is the shifting between positive and negative polarities that makes life such a wonderful adventure. There would be no sweetness to life without bitterness.

The more pain we transcend, the stronger we become, and the greater our capacity for unconditional love.

[DanielBrenton]

I'd have to call "Level 1" gratitude "fair weather" gratitude.

I think one of the real drivers to get to "Level 2" gratitude is what Morris Massey called "Significant Emotional Experiences." TheColonel alluded to that above. When you survive a traumatic experience and can gain a perspective because of it, you're there.

And, yes, I have written about deeper gratitude quite a bit. September 11 was a traumatic experience for most Americans, and some learned gratitude from it. Personally, I walked away from a fatal auto accident pretty much unscathed which gave me a lasting perspective.

Not that a person would have to come through a traumatic experience to get there, but if the person has and didn't, well, I don't know if there's much more that can be done ...

[Reyv]

Gratitude L2 feeeels goood.

I've been practicing this ever since the blog entry came up, and it's been working brilliantly for me.

I haven't yet conditioned it to the point of having a constant "Wow!" in the back of my consciousness, but that seems rather inevitable.

Currently, whenever I think of Level 2 Gratitude, I become instantly rooted in the Now. I begin noticing the details of everything around me, and I feel gratitude flowing through me over the very experience of being alive.

I can kind of liken it to the excitement of being in a lucid dream and noticing the quality of the dreamworld, such as stopping next to a plant and being amazed at its detail.

Another parallel I can draw is with the notion of being in a virtual reality. I can sort of detach myself mentally from reality and realize that it is an artificial construct created by consciousness. In that framework, I can feel even more gratitude and amazement over how brilliant and beautiful everything is (even when, objectively speaking, everything should seem very mundane).

Oh, and it also serves as a sort of an instant release. If there was pressure or stress occupying my mind at the time, I can feel most of it dissipate. Plus it gives me a new framework to reevaluate what I was thinking and doing (if it was something that was giving me a hard time).

As the post-it next to my bed says, "How wonderful it is to exist!"


So far this alone has been enough, but I'm going to continue practicing and see how much more pervasive I can make this attitude become.

One thing I'm at odds about is whether feeling gratitude for negative things attracts more of them. I could easily feel gratitude for a negative experience if I put it in the right context, but does that in any way give it power to replicate in my experience? If I feel gratitude for something, doesn't that kind of mean that I'm aligning myself with it?

[eternomi]

Originally Posted by Love

I still don't understand how to be grateful for something bad.

First of all, "bad" is a relative description. It is the meaning you give to something based on your perspective. What is bad right now, might not look so bad later on...

For me, L2 gratitude means that no matter what shows up, it is what I need to move onto the next step in the process of growth. The relative 'good's and 'bad's are judgments based on what I know at a particular moment along the path, but ultimately what shows up is perfect when viewed from the highest global level (which would require seeing the unfoldment of all the events in the past, present and future).

Ultimately, gratitude is the transcendence from the duality of 'good/bad' to the singularity of the understanding that both are required to experience either. The push and pull of what we label as 'good' and 'bad' is what gives us the thrust to move forward.

If you take this one step further with S/R, what shows up is what you need to experience the beliefs you are holding. If you are in control of your beliefs, then gratitude becomes even easier. At this point, gratitude is the same as acceptance. The acceptance and gratitude that what shows up is exactly what you need to see the animation of your beliefs as your reality.

[dhammapal]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

(Level 2) gratitude is synonymous with unconditional love because there is no attachment to circumstances or outcomes.

I’m interested in making this a meditation practice, feeling gratitude for other people unconditionally whether they are still alive or not (e.g. Buddha)

[NightOwlNation]

This is great, Steve. I've struggled with the whole gratitude thing for ages. Never feeling good about it - or satisfied with the common advice about its importance and how to practice being grateful. Whenever I'd hear people talk about it or post about it it always felt sterile and dry. Repetitive, without feeling. Honestly, it worked my nerves.

