As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy

How is Gratitude related to the relief, management or prevention of stress?

It has been a big challenge for me to be grateful when I was younger and when things happened that either made no sense at that time, that confused me or that I did not like/want to be an experience in my life.

When I was challenged I tended to get upset either with myself, others or the situation. Blame was my good friend.

As you can imagine neither of this was very effective in terms of moving on. The worst experience was when I found out that my (then) husband had an affair with my best friend. That moment I felt like drawn into a black hole, spiraling downwards.

I went through the whole spectrum of negative emotions: anger, sadness, frustration, self-pity, fear, grief, aggression and once through started all over again. Only a few friends who really cared about me dared to be physically and mentally close when the ‘fire horse’ in me came out and the volcano was braking loose.

Today I have the deepest respect for these friends – I really wasn’t a pleasure to be around.

Fast forward 10 years. A few months ago I reconnected with ‘the adulteress’. To be honest, I was very surprised myself when I felt the need to get in contact with her. Even more as she tried to apologise for what happened (back then) and there was no way I would have even listened.

It feels really odd now to use the word adulteress, because this is not how I see her any more. Today I can see the pain that she went through herself. I no longer feel any kind of stress calling her name, while before I almost felt physical pain when I even only thought of her.

Besides time of course, there is one virtue that helped me to see this event differently now:

Gratitude

By practicing Nuad Thai – Traditional Thai Massage and studying its roots in Buddhist tradition as well as becoming a life coach I learned to take responsibility for my actions and my non-actions.

Instead of blaming others, I rather look for the gift in the situation and ask myself better questions:

What can I learn to avoid/do better next time?
How does this help me to grow?
How can I use this to become a better person?

By establishing some resources like a trusted source, a coach I can share insights with, journaling and meditation it is now easy and almost effortless to tap onto the power of Gratitude.

A heartfelt Thank-You to whoever you pray to invites harmony and instant relief to your life. The answer is often a knowing deep inside, that once you have accepted the gift of the situation as an opportunity for learning and growth, it will no longer cause any physical or mental stress.

How to practice Gratitude

Practicing Gratitude is very easy. To start with, ask yourself a simple question:

What happened today that you could choose to be grateful for?

Maybe you got a smile from a stranger, someone picked up your bag when it fell down, you got a nice call from a friend…

Even the simplest things can be a great source to experience Gratitude: the song of a bird, the beauty of a tree, the blue of the sky, a raindrop on a leaf…

Once you get in the habit of practicing Gratitude for the small things, you will find it easier to see the hidden presents in a situation that is more challenging.

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. – Albert Schweitzer

Every person has a story and we are all connected.

The story of ‘The Little Soul And The Sun‘ by Neale Donald Walsh gives an insight of how each of us is a shining light and why sometimes the ones that bring us the biggest pain are those we need to show our deepest appreciation. (A review and summary will be available soon).

The Gift Of Gratitude

By practicing Gratitude you will connect with your higher spirit. This is one of the most powerful resources to increase the balance of your body, mind & spirit and will help you to stay much more relaxed when the road of life gets a bit bumpy and challenging.

I would like to share my gratitude for the organiser of the eco fiesta and lifestyle expo, who put together a wonderful event that enabled me to connect with new prospective and re-connect with existing friends.

My deepest appreciation goes to my husband Thomas and my youngest son Noah, who support me unconditionally in everything that I do and who enrich my life beyond words.

Each of my older children, Aaron, David and Lukas, gave my life a twist which was extremely valuable and I am grateful for their strong personalities and enriching characters.

To all my existing clients: your appreciation for my work makes my days. You are all precious to me and I cherish our relationship no matter how often or seldom we see each other.

Without the people who read this, I would just be talking to myself, so my Gratitude includes you as well.

And before this starts to sound like the acknowledgements in the foreword of a book, I stop here – curious to hear what you are grateful for today, tomorrow and the day after. Please share your thoughts and insights below. Thank you.

Popular examples for an external universal trusted sources are God, Jesus, Mary, Allah, Buddha, Mohammed, Odin, Zeus, Grace, …
Their main characteristic is that they would know everybody’s purpose or answers to each person’s questions about life.

