Appreciation, Law Of Attraction & Health

In this article I want to spend some time and talk about how appreciation fits into the law of attraction, specifically when it comes to health, healing and wellbeing. It is not always easy to find these sorts of emotions in the mist of illness and disease. Yet it is one of those ingredients that binds all the other ‘processes’ of LOA, together into a comprehensive approach to dealing with wellbeing. So let’s look at how to find this gratitude and ways to express it in a way that may contribute to your wellbeing, health and healing.

LOA principles are not separate from phycological – physical connections and so it is helpful to look at some of the research that can support our healing journey. I do think though, it is important to remember that LOA is not dependent on science for validation!

In a fascinating report called Psychosocial health mediates the gratitude-physical health, BH1 O’Connell and M2 Killeen-Byrt acknowledge the growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of gratitude and physical health benefits. “These findings are important given evidence that gratitude can be cultivated, and may serve to buffer against stress and loneliness and improve somatic health symptoms in the general population.” (4)

With regards to depression and loneliness, for example, these too may be helped with feelings of gratitude.
Mindfulness-based hypnosis: blending science, beliefs, and wisdoms to catalyze healing and Gratitude and Loneliness: Enhancing Health and Well-Being in Older Adults.

Gratitude Journal Law Of Attraction

When you have an appreciation of the law of attraction, you will want to jump straight in and begin to focus more on gratitude – after all it could be considered the binding force of LOA. When you are in the process of healing, finding gratitude is not always easy and there are times it may seem impossible. I know it sounds a bit of a cliché, but using a journal is one of the techniques used that can really help you to focus. The act of writing is powerful. Sitting, thinking, writing, seeing what you write all help to sharpen your thoughts and focus.

Gratitude Affirmations Law Of Attraction

Without going into too much detail here about affirmations, using gratitude affirmations in your practice of law of attraction can also be powerful. (you might like to check out my article on affirmations and healing.)

One little tip I want to share with you is to turn your attention to gratitude if you find your thoughts are heading in a counter-productive direction. So, if you catch yourself starting to dwell on the negative aspects of your health, stop. Take a breath and re-focus. I say out loud (if its appropriate) anything for which I am grateful for and I keep finding things to express my thankfulness for. Now depending on how strong those negative emotions were, you may be able to really shift into a more positive frame of mind. It takes practice for sure! Sometimes I am well into the negativity before I even realise and my gratitude affirmations are less effective and so other tactics need to be called in!

The Three Stages of Appreciation

There are three stages to direct your thoughts, each playing a role in strengthening your ability to show gratitude. One will naturally lead into the next and they are often combined at the one time. It is helpful to break down the gratitude thought process so that you can better understand the process and therefore be more conscious about what you are doing and why, rather than blindly giving thanks for this and that.

1: Healing Progress

Find something to be thankful for that is connected to your healing. If for example you suffer from migraines you find the frequency becomes less. You can be grateful for the relief you are staring to experience and how wonderful it feels at those times to be able to think clearly and focus on the task in front of me.

If you want to manifest a healthier tolerance to stress, then when you notice yourself reacting more calmly in stressful situations, then be quick to acknowledge that and give an outpouring of gratitude. For example:

“Thankyou for the sense of control I have in this situation. It allows me to remain calm and enjoy the challenge at hand and to really take advantage of my skill in this area.”

“It feels so good being able to talk to that person and be able to express my feelings in a calm and constructive way that leads to good discussions about…”

2: Focus On The Consequences

This begins to happen in stage one, but it is more embellished and becomes the focal point. You can be a little more general with a little more focus of things outside the particular health issue. So it is like one above but you can go on to show gratitude for things like the feeling of freedom you have, you can go outside and enjoy nature – the trees, birds, the smell of the plants, the sea air or the country views – anything not directly related to your condition.

As you build up the intensity of this stage, there is almost a flow-on effect back to your health. You are feeling so grateful for other things and that thankfulness almost envelopes the issue of your health. It can help to soften any negativity you have towards your health and healing.

3: When It Is Too Hard

There are times it is just too difficult to see or feel anything positive about your health. Stage three kind of launching right into stage 2 and bypassing the whole health issue. Your gratitude has nothing directly to do with your health or what you want to change about your health.

This is particularly helpful if you find it really hard to feel gratitude because of your illness. It doesn’t matter what it is, but a little bit of focus here goes a long way. I am grateful for the people who are looking after me and taking time out of their day to spend with me. I’m thankful to be able to read this novel and enjoy the story and become involved in the story. I am grateful for being able to move about comfortably and have flexibility. I am grateful for the birds and the way they sing and play in the bird bath.

Gratitude And Meditation

Using meditation as part of your healing LOA practice is so important ( see LOA, meditation and healing). Now if you can also incorporate gratitude into your meditations, you are going to add another dimension to developing your thankfulness mindset. Another way to exercise the gradualness muscle! At some point during your sitting, simply focus on the things you are grateful for. That’s it! Nothing profound at all but while you are in that receptive and relaxed state, you are going to be affected more deeply.

I hope you have enjoyed this article – I certainly have enjoyed writing it and I hope it give you a few things to think about. I know it isn’t always easy, but it can become easier to have the mind-set of gratitude, whatever your health-status. Just persist with it, taking opportunities to switch on to it.

References

Pictures
prayer-401401_1920. Image: John Hain, Pixabay. Image by https://pixabay.com/users/johnhain-352999/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=401401