Gratitude, page 1
ALSO BY LOUISE L. HAY
Books
Colors & Numbers
Empowering Women
A Garden of Thoughts: My Affirmation Journal
Heal Your Body
Heal Your Body A–Z
Heart Thoughts
I Can Do It®
Inner Wisdom
Letters to Louise
Life! Reflections on Your Journey
Love Your Body
Love Yourself, Heal Your Life Workbook
Meditations to Heal Your Life
(also in a gift edition)
The Power Is Within You
You Can Heal Your Life (also in a gift edition)
You Can Heal Your Life Companion Book
Coloring Books/Audiocassettes for Children
Lulu and the Ant: A Message of Love
Lulu and the Dark: Conquering Fears
Lulu and Willy the Duck: Learning Mirror Work
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Anger Releasing
Cancer
Change and Transition
Dissolving Barriers
Feeling Fine Affirmations
Forgiveness/Loving the Inner Child
Heal Your Body (audio book)
How to Love Yourself
Life! Reflections on Your Journey (audio book)
Loving Yourself
Meditations for Personal Healing
Meditations to Heal Your Life (audio book)
Morning and Evening Meditations
101 Power Thoughts
Overcoming Fears
The Power Is Within You (audio book)
The Power of Your Spoken Word
Receiving Prosperity
Self-Esteem Affirmations (subliminal)
Self Healing
Stress-Free Affirmations (subliminal)
Totality of Possibilities
What I Believe/Deep Relaxation
You Can Heal Your Life (audio book)
You Can Heal Your Life Study Course
Your Thoughts Create Your Life
DVDs
Dissolving Barriers
You Can Heal Your Life, the Movie
Card Decks
Healthy Body Cards
I CAN DO IT® Cards (a 60-card deck)
I CAN DO IT® Cards for Creativity, Forgiveness,
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a Stress-Free Life (each deck has 12 cards)
Power Thought Cards
Power Thought Sticky Cards
Power Thoughts for Teens
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_______________________________
All of the above are available at your local
bookstore, or may be ordered by visiting:
Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com®
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Louise’s Website: www.LouiseHay.com®
Copyright © 1996 by The Hay Foundation
Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com • Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au • Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk • Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za • Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com • Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in
Edited by: Jill Kramer Designed by: Jenny Richards
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use—other than for “fair use” as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews without prior written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hay, Louise L.
Gratitude : a way of life / by Louise L. Hay and friends.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-56170-309-5
1. Gratitude. I. Title.
BJ1533.G8H38 1996
179’.9—dc20 96-22530
CIP
ISBN 13: 978-1-56170-309-8
ISBN 10: 1-56170-309-5
14 13 12 11 21 20 19 18
1st printing, October 1996
18th printing, January 2011
Printed in the United States of America
To all the contributors in this book—
I’m very grateful to you!
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION BY LOUISE L. HAY
Contributors to Gratitude
Louise L. Hay: Thanking the Universe
Joan Z. Borysenko, Ph.D.: Thank God for What Doesn’t Need Healing
Carolyn A. Bratton: Grateful Reflections
Lee Carroll: Patty
Alan Cohen: I Love My Wall
Lee Coit: The Gifts That Gratitude Offers Us
Terah Kathryn Collins: The Circle of Gratitude
Dr. Tom Costa: Gratitude—The Vital Ingredient in Our Lives
Sri Daya Mata: Words of Gratitude
Amy E. Dean: Gratitude Is Awareness
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer: Gratitude: One of Life’s Miracles
Nicholas Eliopoulos: The Meaning of True Gratitude
James Eubanks: The Awesome Design of Life
Sylvia Friedman: Gratitude Feels Good!
Shakti Gawain: Being Grateful During Life’s Challenges
Michele Gold: Gratitude Is a Sanctuary
Karen M. Haughey: Gratitude: It Can Make Your Day!
Christopher Hills, Ph.D.: An Appreciation of Gratitude
Sharon Huffman: Gratitude: The Key to a Happy, Healthy, Successful Life
Laura Archera Huxley: “Gratitude Is Heaven Itself”
Dr. Gerald G. Jampolsky/Diane V. Cirincione: “Love Is the Way I Walk in Gratitude”
Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.: Noticing the Abundance
lone Shockey Jenson: “In Everything Give Thanks”
Elizabeth A. Johnson: Grateful Is Good
Patrice Karst: Great Days
Julie Keene: Bless It All!
