Dear Beautiful Soul,

I wanted to give you tools to help you stay grateful during the Thanksgiving and Holiday Season and beyond . Gratitude has so many spiritual, emotional and physical benefits. I would love for you to experience them all. According to Miami University Dr. Michael McCullough and University of California- Davis Dr. Robert Emmons,  Being thankful is necessary for a healthy life style. Study showed that being grateful increases your level of happiness by 25 percent.

Be-ing grateful is a choice. It’s about learning from a situation, taking the good out of it to help deal with the challenge. It’s about realizing you have more power over your life and thoughts, emotions and energy then you previously imagined. You can stop be-ing a victim of your circumstance and reach out for the joy rising in living. If you can open your heart to the good all around, gratitude can become as much part of your life as breathing.

Here are a few helpful suggestion to help you get started on your gratitude practice.

1) Keep a Daily Gratitude Journal
This is probably the most effective strategy for increasing your level of gratitude. Set aside time daily to record several things that you are grateful for. You can write when you get up or at the end of the day. Pick a time that you will consistently have available. The important thing is to establish the daily practice of paying attention to gratitude-inspiring events and to write them down. My forthcoming book Gratitude-The Ultimate 21 Day Gratitude Journey to Happiness will be available shortly to help you keep a gratitude practice.

2) Use Visual Reminders
Two obstacles to being grateful are forgetfulness and lack of awareness. You can counter them by giving yourself visual cues that trigger thoughts of gratitude. I like to use Post-It notes listing blessings in many places, including on refrigerator, mirrors and the steering wheel of my car. You can get as creative as you want you can even use your camera to take photos of what your grateful and put them in an album. Another strategy is to set a pager, computer or PDA to signal you at random times during the day and to use the signal to pause and count blessings.

3) Have a Gratitude Partner
Social support encourages healthy behaviors, because we often lack the discipline to do things on our own. Just as you may be more likely to exercise if you have an exercise partner or participate in a class, you may be able to maintain the discipline of gratitude more easily if you have a partner with whom to share gratitude lists and to discuss the effects of gratitude in your life. You can join our community on face book called Gratitude- The Ultimate 21 Day Gratitude Journey to Happiness. “If you hang out with ungrateful people, you will ‘catch’ one set of emotions; if you choose to associate with more grateful individuals, the influence will be in another direction. Find a grateful person or community and spend more time .

4) Make a Public Commitment
When we become accountable and we make commitments to others we are more likely to follow through. Feel free to use our gratitude community on face book to make your public declaration or to post your daily gratitude. There is plenty of support.

5) Change Your Self-Talk
We all carry on an inner dialogue with ourselves that is often called “self-talk.” When this inner conversation is negative, our mood is usually low. Research has shown that we can change our mood by changing the tone of the things we say to ourselves. Thoughts are powerful make sure to watch what you think about. Affirmations are great tools in reconditioning our thoughts.

6. Go On a Gratitude Walk
Something about getting out in nature is healing research shows exercise can decrease stress and releases the” feel good “chemicals in your brain. Giving thanks helps you become centered, present and living in the moment. When you are grateful for all that is around you, you will find more to be grateful for.

I hope these suggestion help you. If you have not done so be sure to sing up for our newsletter and receive our free audio “ Living ignited with Self-Love and Inner Peace”. Nameste

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? You have my permission, as long as you include this complete blurb with it. Marie Cornelio is a Spiritual Teacher, Soul-Nutritionist, Transformation Catalyst and Gratitude Practitioner. You can visit Marie, access her free articles archive, and grab free stuff at www.mariecornelio.com. Marie lives in Northern, California and loves celebrating life with her family and taking daily gratitude walks with her dog Roxie Love.