You are a powerful creator. There is power in gratitude. Make of your life a work of art: The brilliant philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that "The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude."
Gratitude is the manifestation and expression of the richness and beauty of your true Self. Henry Ward Beecher, the abolitionist, wrote "Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul." The Greek fabulist Aesop wrote "Gratitude is the sign of noble souls." Doris Day wrote that "Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty." Complaint comes from the ego, and gratitude comes from the soul.
Ernest Hemingway wrote in 'The Old Man and the Sea' that "Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is." Theodore Roosevelt wrote "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Gratitude changes your perception from fear to love, thus changing your experience of life, and creating miracles. John Milton wrote that "Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world."
You may be grateful for what you have. And also you may be very grateful for who or what is no longer in your life.
Always have an attitude of gratitude. Eileen Caddy, my coach's mother, and spiritual teacher, wrote in 'Opening Doors Within' that “Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.”
The only answer the Universe knows is "Yes". Therefore don’t ask and want for something in prayer - these are an expression appreciation and gratitude, not supplication. If you say "I want", the Universe will give you "I want." In other words it will give you lack. Assume it's already yours and give thanks. You have abundance.
Gratitude is like blowing on an ember, thus igniting a mighty fire. Michael Bassey Johnson wrote "In your darkest hour, give thanks, for in due time, the morning will come. And it will come with a ray of sunshine." It is always darkest before a blazing new dawn. Albert Schweitzer wrote "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."This is the role of your Enlightened Witness.
Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” This includes love and joy, which are also parents of so many other values and virtues. Zig Ziglar wrote "Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for." This is key to manifesting abundance.
The German-born spiritual Master Eckhart Tolle wrote “It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up... Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
"Gratitude is the power to connect with the cosmos and harness its energy," Sukant Ratnakar wrote. Author Robin Sharma wrote, "The moment I stopped spending so much time chasing the big pleasure of life, I began to enjoy the little ones, like watching the stars dancing in a moonlit sky or soaking in the sunbeams of a glorious summer morning," in one of my favourite books on the transformative journey 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.'
Arianna Huffington shared that "Living in a state of gratitude is the gateway to Grace." Grace is the reward that you receive from above when you do the inner work - it is like being touched lightly with a divine feather. Marilyn Wragg wrote "Through the lens of gratitude, we learn to see God’s grace and mercy in all circumstances."
Practicing gratitude has incredible effects, from improving our mental health to boosting our relationships with others. Gratitude is how you manifest any-thing that you want in life. There is a way to do this that works without fail. The problem is that we come from a place of scarcity. If instead, you believe that you already have something, and give daily gratitude, during prayer, journalling, or by thinking, saying or writing 'gratitude lists' that you believe that you already have it - this is the key to manifestation. The ego lives in a place of lack; whereas the higher Self lives in infinite abundance. You create your reality.
Click here to read my article about 'Waking Up To Abundance':
Your morning prayer may be simply "Thank you, thank you, thank you." If God is your target you can't miss, because God is so big. Meister Eckhart wrote “If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” The Bible states in Colossians 4:2. to "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Maya Angelou wrote “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
Wayne Dyer gives practical advice “Give yourself a gift of five minutes of contemplation in awe of everything you see around you. Go outside and turn your attention to the many miracles around you. This five-minute-a-day regimen of appreciation and gratitude will help you to focus your life in awe."
Tony Robbins said "Trade your expectations for appreciaton and the world changes for you... When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears."
Gratitude allows you to hold the abundance of the world in your arms
Jack Cornfield, the clinical psychologist who trained as a Buddhist monk, wrote “The state of abundance is connected with a deep sense of gratitude. When we open to abundance, we can enjoy the fog lifting from the morning’s melting snow, and the steam rising from the hot bowl of tomato soup on our lunch table. We can appreciate the half smile of the tired waitress, the silver crescent of the moon at twilight, the unstoppable laughter of children in the schoolyard, and celebrate the fact that we are here, breathing and alive, on this marvellous Earth. This fulfilment is far beyond the “prosperity consciousness” that is promulgated in books and workshops that urge us to visualise fancy cars, sprawling mansions, and burgeoning bank accounts. Unbridled outer seeking can actually reflect an inner limitation, of a sense of insufficiency. Our true nature is much greater than this. The abundant heart is already whole. We have all touched this at some time. The abundant heart embraces our world, holding all its joy and fear, gain and loss, nobility and selfishness, enveloped in a field of compassion and love.”