Kimberly Lockwood: Gratitude: One of Life’s Most Important Lessons
Sir John Mason: So Many Blessings
Emmett E. Miller, M.D.: Gratitude: A Healing Attitude
Dan Millman: Transcendental Gratitude
Mary-Margaret Moore: Falling into Gratitude
Rev. Nancy Norman: My Own “Gratitude Book”
Robert Odom: The Gift of Gratitude
Daniel T. Peralta: Gratitude: The Natural Expression of a Loving Heart
Marcia Perkins-Reed: Gratitude: A Lifestyle
John Randolph Price: Gratitude:A Powerful Force
Rev. Michael C. Rann: A Shortcut to a Miracle
Dr. Frank Richelieu: Gratitude: Its Healing Properties
Murray Salem: Thank You, God
Dr. J. Kennedy Shultz: In All Things Give Thanks
Ron Scolastico, Ph.D.: The Power of Gratitude
Bernie S. Siegel, M.D.: Gratitude: A State of Mind
Rev. Christian Sorenson: Looking Through the Eyes of Gratitude
Hal Stone, Ph.D., and Sidra Stone, Ph.D.: The Manifestation of Gratitude
Dr. Sharron Stroud: Gratitude As a Way of Being
Angela Passidomo Trafford: Being Authentic Sets Us Free
Rama J. Vernon: Gratitude: A Silent, Unspoken Prayer
Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.: Unconditional Gratitude
Stuart Wilde: Step to the Infinite Self Within
Margaret Olivia Wolfson: The Most Amazing Day
__________________________________________________
GRATITUDE PRAYER BY LOUISE L. HAY
MY OWN THOUGHTS ON GRATITUDE
INTRODUCTION
by Louise L. Hay
I am so pleased to be sharing this very special book with my friends … and the world. All of the profits from this book will benefit my charitable organization, The Hay Foundation, which diligently works to improve the quality of life for many people, including those with AIDS, and battered women.
As you read through the lovely, inspirational thoughts in this book, I hope that you will take the time to think about all the things that you have to be grateful for in your life.
Thanking the Universe
Louise L. Hay
Louise L. Hay is a metaphysical lecturer and teacher and the bestselling author of numerous books, including YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE and LIFE! REFLECTIONS ON YOUR JOURNEY. Since beginning her career as a Science of Mind minister in 1981, she has assisted thousands of people in discovering and using the full potential of their own creative powers for personal growth and self-healing. Louise’s works have been translated into 29 different languages in 35 countries throughout the world. She is the owner and founder of Hay House, Inc., a publishing company devoted to disseminating books, audios, videos, and other materials that help heal the planet.
I have noticed that the Universe loves gratitude. The more grateful you are, the more goodies you get. When I say “goodies,” I don’t mean only material things. I mean all the people, places, and experiences that make life so wonderfully worth living. You know how great you feel when your life is filled with love and joy and health and creativity, and you get the green lights and the parking places. This is how our lives are meant to be lived. The Universe is a ge
Think about how you feel when you give a friend a present. If the person looks at it and her face falls, or she says, “Oh, it’s not my size, or not my color, or I never use anything like that, or is that all there is,” then I am sure you will have little desire to ever give her a present again. However, if her eyes dance with delight, and she is pleased and thankful, then every time you see something she would like, you want to give it to her, whether you actually do so or not.
Gratitude brings more to be grateful about. It increases your abundant life. Lack of gratitude, or complaining, brings little to rejoice about. Complainers always find that they have little good in their life, or they do not enjoy what they do have. The Universe always gives us what we believe we deserve. Many of us have been raised to look at what we do not have and to feel only lack. We come from a belief in scarcity and then wonder why our lives are so empty. If we believe that “I don’t have, and I won’t be happy until I do…,” then we are putting our lives on hold. What the Universe hears is: “I don’t have, and I am not happy,” and that is what you get more of.
For quite some time now, I’ve been accepting every compliment and every present with: “I accept with joy and pleasure and gratitude.” I have learned that the Universe loves this expression, and I constantly get the most wonderful presents.
When I awaken in the morning, the first thing I do before I even open my eyes is to thank my bed for a good night’s sleep. I am grateful for the warmth and comfort it has given me. From that beginning, it is easy to think of many, many more things that I am grateful for. By the time I have gotten out of bed, I have probably expressed gratitude for 80 or 100 different people, places, things, and experiences in my life. This is a great way to start the day.
In the evening, just before sleep, I go through the day, blessing and being grateful for each experience. I also forgive myself if I feel that I made a mistake or said something inappropriate or made a decision that was not the best. This exercise fills me with “warm fuzzies,” and I drift off to sleep like a happy baby.
We even want to be grateful for the lessons we have. Don’t run from lessons; they are little packages of treasure that have been given to us. As we learn from them, our lives change for the better. I now rejoice whenever I see another portion of the dark side of myself. I know that it means that I am ready to let go of something that has been hindering my life. I say, “Thank you for showing me this, so I can heal it and move on.” So, whether the lesson is a “problem” that has cropped up, or an opportunity to see an old, negative pattern within us that it is time to let go of, rejoice!
Let’s spend as many moments as we can every day being grateful for all the good that is in our lives. If you have little in your life now, it will increase. If you have an abundant life now, it will increase. This is a win-win situation. You are happy, and the Universe is happy. Gratitude increases your abundance.
