If you have been a loyal reader of Gratitude Planet, you know we have been on a short hiatus for the past few months. But if you enjoy reading posts by our authors and staff, you will be glad to know we are back and planning some great new content for you in the new year. There will be several shorter posts per week, and some new feature-focus posts as well. The most important thing we want to say to you is how appreciative we are that you found us, and that you take the time to read our thoughts as we send them out to the world.

The holidays are a good time to reflect on the amazing nature of the Universe and the Law of Attraction. L of A manages all the details of cosmic life, and we are left with the opportunity of living each day in the moment…finding and uniting with the things that draw us forward in joy! But the holidays also remind us of the generous nature of the human spirit. People everywhere are giving more to others and connecting with a broader reach to both strangers and family. Let yourself be in the spirit of gratitude and appreciation as you move through this holiday season, and always into the new year! Enoy this most amazing holiday season!  Chris-GP

Rather than use the term “God,” I choose to adopt the term “Source Energy” for the forces that are behind all things. I like using this term because it is not associated with any particular religion, sect, or ancient dogma created by humans over the years. I believe that Source Energy is the manifestation and power that religions have labeled “God,” and I believe that Source Energy is the uniting principle that connects everything in the Universe. Source Energy flows through everything, and it IS everything. You are Source, the computer you are using is Source, The Earth is Source, and even the smallest bit of matter is the embodiment of Source Energy. That means that there is nothing “outside” of Source: it flows through every plant, human, animal, atom, and molecule in the Universe.

So if God is Source Energy, and Source is everything, then we are really all God. So God’s plan for me can’t be disconnected from my plan for myself. When we have been told that we are “created in God’s image,” it is literally true. You are looking through the eyes of Source, breathing through the lungs of Source, and channeling the energy of Source always. Source does have a plan for you, by the way.

What is Source’s plan for me? It’s not specific…and it is specific. Here is what Source specifically wants for you:

1. Source wants you to feel good. It wants you to enjoy living and to feel the bliss of existing in this moment.
2. Source wants you to expand and bring thought beyond that which it has been before.
3. Source wants you to love and appreciate yourself just as Source loves and appreciates you.
4. Source wants you to ask for a better conditions, and then allow these conditions without any extra struggle.
5. Source wants you to be free, creative, curious, and open to new ideas.

But as you can see, the plan you inherit from Source is not telling you exactly how to act and behave. It is unspecific in it’s specifics. YOU get to choose how to expand, be joyful, and to love yourself and others. When you think, feel, and act apart from Source’s plan for you, you will feel the resistance and pain in your vibration and emotions. But always remember, you get to choose your focus. Another way to say this is that Source wants you to have the things you deeply desire, and is ready to help you achieve them. Align with Source and you will be in sync with the energy that creates worlds. You will know you are in alignment because you will feel better and better.

God’s plan for you is rooted in your desires for your own expansion and expression. Your life is the unique unfolding of that expression. Allow the joy of Source to express through you, and you will be fulfilling God’s plan for you…and how that looks to others in terms of the manifestation can take unlimited forms. You are Source Energy, and Source Energy is YOU! Enjoy This Most Amazing Day!  CHRIS

Your life, right now, is a perfect reflection of your vibration as you have created it in the recent past. Make a list of the things you are grateful for, and also the things that you would like to change. You attracted everything on BOTH lists! “But wait,” you say. “There is no way I asked for all that crappy stuff! Why would I ask for stuff that I don’t like?” The answer is simple: You asked for it by giving your attention to things that invited it into your experience. Another way to say this is that you opened a vibrational door, even if you didn’t know you were doing it. But that is the best news of all. No one put this unwanted stuff in your experience…YOU did. And you are the one who can make the changes necessary to attract something more wanted into your experience.