Oprah Winfrey wrote “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” Jujitsu blackbelt Chris Matakas wrote, "In the modern world, we are surrounded by so much abundance that we cannot see it," in his book 'The Tao of Jiu Jitsu'. Epicurus wrote “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” Epictetus wrote "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." Seneca echoed “True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” Professor Brené Brown wrote "I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude."
Oprah added, dispelling social media snake oil sellers, "Keep in mind: It doesn't happen overnight. Although manifesting is about turning your dreams into reality, it does require you to take proactive steps toward whatever it is you desire. You shouldn’t expect it to happen instantly - but even though it's a lengthy process, that time is a small price to pay for a (hopefully) profound impact on your life." She continued "Focusing on one thing that you are grateful for increases the energy of gratitude and rises the joy inside yourself... Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It's the quickest, easiest, most powerful way to effect change in your life—this I know for sure."
Oprah interviewed the LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner about manifestation. In the interview she said "You know, I kept hearing around '90, '92, women would stand up and say "you know, "I did the thing I was supposed to do, "I went to school, I got the degree, "I even got my Master's Degree, I did the work, "and now, now what? I feel like there should be something more, I feel like that." I kept hearing this "there should be something more, "I feel like there's something more, "I feel like I'm missing something!" Then that became one of the tenets of our show, how do you give and help to fulfill that "something more" that people are looking for, and what I instinctively knew, because I am a person who's lived a spiritual life my whole life, that something more is a connection to something that's bigger than yourself. So, how can I fulfill that, how can I offer that, in such a way that women start to look at themselves as a whole person, not just as a mother, not just as a professional, but how do I start - And one of the very first shows I did about this was with a life coach named Cheryl Richardson, who proposed the idea of "Actually, what do you want?" and "Where are you on that list of what do you want?" When she asked the women in the audience, this was around '92, to do that list, every woman was at the bottom of that list for herself. She was saying "you have to put yourself at the top." Do you know they booed her? They booed her so badly that I said "Hey hey hey! We're not Jerry Springer here!" - Put yourself at the top, and people interpret that as being selfish? - Oh, everybody said "Well, does she have children? "You have no idea, how are you going to put yourself "at the top, how are you going to make yourself a priority? We have children," and I was like "She didn't say leave your children in the street, "abandon your children, she said put yourself at the top, "give to yourself first so that you will have more..." - To give to others. - to give to others. - It became a recurring thing for you. - It became a recurring thing because I was listening to people say they didn't have it. I listened to them say they didn't have it, then when you tried to tell them "this is how you have it," they were like "we can't do that!" But, over the years, I saw how putting that message out into the world, take care of yourself, fill up your tank, give yourself your own oxygen - It landed. - And so, when you continue to do those discussions afterwards, you must have been receiving back, - Yes! - the evolution of that theme towards "I'm starting to live the life "I wanted to live... So, this idea that you were hearing a specific story, and it helped inspire what you wanted to do on the show is really, really cool. What story are you hearing now? - I was hearing a story of disconnection and intolerance. You know - Lack of compassion? - Intolerance. Just, absolutely intolerance, like not being able to tolerate other people and their stories and their beliefs. When, in fact, if you know, I did an interview in the late 80's with a mother who had watched her son die, and she said she climbed into bed with him, crawled into bed with him as he was dying, and his last words were: (deep breath) "Oh... "It was all so simple." And then he smiled. When she said that, I got chills, because I thought yeah, We're going to take our last breath and say "Why were we struggling all that time?" Why were we, you know, swimming upstream? Where all we had to do was just look at each other, and accept each other for who each of us represents on the planet. "Ah, it was so simple." I didn't have to fight that hard. It didn't have the be that hard. So, that had a really huge impact on me." Love your Self, be your Self. That's how you help others put on their oxygen mask.
Gratitude is the key to our experience of abundance. It is how we learn to receive so that we able to come into alignment with our true Self. The Law of Attraction states that like attracts like, when you’re grateful for what you already have, you will naturally attract more, for which you can be grateful.
Simone Weil, the French philosopher, wrote, "Love of God is pure when joy and suffering inspire an equal degree of gratitude." This reminds us, as the world number one author and spiritual Master William Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, that “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Accept and be grateful for the isness of the present moment.
