A blessing in words, rainbow mandalas, and healing hands.
Gratitude as a Spiritual Practice
It took me three years of practicing gratitude every single day before I started to see it as a spiritual practice. I finally saw that it is a way that I pray and a way that I feel connected to god. This was a big deal for me because it had been many years since I was authentically connected to the Catholic church of my youth and my family. In many ways I do still feel connected with the church but it is more through my family and memories and tradition. But it hasn’t been a place where I felt connected to god which created a void in my life.
Then, just like that, after about three years of practicing gratitude I realized that this practice brought me closer to god than I had ever felt before. I don’t know why it took me three years of daily practice to have that realization but it was over 1000 gratitudes. Maybe there is something to that number.
Today I got the experience of connecting again with Ralph Davis, a Navajo healer who creates rainbow mandalas for healing of himself and others. He described his mandalas as a reminder of our perfect oneness with the Creator. A reminder that we were made perfect. A reminder that we are already well. And a reminder of our divine self. He said every time you look at the mandala you will be reminded of these things.
This beautiful lesson brought me back to my gratitude as a spiritual practice, a practice which helps me feel connected to god through the day to day and moment to moment experiences of my life. This day to day divine is interesting because it isn’t a church, cathedral, cliffs alongside the sea, or a flowing spring in the mountains; all places that I have felt connected to god.
Gratitude emerges in traffic, at my desk, when I’m bored and when I’m surrounded by people who love me. Through gratitude I experience god in everyone and in everything.
I didn’t start practicing gratitude as a spiritual practice and that is not even my intention as I do it. But what a lovely result of a practice that I choose for my personal well-being. One that helps me feel connected, helps me shift my perspective and find the good in my day to day life.
You were made perfect. You are already well. Remind yourself of your divine self.
~Ralph Davis
What are you grateful for that reminds you of your divine self?
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[su_note note_color=”#e7e7e7″ text_color=”#686767″ radius=”0″] My gratitude journey started in May 2011 and continues to this day. Thank you for being a part of it! A daily gratitude practice is simple. Write down three things you are grateful for each day. Download your free GratitudeGuide. My clients focus on gratitude and learn from their successes to make the positive changes they want in their lives. You can too. Call me to set up our first meeting 505.333.9336. [/su_note]