Let’s say, for example, that you have attracted debt and bills that you can’t pay. One way you might have done this is by “pushing against” bills and debt. You can do this by thinking about NOT having bills and debt, and thus including the concepts of bills and debts into your vibration. Pushing against anything makes you include it in your vibration. One way to turn this around is to be in favor of riches and prosperity in your experience. Note the difference: You are not against debts, but are rather in favor of money and expanded prosperity. As you focus on what is wanted, you will begin to attract more and more of it. It works for any subject. Instead of trying to lose fat, be in favor of allowing more thinness. Another way you might have attracted bills and debts is by feeling, in a general way, poor and not prosperous. Perhaps you feel that you don’t deserve to have prosperity, or that being wealthy is a sign of a weak character. No matter how you got to allowing a vibration of lack, you can turn it around in a powerful way…and in 30 days or less!

So how can you start allowing more of what you want? Here is the recipe for you:

1. Make the list of the things you are manifesting right now. One list can be “wanted” and the other list “unwanted.” Be honest and include everything you can think of.
2. Be grateful and appreciative of the things in the “wanted” column. Bask in the fun of these manifestations.
3. Make a third column. Call this list “things I’m attracting now.”
4. Translate your “unwanted” list into an allowing list by changing the wording of each item. If you wrote “I’m in debt,” write “I allow wealth and riches.”
5. Take time each day to be grateful and appreciative of the items in the “things I’m attracting now” column. Bask in the fun of these manifestations. Enjoy them as much (or more) than the ones you have already manifested. Be easy about it. Have fun.

Once you make a habit of focusing on the things you want, rather than pushing against the things you don’t want, you will see a shift in your life that will amaze you. Things you have been wanting for years will pop up and appear “out of nowhere.” Your timing will be perfect, and you will align with events and people in a powerful new way. Keep your focus on that third column, and let yourself relax into the new vibration. If you stay focused on this new list, you will see the evidence of new manifestations in only days, and magical changes in less than 30 days! Give this exercise a try, and then let everyone at Gratitude Planet know about it. Enjoy This Most Amazing Day!  CHRIS

All the time that it took me to finally get to this monumental occasion, I had built up inside of myself a sort of vision of how it would feel to finally graduate from college.  Being a romantic at heart, I knew how it would feel, I knew how it would look, I even knew what it would smell like.  Yes, I know it sounds a little strange, but to me, graduating from a major university has a special smell associated with it. Some might say that it is the smell of all the beautiful Jacaranda trees blooming, and the other delicious smells that Mother Nature brings to us every spring, but this smell is different.  To me, graduating from college had a clean, sweet smell of success; and almost lofty aroma that lifts your very being to heights unknown to any other person but yourself.  The closer the actual day came; the more I looked forward to experiencing those sights and sounds, feelings and smells. I knew that they were mine, because I had focused on them so hard, and as I have come to know from the Law of Attraction, I knew that whatever I gave my attention to would bring me more of what I was thinking and feeling (and smelling) about.

And finally, the big day arrived!  Like any individual who has focused long and hard on a dream, I flew out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning, eager to greet the day and claim the prizes that I had stored up for myself in the Universe.  I raced through my morning routines and rituals like a gazelle so that I could get to the “good stuff” faster.  But when I arrived at the “BIG MOMENT,” that moment that I had been dreaming, thinking, and feeling about for so many years, I was met with……….nothing.  Well, nothing like what I had THOUGHT it would be like.

The place had not been transformed into the great Romanesque halls with the Ivy streaming down the sides like you see in the movies and on TV; there was no feeling of being elevated to heights unknown… there was no backlighting shinning down when I stepped up to receive my diploma…and no heralding trumpets to announce the entrance of the graduates.  There wasn’t even that special smell that I had waited and wished for year after year after year.  In fact, the whole thing felt kind of…….ordinary and mundane. I felt ripped off!!! “Hey Universe…..where’s my sights and sounds, feelings and smells???”

