{"id":110768,"date":"2021-11-16T16:44:41","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T00:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/?p=110768"},"modified":"2021-11-16T16:48:14","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T00:48:14","slug":"the-attitude-of-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/archives\/110768-the-attitude-of-gratitude","title":{"rendered":"The Attitude of Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is taken from the seminar \u201cIs There a True Thanksgiving?\u201d by John-Roger.\u00a0 It was first published in the Insight Newsletter, November 1981.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This time of year that we call Thanksgiving has been notable for giving thanks.\u00a0 As we approach this year’s Thanksgiving and holiday season, let us each pause for a moment and reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving \u2014 the most obvious meaning to many of us is a time to give thanks for all of the blessings that have come our way.\u00a0 Webster’s defines it as “the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God.”<\/p>\n

Perhaps you find Thanksgiving a time to give of yourself to your family and those you love; a time to let them know how much you love them.\u00a0 Have you seen those bumper stickers that say “Have you hugged your kid today?”\u00a0 When was the last time you hugged your spouse, your child, your loved one and said, \u201cI love you\u201d?\u00a0 When was the last time you told your boss or your co-worker how much you appreciate them?<\/p>\n

A friend of mine wrote a song that says a lot about gratitude.\u00a0 It begins:<\/p>\n

“When everything’s not so hot<\/p>\n

Just think about what you’ve got<\/p>\n

Don’t think about what you might have<\/p>\n

If you didn’t have what you’ve got.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How often have you thought \u2014 \u201cIf I just had more money, I’d be happy.\u00a0 If only we had a larger house, a better car, a vacation home, “etc., etc.\u201d?<\/p>\n

Rather than focusing on lack or the “what might be better if’s…\u201d, why not start being grateful for “what you’ve got.”\u00a0 Here’s a little exercise you can do on your own.\u00a0 Make a list of the people, things and qualities in your life for which you are grateful.\u00a0 It might surprise you all of the abundance you have in your life.\u00a0 Then invite your family to do this exercise together \u2014 you can make it a family game.\u00a0 Sit down together some evening, maybe around the fireplace, in your family room, around the dinner table or wherever your family gathers.\u00a0 What are you grateful for as a family?\u00a0 Let your children or spouse be the recorder of your family “We are thankful for…” list.\u00a0 Take time, sharing together as a family.\u00a0 Share with one another what you are thankful for as a family, things you appreciate about each other.\u00a0 It can be a beautiful heartfelt experience.<\/p>\n

What about “Thank you, ME!”\u00a0 When was the last time you looked in the mirror and told yourself “I love you”?\u00a0 Yes, give yourself loving.\u00a0 Appreciate yourself.\u00a0 Express your caring to you, too.\u00a0 Be sure to remember you.<\/p>\n

When we say “It\u2019s Thanksgiving,” I think we might also be saying “thanks receiving” because if you give and don’t receive (or receive and don’t give), your life may seem incomplete.\u00a0 You don’t then get to be the product of your life.\u00a0 You become the potential or the package deal that’s some future promise.<\/p>\n

Our society’s been based upon a future promise.\u00a0 How many times in our lives do we look to the outer world for someone “out there” to tell us how to run our lives \u2014 what to do, how to do it, when to breathe, when to wear red socks, when to wear blue ones.\u00a0 And in looking out there, we tend to get caught up in other people’s opinions of who we are and how we “should” act.<\/p>\n

Have you found that when you stop seeking other’s opinions and stop trying to be who you think others want you to be, and just are<\/em> who you really are, your life starts working better for you?\u00a0 And by just breathing in and breathing out, living your life the way that it is presented to you, you are naturally in a state of health, wealth and happiness?\u00a0 When this takes place, we come to that moment of thanksgiving where we say, “Thank you Lord, thank you doctor, thank you husband, thank you wife, thank you employer, thank you friends.”<\/p>\n

How many of you have found that by participating in the trainings, you start experiencing more of the loving, trusting support system that exists for you?\u00a0 Isn’t the training a mirror of your life?\u00a0 By participating more in your life, don’t you experience more of the loving, trusting support system that exists for you in life?<\/p>\n

What keeps you from participating in your life?\u00a0 Fear?\u00a0 Don’t worry about being vulnerable.\u00a0 It’s your best protection!\u00a0 In the trainings, we take a look at the weaknesses we protect.\u00a0 Every time we come up to “I\u2019m too good for that,” watch out!\u00a0 That’s your weakness.\u00a0 If you’re too good for it, lift it.\u00a0 If it’s too good for you, climb up to it.\u00a0 You get to give, and you get to receive.<\/p>\n

If you come to something that’s uncomfortable, be willing to feel uncomfortable.\u00a0 Some people say, “Well, l feel uncomfortable doing that and if l feel uncomfortable, then I\u2019m not going to do it.”\u00a0 If you don’t do it, you’re still going to feel uncomfortable next time it appears.<\/p>\n

Don’t avoid your life.\u00a0 Participate in it.\u00a0 Today’s participation is enough for today.\u00a0 Then when tomorrow shows up, that day’s participation is enough.\u00a0 Don’t worry about the tomorrows.\u00a0 Live today to its fullest.<\/p>\n

All you have to do is listen and watch and move to it.\u00a0 It may sound stupid<\/em>.\u00a0 But that “stupid” thing is the basic simplicity of all existence.\u00a0 Listen and watch, be prepared to contain it and get what is for you.<\/p>\n

Where there’s infinite supply, give thanks that there’s infinite supply.\u00a0 Then receive infinite supply.\u00a0 And it supplies you infinitely.\u00a0 You never ever will be able to have all that you want.\u00a0 But you can be filled to your capacity to receive.\u00a0 That’s nice to know.\u00a0 You want to receive more?\u00a0 Open more.\u00a0 And give of what you’ve got \u2014 that lets the universe know that you’re willing to receive more of what you’ve given because there’s space.<\/p>\n

This universe is designed for everybody equally, according to your willingness to participate in it and become one with it and utilize it efficiently.\u00a0 And when we’ve entered those few doctrinal things, we doctor ourself.\u00a0 We become the physician who heals himself.\u00a0 We become wealth unto everything.\u00a0 We just become that.\u00a0 We have that great recognition wherein we recognize \u2014 re-cognize that we are the Beloved and always have been.\u00a0 And that we are the ones we\u2019ve been searching for and always have been.\u00a0 And then we have the true Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

Baruch Bashan,<\/p>\n

John-Roger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is taken from the seminar \u201cIs There a True Thanksgiving?\u201d by John-Roger.\u00a0 It was first published in the Insight Newsletter, November 1981. This time of year that we call Thanksgiving has been notable for giving thanks.\u00a0 As we approach this year’s Thanksgiving and holiday season, let us each pause for a moment and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":103037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,186,260],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-gratitude","category-john-rogers-current-story"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}