Just recently I've been experiencing clues about how to see/work with gratitude more effectively. But your blog post really expands upon it in a direction I've been wanting to go. How'd you get so smart, Mr?

Rooting it in something permanent, lasting, like existence...So now I can be easily grateful for my awareness-of-being since that is unconditional existence. I feel an energy shift when Imagining this! Really, this is a quantum leap for me. Who knows where it could go from here. But already this is a huge paradigm shift. No more lip service, thank God - but rather there is substance behind the concept now. There is meaning.

A thousand thanks for helping me to navigate a clearer path on this subject.

[ArthurHung]

Long time since anyone had posted on this particular thread however I wanted to bring it back up.

I just met with Dave_Kaminski a few days ago and was basically "shown" how gratefulness works. I was always very ungrateful about my University experience (felt stupider after every day of attending), and some other things. It was quite eye opening to have someone point out from a perspective of a state of genuine gratefuless, their different perspective.

I've thought and am told often that I'm a very positive person, "your the most positive happy-go-lucky guy" etc, however meeting him really changed my perspective. It seemed to help me become more genuinely positive, based on the solid foundation of gratefulness (which I oddly never really had for anything, with more of a focus on just being happy in the present moment).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
After being friends with a psyhic, and speaking with her for a long time in person many times, I've found that I'm able to "see" energy around people. Lately, these days all these crazy things have been happening around me, car accidents happening near me left and right, cars flipping over, people's arm's getting broken (Dave_Kaminiski after meeting me), people with seizure attacks. However, my gut feeling tells me these are all very good things. Good things, as I know they were necessary for those people to grow, and for me to experience seeing up close and personal, in order to develop a more real form of gratefulness.

Now, I am more and more thinking that real gratefulness, level 2 gratefulness if you will, is more of a creative state than anything else. If anyone would like to chip in their perspectives on gratefulness, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Andrew Gubb]

I've just been going back into Steve Pavlina's LoA stuff to show my friend and then reading it myself... so awesome. I love this post especially. It's kind of what I already have been doing, though without being totally conscious of it; I've been working on unconditional happiness recently and this is kind of the vibe I am working on getting. Simply being grateful for everything

I wrote this blog post a while back and decided not to post it. But I feel like sharing it here. A meditation on gratitude - you can see that I was going between level I gratitude and level II:

Thank you for the computer that's in front of me, the incredible technology that lets me connect with people anywhere in the world at any moment.

Thank you for the leasurely breakfast of tea, apples and toast I had this morning.

Thank you for the challenges ahead and the things I'm learning and am to learn.

Thank you, because this writing is flowing now in a pleasureable and lyrical way.

Thank you God for my talents and skills.

Thank you, because right now my gratitude is bringing me into the present moment and I am remembering to feel the pleasure of simply existing.

Thankyou for the vitality of my breath, this feeling of aliveness in my chest.

Thankyou for the tingling in my lips, the pleasant tapping sounds as my fingers type this, the intensity of the colour on the screen...

Thankyou for the lingering tastes of coconut milk and strawberry jam in my mouth.

Thankyou for the warmth I feel sitting on my bed.

Thank you for the incredible room you've granted me, and thankyou even more for the pleasure it'll bring me when I go and clean it now.

Thank you for the park I have near this new house, and the feeling of tranquillity and aliveness that radiates from the plants and grass and tress.

Thank you for the sun, for bright light bringing peace, a reminder that all is well.

Thank you God for warmth in times of cold.

Thank you for my health and the feeling of life in my body.

Thankyou for my imagination and mental power.

Thankyou for this post.

Thankyou for gratitude.

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.

Love

Andrew

[DavidLawson]

I really enjoyed this post.

I think the fundamental idea can be improved on though.

I think that what is important isn't the nature of the source of gratitude (whether it is a permanent source or not) but instead the effect of the gratitude.

What we are aiming for is to feel connected with our reality and you can get that by being grateful for impermanent things.

The fundamental idea is really be grateful for everything.