An external personal source could be a deceased loved one or a personal angel who is specifically assigned to you and only knows and cares about your purpose, no one else’s.

an internal source is something that you see as being a part of your self (but NOT your unconscious mind). It is an aspect of your psyche that can provide the answers you are looking for in terms of your purpose or other important aspects of your life.

There are three criteria that need to be fulfilled in order to define a trusted source:

You need to believe that

• it exists
• it already knows your purpose
• you can communicate with each other

You can learn more about trusted source and 12 Strategies for Discovering the Difference You Are Meant to Make in Tim Kelley’ book True Purpose.

What does I Ging mean?
The “I” means “changes in the flow of life energy (“Chi”) and “Ching” is the word for classic.  The I Ging is often referred to as the “Book of Changes”, and the philosophical backbone to Chinese medicine, astrology and architecture as well as physical education like T’ai Chi Chuan or Qi Gong and the principles of Feng Shui.

Where does the I Ging come from?
I Ging is the essence of 6000 years of ancient wisdom, which initially has been passed on verbally before it was eventually written down, still being polished, adjusted and refined over time.

It consists of 64 sacred hexagrams, each of them a different combination of six solid and broken lines.

Examples:

hexagram 30-fire

hexagram 47-affliction

hexagram 61-inner truth

What does it mean?

Each line has a symbolic meaning (from top to bottom):

1. Spirit (religion, tao, the end or ‘beyond’ things)
2. Structure (organising, leading, ideals)
3. Choice (decisions, finding solutions or the road)
4. Emotions (exploration and evaluation)
5. Connection (with people, finding a place in the world, environment)
6. Reality (action, matter, the way one stands on the earth, beginnings)

Using the I Ging
The I Ging can be used as an oracle, a suggestion or a guide, depending on your preferences. Working with the I Ging has become an art. In the beginning there was only a Yes or No answer, then the system has become more and more complex by broadening the possibilities for interpretation. Adding imagination again has lifted the interpretation process to another level.

Because of its complexity, it may take several attempts until the I Ging reveals the information you are looking for.

What can you  expect?
As always, what you put in is what you get out. The quality of the questions you are asking the I Ging will determine the answer you get. At the same time, a question/problem well stated is a problem half solved.

The I Ging can help find answers to questions that expect a complex answer, allow to balance two outcomes, focus on special times, ask for clarification, describe a state or situation or simply asks for a comment.

At least, the I Ging offers an opportunity for self reflection, which is always a good thing.

More than anything else, I believe it’s our decisions, not the conditions of our lives, that determine our destiny.

“Awaken The Giant Within” – How to take control of your mental, emotional, physical and financial destiny by Anthony Robbins.

Free Press; Soft Cover edition (November 1, 1992) – 544 pages – ISBN: 978-0671791544

The international best-seller is divided in four parts.

In part I, author Anthony Robbins, is setting the stage for the reader to ‘unleash your power’, when he explains the impact of our decisions, the forces that shape our life, our belief systems, the science of Neuro-Associative Conditioning, the vocabulary of success, ten emotions of power and how we can create a compelling future. He finishes part one with a ten-day mental challenge, where the reader is challenged to focus on solutions for 10 consecutive days.

Part II concentrates on ‘taking control – the master system’, with topics like ultimate influence, life values, rules, references and identity, where Robbins explains the six master steps to change, five areas of intervention, how to discover, order and rearrange values and how to make them strong and powerful, the challenge of changing rules and how to communicate them as well as how to use references to put your life in perspective and how we define and defend our identities.

Part III then is an instruction for  ‘the seven days to shape your life’, where the reader is guided to create his emotional, physical, relationship and financial destiny, his own code of conduct and how to master time and life.

In part IV we read a short but powerful ‘lesson in destiny’ and how heroes are made.

What I like most: Once you have ‘worked’ your way through the book, you can not feel but empowered. With all his detailed explanations, descriptions, examples, stories and exercises, Tony Robbins leaves you with the message, that the results you get in life are your responsibility and that each of us has the ability to design our own destiny.

Conclusion: a must for coaches, a great start for every one who likes guidance and is disciplined enough to actually make the exercises.

Valuation: 41/2 of 5 stars

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