Before I go on, let me say that graduating from college was a wonderful experience!  It just wasn’t the experience I had hoped for.  I, like so many of us, had fallen under the spell of Illusion. I had fallen in love with the things that were not in alignment with Source, and thus allowed myself to be taken down the gilded pathway of Illusion where absolutely everything is possible, even if it is not practical or within vibrational reach. The result was that I felt unfulfilled.  “Is this it?  Is this all there is?”  It took me a couple of days to come to grips with the fact that graduation was not what I had hoped it would be, but I also gained some valuable insights into how the Law of Attraction and our own vibrational match points work.

Everyone has wants and desires, and this is what drives us to create new and better experiences in our lives.  Whatever that desire is, you must first take a look at how well you match the desire vibrationally, and then make the needed adjustments in order for your vibration to come into alignment with the desire that you have.  Since you cannot attract anything that is outside of your vibrational range, it is a futile attempt to try and attract something that, at least for the time being, cannot be yours.  It will only bring you great frustration.

The healthier thing to do is to start by reaching for something that is within your vibration. Accept the present with gratitude, and as you lift your vibrational range, all the gifts that are yours from the Universe will start flowing into your experience.  The campus of the school where I graduated from is a beautiful campus.  All of the Jacaranda trees around the school are in full bloom, giving off their sweet perfume.  I was surrounded by my loving family and friends, and I have many good memories that have been captured forever through the invention of the photograph.  I worked long and hard to get what many people have taken for granted, and that makes the moment all the more sweet.  I don’t need the Romanesque buildings, the Ivy, the heralding trumpets and that special smell.  I’ve got the real thing, and I thank the Universe for helping me get what I desired for so many years.

Maybe you too have fallen under the spell of Illusion at one time or another.  If so, I’d love to here your story!

Lee-GP

Me: “So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?”

Friend: “Oh, I’m going to go and watch my granddaughter’s soft ball team play.”

Me: “That sounds like fun! How old are they?”

Friend: “They’re between seven and nine years of age.”

Me: “Are they a good team?”

Friend: “Not really. They are at the bottom of their league!”

Me: “Ouch! That must not be good for morale.”

Friend: “Actually, they don’t care. They aren’t there to win any big awards, or be the best in the league. They are there to have a good time and enjoy each other’s company. Winning or losing doesn’t even cross their minds!”

I had an immediate thought at this point. Why can’t life be this way? Why can’t we NOT worry about having everything “work out” and just have fun with each other, and let the Universe take care of us? So I decided to give it a try. Instead of worrying about my relationships, and where they were going, I let go of that and just had fun with them. In place of working to get approval from my colleagues, I accepted that they already approved of me, and made our work together a thing of play. I relaxed, and trusted that Law of Attraction was lining me up with the vibration of what I wanted. Guess what happened? All of my relationships have taken a positive step forward. In fact, one of my friends remarked to me about the positive “change” he has seen in me this week. The work that my colleagues and I were doing seemed to just fly by as if guided by an invisible genie. Seemingly impossible situations magically worked themselves out all by themselves, without my having to invest any energy at all. I didn’t worry at all about how good I was, how effective I was, or even if I was getting these Law of Attraction principles down correctly or not. I simply realized that it is a wonderfully automatic system that works to perfection every time. We need not worry about being finished with the process, because WE are a never-finished process. We are eternal beings. There is always something wonderful and new to learn, and we can learn everything in our own perfect time. We don’t ever have to worry about winning, because we have already won. We already have the prize. All we need to do is to enjoy our process…enjoy all of it…the people, places and things in our lives, and just have fun. Enjoy the prize!  -Lee

But for the Universe, there is no such thing as the word “no.” When you say “no,” the Universe only hears “yes.” But how can this be? This is because we live in an inclusion-based Universe. The Law of Inclusion dictates that anything that you give your attention to becomes part of your vibration, and then the Law of Attraction gets to work to give you more of it. In other words, you can’t push anything away from you and your vibration…if it has your attention in any way, you are magnifying it and attracting more of it toward your personal experience. In an inclusion-based system, trying to stop anything (drugs, crime, disease, poverty, etc.) only serves to intensify the vibration, no matter how well-meaning you are. So how do we address these problems, you might say? If you focus directly on the problem, there will always be the problem, and bigger problems like it. (The Universe hears “This is a problem” and agrees with you, and sends you more of it because you gave it your attention.)

