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Shall We Gather Online?
Do you want to keep receiving these emails? Practicing Gratitude in Solitude I am seeking your input on the future of ourgratitudecollective. I created this website five years ago for the purpose of having a place for like-minded people to gather and share gratitude in community. It has been a beautiful endeavor. That has been…
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Self-Soothing: a gratitude ritual
Self-Soothing is Self-Love in Action Create a Self-Soothe Kit I have been making great use of a self-soothe kit I made last year and I would love to share that with you. I was guided to make my kit by Vanya Garabedian, LCSW who uses it with her clients who are in recovery from addiction. …
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Stressed and Blessed
Both are true. Uncovering that truth. Yes, And Oof. My final (if all goes as planned) year of graduate school has begun. And already the stress is thick this semester. I was texting a friend and told him how intense it was to be in class for 12 hours (with just two small breaks). I…
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Have You Thanked Your Water Today?
Drinking in Water. Drinking in the Universe. Drinking in Gratitude Water is sacred. But how often do we drink it without a thought? Mindlessly stirring it in to our food as we cook? We are taking an element into our body. An element that we can’t live without. An element that connects us with the…
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Money Gratitude
Healing your relationship with money. I Love Money. I’m Grateful for Money. Throughout my life I have learned and practiced a lot of money negativity. I’ve had to rewrite some tired old stories about capitalism being the root of all evil, the rich not being able to get into heaven, earning and saving money being…
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For the Love of Nature
The gratitude that nature brings. Mindfulness in Nature I have been experiencing a lot of nature for the past week. Amazing drives through Colorado and New Mexico that remind me to slow down and notice the natural world. The beauty. The textures. The colors. The shadows. The movement. All that is alive all around me.…
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When You Stop Searching
A note for me that might just be what you need to hear too. You Are OK The spirit in you is shining bright. You don’t see it though. Your focus is elsewhere. Everywhere. You are searching. Sometimes slow sometimes frantic. For the right way. For more time. For what’s next. For validation, distraction, meaning.…
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Blessings and Lessons
What if every single thing you experienced today was either a blessing or a lesson? Counteracting the Complaints We’ve talked a lot about complaints and how easy it is to complain and spot things that are less than ideal. This week has been such a reminder about my own tendencies to complain. I have been…
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Listen to Your Heart
It is drawing you near. Do you hear? The Draw of Your Heart Sometimes my heart feels far far away. And sometimes even when it feels near it seems to be behind a fog. When my heart is distant like this it can feel like I am separate from the world and from myself. But…
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Your Voice. Your Truth. Your Gratitude.
Trust Your Inner Bullshit Detector The Beauty of Truth (Even When It’s Not Pretty) Don’t fake your gratitude. Telling your truth in your gratitude is vital for getting the benefit of the practice. Don’t say what you think you should be grateful for. Don’t say what you wish you were grateful for. Use your voice.…
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Reflections on Your Day-to-day
Inspiring Yourself in Expected Places What’s Right with the Expected? Last week I talked about breaking free of that day-to-day routine to find gratitude. But not everything to be grateful for lies in the unexpected. Sometimes when we reflect with gratitude we can find some beauty in the mundane of our lives. Danielle LaPorte posted…
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Breaking Out of Your Expected Patterns
What helps you break out of the expected? Stop and Gasp at the Roses My roses are abundant and thriving in my back yard. I have been going outside to admire them in the morning light, during the hottest time of the day, and not in the evening. I just can’t get enough. The curves…
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Thank You – You Can Go When You’re Ready
Lessons in Attachment Goodbye, My Sweet Lita My dog, Lita, left this world on Thursday after six weeks (that I knew of) battling cancer. For the last three weeks I was pretty constantly worried about her but I started to worry that she was not letting herself die because of her loyalty to me. So…
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Spells
Every word we speak is a spell A Week of Gratitude Out Loud Day 1: Write your gratitude as normal. When you are done read it out loud feeling your gratitude vibrate through your chest and mouth. Day 2: Call a friend and tell them what you appreciate about them. Day 3: Tell a service worker…
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Loving Attention
love is the quality of attention Choosing Love with Our Attention Love. Falling in love. Choosing love. However you go about it the act of love is so much about paying attention. Generous with our attention. Our gaze elevating what we see into a thing of beauty. Finding that beauty and not only resting our…
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A Recipe for Feeling Alive
Acceptance and Appreciation Throughout What Makes You Feel Alive? It is such an individual thing. What makes you feel alive and what makes me feel alive are probably vastly different. But as I hold my animal companion through her last days I have been thinking a lot about how often it is the simplest things…
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Out of Hiding
The weight of those things we hide from the world. Wanting to Be Her I was writing a final paper for one of my classes and we were talking about whiteness as the default and as the ideal. At first I was writing in an academic tone and citing research but then something kept bubbling…
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The Experience
An audio download to experience gratitude. Expanding into Your Body This week we will get out of intellectualizing about gratitude and swim into the experience of it. The audio download guides us through the experience of gratitude through our senses, noticing the world around us and expanding into our bodies. Enjoy! The quality of life…
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Those Lessons Learned and Relearned
Breaking Free of Regret Regret Isn’t so Useful Last week we thanked our younger selves. Looking back can be so complex. So often pain stands out yelling loud and clear while those moments of beauty are swept into oblivion. When we look back, even when we are seeking gratitude, we may find that regret emerges.…
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Thank You, Younger Me
That one time … Finding the Good in Ourselves Think about your younger self. All they were and did that brought you to today. Honor these memories with gratitude. Write a little love note of appreciation to your younger self. What a beautiful way to connect with your younger self, your past, your heart, your…