Start a gratitude journal. Write something to be grateful about each day. On a daily basis, tell someone how grateful you are for something. Tell sales clerks, waiters, postal workers, employers and employees, friends, family, and perfect strangers. Share the gratitude secret. Let’s help make this a world of grateful, thankful giving and receiving … for everyone!
Thank God for What Doesn’t Need Healing
Joan Z. Borysenko, Ph.D.
Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., is the president of Mind/Body Health Sciences, Inc., and the author of numerous bestselling books, including THE POWER OF THE MIND TO HEAL; FIRE IN THE SOUL; and MINDING THE BODY, MENDING THE MIND. She co-founded and is a former director of the Mind/Body Clinic at New England Deaconess Hospital and was an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. Joan is a cancer cell biologist, a licensed psychologist, and a yoga/ meditation instructor.
One clear winter’s day, I decided to take a walk in the tiny Colorado wilderness town where I live. The sky was a shade of azure blue peculiar to the higher elevations of the Rockies. The early March sun poured like liquid gold through the limbs of tall spruce, creating dancing patterns of light in the delicate crystals of freshly fallen snow. Mountain peaks rose majestically in sculpted layers of greens and grays, piercing clouds that hung like fairy mist in the enchanted valleys below.
Marching resolutely down the road, I was all but blind to the extraordinary beauty. Attempting to relax before driving down the mountain to undergo a breast biopsy at the local hospital, I was actually reviewing the endless menu of dire medical possibilities that might materialize. As my mind slid into well-worn patterns of awfulizing, it gathered momentum. Not only might my body be in mortal danger, but my life wasn’t working so well in other ways either. Not only did the glass seem half empty, but the remaining water appeared downright polluted!
My youngest son, although nearly 22, was terribly upset by the recent separation of my husband of nearly 24 years and myself. My fault, of course. I felt overworked and burned out. Also my fault. What kind of crazy life had I managed to create—especially when I am supposed to be some kind of role model for others? Guilt, fear, anger, and disappointment joined the cacophony of inner voices accompanying me down the road on my attempt at a mindful relaxation walk.
I was rudely awakened from my toxic reverie by a searing pain in my hindquarters. Perfectly focused on my well-rehearsed mental movies, I had been completely unaware of the speedy approach of a large German shepherd who bounded up and bit me unceremoniously on the behind. My mental movie department immediately began to run a feature film starring my bare buttocks being sutured in the Boulder Community Hospital emergency room, while I was simultaneously being injected with huge doses of tetanus toxoid and rabies vaccine. I would, no doubt, miss my biopsy and have to undergo that second round of medical torture on another day.
I reached down into my pants expecting to encounter a sticky mass of blood. Strangely, my hand emerged perfectly clean. Energized by sudden hope, I slipped behind a bush and pulled my pants down. While a large red welt, framed by the impression of a perfect set of canine teeth, graced my derrière, the skin was magically unbroken. With a yelp of pure joy, I pulled up my pants and burst from the bushes with a whoop of uncensored gratitude. No emergency room. No tetanus shots. No slow death from rabies. I could get to the biopsy on time. Lucky me.
Suddenly, the entire scene seemed hilariously funny. The dog was transformed from a nasty cur to a Divine Messenger. “Wake up, you silly human! Feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair. You are alive, and the world is beautiful. The mountains are alive, and the day is young. There are endless possibilities to experience and worlds to create.”
The veil of forgetfulness dropped from my eyes, and I suddenly found myself overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift of life. Every breath was precious. Every step was a miracle. The stresses I had obsessed about seemed like cleverly constructed challenges that beckoned me to create life more mindfully and authentically. Peace settled around me like a down quilt, and I felt held by unseen arms.
Gratitude is indeed like a gearshift that can move our mental mechanism from obsession to peacefulness, from stuckness to creativity, from fear to love. The ability to relax and be mindfully present in the moment comes naturally when we are grateful. One of the most delightful aspects of my Jewish heritage is the saying of Brachot, blessings or prayers of thanksgiving throughout the day. These are praises of God for creating a world of infinite wonder and possibility. There is a blessing upon seeing a star or a rainbow. There is a blessing for the gifts of food, wine, and water. There is even a blessing upon going to the bathroom for internal organs that function so well! I like to add impromptu blessings throughout the day. Thanks to the Infinite Creative Universe, the Unknown Mystery we call God, for creating German shepherds to wake us up at the most unlikely times!
I once attended a Charismatic Catholic healing service during which the priest led us in a prayer of gratitude for all the things in our life that did not need healing. Thank God the German shepherd didn’t break the skin. Thank God the breast biopsy was negative. Thank God I am healthy and able to remember—at least from time to time—that gratitude is the key to peace, joy, and creative choice. May you also be blessed with the gift of remembering. Take a moment tonight, before you go to bed, and give thanks for five things in your life that don’t need healing. Throughout the day, when you find yourself stuck in awfulizing about the things that seem wrong, remember to say a prayer of gratitude for all the things that are right.