Instead, focus on your mind’s highest image of a solution that does not include the problem. That last sentence is worth reading again. Remember that you can’t think about the problem without including, intensifying, expanding, and drawing more of the problem into your personal experience. So the key is to give your attention to thoughts and ideas of clarity, peace, wellness, and prosperity, rather than trying to rid the planet of drugs, crime, disease, and poverty.

But if no one works to rid the world of drugs, crime, disease, and poverty, won’t these things get out of control and multiply? Not in an inclusion-based Universe. The problems will dissipate and lose their energy as connected people all over the world act on their inner wisdom from connection to Source, and follow their intuition to promote clarity, peace, wellness, and prosperity.

What are you for, and what are you against? Now that you are more aware that you are actually for the things you thought you were against, how might you refocus your attention today? Just notice today, through your experience, what you have been asking for by observing everything you are getting. You have been saying “yes” to all of it, even when you shouted “no” at it. Be easy about it, and when you must say “no” just get off the thought and turn to something you can say “yes” to as soon as possible. Be for things from now on, and let them flow to you effortlessly over time. Enjoy this most amazing day! Chris-GP

Leading Lady: Wakes up in the morning in bed, jumps up, stubs toe and says “ouch! I am so clumsy! One of there days I’m going to really hurt myself!”(Law of Attraction hears “I am asking for more pain today. I deserve it. This happens all the time. I am ready for a serious accident”)

Director: “OK, CUT! That was well-acted, and quite dramatic, but the line is ‘ouch! Well I can tell I’m not dreaming anymore. Today I’ll get all my clumsies out right away. It’s gonna get better from here, I can tell.’” (Law of Attraction hears “I am expecting this to be my last accident today. The day will get better and better. All is well”)

Leading Lady: Walks into the bathroom and looks in the mirror, evaluates appearance and says “This diet isn’t working at all! I look like a fat slob. Diets never work for me. I’m going to die fat!” (Law of Attraction hears “I am fat. I suck. Don’t bring me anything else except what I have. I am unworthy. No matter what I eat, don’t send me any evidence of progress. Death will be my only resolution to this problem.”)

Director: “OK, CUT! We already shot that scene over and over again. This is the plot twist where she realizes that things are going to change. The lines are ‘I don’t see a huge change, yet, but I know this new diet is working. I feel thinner, and I know every cell of my body is letting in the new, thinner me! I can’t wait to see myself tomorrow. Soon everyone will be able to see what I am feeling right now. Look out world, the new me is here!’” (Law of Attraction hears “I am expecting this diet to work. I will see a manifestation soon. I am on track to allow what I want. People will tell me I look thinner today.”)

Leading Lady: Interacting with someone in the grocery checkout line. Notices that the cashier is nervous and making mistakes. Speaks these lines to the person in line: “Look at this cashier. Is she stupid or what! Why don’t they train them better? How come when you are in a hurry you always get in a line with an incompetent cashier? I mean really, I need to see the manager. This is ridiculous!” (Law of Attraction hears “Bring me stupid cashiers. I attract untrained cashiers to me. I always shop in stores that don’t care about the customers. I’m ready for a big fight with someone, and the sooner the better. Bring me someone to unload on, please.”)