Rudyard Kipling wrote in "If..."
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
...
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
Eckhart Tolle wrote in his brilliant follow-on book to 'The Power of Now' called 'A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose' that "Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance. The fact is: Whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you are withholding from the world. Try this for a couple of weeks and see how it changes your reality: Whatever you think people are withholding from you praise, appreciation, assistance, loving care, and so on – give it to them. You don't have it? Just act as if you had it, and it will come. Then, soon after you start giving, you will start receiving. You cannot receive what you don't give. Outflow determines inflow. Whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you already have, but unless you allow it to flow out, you won't even know that you have it. This includes abundance. The law that outflow determines inflow is expressed by Jesus in this powerful image: "Give and it will be given to you.""
Mother Teresa wrote that "Joy is the net of love by which we can capture souls. God loves the person who gives with joy. Whoever gives with joy gives more. The best way to show our gratitude to God and to people is to accept with joy."
Carl Jung wrote of life "One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child."
Neville Goddard wrote that “Your conception of your Self is your reward.” Jack Canfield wraps gratitude up like the gift that it is suggesting that we should appreciate ourselves “Finally, don’t forget to appreciate your OWN positive qualities and accomplishments. In addition to celebrating your big successes, acknowledge your small daily successes too. We all need acknowledgment, but the most important acknowledgment is that which we give ourselves.”
Marcel Proust wrote “Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Bless them and love them.
Voltaire wrote “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”
Dr Wayne Dyer wrote that "Gratitude is a sacred space where you allow and know that a force greater than your ego is always at work and always available."
Melody Beattie wrote "Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Amen and Hallelujah (which is an expression of gratitude to the divine).
Leonard Cohen singing the beautiful song Hallelujah - just soak it in
Let me know if you would like to continue this conversation...
Click here to read my article about 'Waking Up To Abundance':
Please let me know if you would like to join our 'VOICE for men' VIP community: 'Vulnerability & Openness Is a Choice Ensemble', 'Visibility Is Power', where men can find their strength, courage, and authenticity, by dropping their egocentric fears and instead communicate openly with vulnerability. We are co-creating this space. It will change your life. It will empower you. This community is a safe space for men to connect and discuss philosophy, spirituality, positive psychology, awakening to Self-realisation, wisdom and timeless Truths, to share our experience, strength and hope, and to find solutions to our pain and fears. Our meeting is free to join. There is no script, just sharing. Thank you very much to Selwyn, counsellor, for co-hosting.
Email me: hello@transformativelifecoach.co.uk
My gift is to be your guide on your very own 'Hero's Journey'...
“Transformative life coaching uniquely creates and holds the space for you to see your self afresh, with clarity, and step into new ways of BEing, which will transform how you perceive and intuitively create your world. My work is to guide you to raise your own conscious awareness to the level that you want to achieve.” Olly Alexander Branford
My coaching themes and services: Transformative Life Coaching, Transformational Coaching, Life Coaching, Personal Coaching, Positive Psychology Coaching, Recovery Coaching, Trauma Informed Coaching, Work Addiction Coaching, Workaholism Coaching, Addiction Coaching, Mindfulness Coaching.
Click here to read all my articles:
Suggested Reading
Click here for the books that I know will help you along your journey of recovering your Self:
Hello,
I am very pleased to meet you. Thank you for reading this far. I very much look forward to connecting with the highest version of you, to seeing your highest possibility, and to our conversations. Please do contact me via my website for a free connection call and a free experience of coaching.
See you soon,
Olly Alexander Branford MBBS, MA(Cantab), PhD
Click here for my glossary:
Click here for my website:
Click me to contact me:
Click here for my free eBook all about Enlightenment:
Click here for my LinkedIn profile:
Click here for my Medium articles:
I don't do any other social media other than that which is above.
I have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge; a PhD Doctorate in Scientific Research from University College London (UCL); a Medical Degree (MD/MBBS) from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London and have been a doctor and reconstructive trauma and cancer surgeon in London for 20 years. I have published over 50 peer reviewed scientific journal articles, have been an associate editor and frequent scientific faculty member, and am the author of several scientific books. I have been awarded my Diploma in Transformative Life Coaching in London, which has International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation, as well as the UK Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I have been on my own transformative journey full time for four years and I am ready to be your guide to you finding out who you really are and how the world works.