Director: “OK, CUT! Those are the lines of the person in the next aisle in another movie. This scene sets up the leading lady meeting her soulmate in the parking lot in the next scene. Can you play it a bit easier? Your lines are ‘Look at that cashier. She seems a bit nervous. I don’t recognize her. I bet she is new on the job. I remember when I got my first job, and I remember how it took me a while to come up to speed. She is doing the best she can. I appreciate that they have those scanners. It makes the whole process go by so much faster. I found some good sale items, and I am glad it will ring up with the sale price automatically. In a week I bet she’ll be zipping through customers. I always get in the right line, just by intuition. My timing is perfect today.’” (Law of Attraction hears “I am always in the right place at the right time. I appreciate people for where they are in life, and I give myself a break as well. All is well. You can bring me everything I want right now. I am ready and willing to give my love and gratitude to everyone, and I see and draw to me others who vibrate like me.”

The scenes are ongoing in your experience everyday, in every moment. Law of Attraction responds to your vibration and not your words, so it hears what you are feeling, and simply agrees with what you feel. Are you satisfied with the message you are sending to the Universe, which is being constantly matched by the Law of Attraction? If not, take control and redirect your scenes. You choose it all. Be Well, Marie

1A. You Ask (automatic through living on planet Earth)

1B. Make Peace With Where You Are, Who You Are, And What You Have. (your business)

2. Source Answers (not your work)

3. You Align With The New Vibration (your work, and only your work, and your only work!)

Yet today, I had a new insight. You can do this even sitting at your computer. I was doing yoga, and I went into a pose and was holding it. Sometimes I go really deep into the pose, and sometimes I go in just enough to notice a little resistance in my muscles. When I go really deep, it can really hurt. If I go in just a bit, it is more of a dull sensation, and not really painful. Now, I decided today to just go into a stretch only enough that I noticed a little amount of resistance or sensation. As I noticed the resistance (step ONE A), I stayed there and changed my focus to my breathing and away from the resistance (step ONE B) and then affirmed that Source Energy had created a new me that had no pain in this stretch (step TWO), and then I noticed the resistance disappear! (step THREE). So in little more than 20 seconds I went from feeling resistance, relaxing and making peace with me, and allowing the new me without the resistance. Yoga actually means “union” and is a practice for going in and understanding yourself and the Universe better.  It is supposed to be a path to wellbeing and expansion. Now I get it! And it’s not about stretching farther than I can. It’s about going to my edge and expanding with joy where I am. WOW!

If you have things in your life that you can’t figure out how to allow, why not practice allowing smaller things, and then work on up to the bigger things? This stretching/yoga (I’ll call it a meditation) technique gives you almost instant gratification, and works on exactly the same laws that create and allow more friends, cars, relationships, prosperity, ocean-front homes, and the like. Get good at allowing wellness in the here and now, and the bigger things will be on the way very soon. Thanks for reading. Let me know if you liked this post!  Lisa

You might wonder, then, why your experience doesn’t change every time you define your new preferences. When I set a new font on my computer, you might say, it stays changed until I change it again. This is true for your computer, and it is also true for you…sort of. You see, you are not an “on and off/black and white” device. You are a vibrational being that is always experiencing what the Law of Attraction is lining you up with. The LoA is responding to the most practiced thoughts you have been thinking. When you set a new preference for more money, you are setting more money into motion for you immediately. It’s like ordering from the internet. The deal is done as soon as you order it. But it takes time for the order to be picked, handled, put on a truck, and delivered to your door. For the Law of Attraction (or the US mail in this case) to bring it to you, you simply have to stick with your preferences and NOT cancel the order! Can you image how silly it would be to order, say, a pair of shoes on line, and then call to cancel it, and then reorder it, and then cancel it, and then reorder it…and then blame the company for not bringing it to you quickly? That is pretty much what you are doing sometimes if your preferences are not manifesting for you over time. Once you set a new preference, love the fact that you have set it into motion, and then get excited about how it will arrive. See it coming to you, and don’t entertain thoughts for very long that may cancel your “order.”

I love to define my preferences, and I love knowing that the Law of Attraction is the delivery system I can count on to bring it to me. I have preferences set for my job, my mate, my art, my car, my pets, my living spaces, my body, my friends, and the list goes on and on. It’s fun to get to decide on all of these. When something isn’t working anymore, I get to imagine it in a better light, and I get to enjoy the coming improvement. I get what I prefer as long as I don’t cancel the order. How FUN! What are you ordering from the Vibrational Universe today? What do you prefer your life to be like? Put that order in and have fun today while the order is processed. Before you know it it will be on your door step. Thanks for reading. Let me know if you liked this post!  Lisa-GP

And aligning is what your job is…once you have asked. So you realize that your money is running out, and you ask for more, and then you feel better, and then…BAM…an unexpected bill comes in the mail. And then you spiral downward into the asking vibration again. You might even pile on and reinforce the feeling with words “I’ll never get out of this mess,” or “what’s the use, I am destined to be broke forever.” These words are a natural outpouring in a step one, asking moment. But your job is to reach for statements that feel a little better, and to see if you can move closer to the receiving of the prosperity.

Receiving anything is connected to your ability to feel as if you have it NOW. You must do your best to imagine it, talk about it, take actions related to it, and enjoy the feeling of having it…in the present moment. Law of Attraction matches you with whatever you are vibrating, and you can’t receive your prosperity when you are so very aware of NOT having enough. But how do you feel like you have enough when you clearly don’t have enough? It’s all about feeling better.

If you are depressed about not having more money, see if you can feel angry about it for a few minutes. If anger is achieved, reach for something…anything…that gives you some relief. Maybe worry feels better. Only you know for sure. But keep reaching. The emotional/vibrational scale looks something like this:

Joy/Knowledge/Empowerment/Freedom/Love/Appreciation/Bliss
Passion
Enthusiasm/Eagerness/Happiness
Positive Expectation/Belief
Optimism
Hopefulness
Contentment
Boredom
Pessimism
Frustration/Impatience/Irritation
Overwhelment
Disappointment
Doubt
Worry
Blame
Discouragement
Anger
Revenge
Hatred/Rage
Jealousy
Insecurity/Guilt/Unworthiness
Fear/Grief/Depression/Despair/Powerlessness

Once you feel yourself getting to at least hopeful, you are nearing the place where Law of Attraction can bring you what you have asked for. When you get into this range, I recommend that you fuel it a bit with some specific affirmations that help you maintain the feeling, and that even increase it to a better-feeling level. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. I always have enough money. When I am in need, something comes through at exactly the right time.
   
2. Unexpected income is speeding toward me right now. I fully accept this fact and receive the gifts today.
3. I am always provided for in every way. I am content and expectant. I know good things are on the way right now.
4. I expect to see evidence of my new prosperity today. I will look and see this evidence, no matter how small.
   
5. I bless my path today, and I expect more to come to me. I am open to receiving gifts beyond my wildest dreams.
6. I have asked, and now I allow my well being. I feel ready to receive strongly right now.
7. Bills or no bills, I love this life, and I relax into my prosperity. All is well.
8. I am grateful for my perfect timing in all things. My expanded income is rushing into my consciousness. I am rich in so many ways right now.
   
9. Love and light and expansion are who I am. I am ready to receive expanded riches and wellness.
   
10. My work is done. I relax and allow money to flow to me. I act on inspiration as I feel it. I am powerfully connected to my wellness.

When you repeat these words, let yourself enjoy their vibrational pull. Don’t doubt it, but rather enjoy the feeling of having everything you want right now. Be childlike in your imagination. Have fun with it. The bills should not keep you from feeling better right now, and if you allow and let this process work for you, a vibrational manifestation of prosperity MUST be your experience. It is Universal Law. Once you feel better, the “real world” will shift and you will see hard and fast evidence of your creation through the contrast. Let it happen, don’t doubt it, and be well and prosperous today. Chris-GP