The Power of Appreciation: The Keys to Abundance • Nicole Doherty Ananda

One of the biggest wisdom teachings I’ve been gifted in my life is the immense power of appreciation. I stand in awe in recognition of all the amazing things that I have manifested in my life in the last two years through appreciation rituals, preparing myself for the 2012 shift in energy and consciousness. Through consistent appreciation practices, intentions and goals, I have transformed my life and have created abundance in all aspects of my life. I’d love to share a few things that I’ve learned about appreciation.

What does it mean to appreciate?

The dictionary states appreciation is an awareness and recognition of aesthetic values, and an expression of admiration, approval and gratitude. The Law of Attraction would say that to appreciate guides one’s feelings toward better feeling states and thoughts which in turn increases the positive flow of energy and improves our overall state of well being. When we feel better we are more inspired, thus we begin to tune into a more positive frequency and we attract more of what we want. With more positive energy, we enter a vortex of well being and line ourselves up with Source or the Universal Matrix where we are tapped into life and things flow easily and effortlessly.

How can we appreciate?

I listened to an amazing audio book recently, The Power of Appreciation by Mike Robbins and I want to acknowledge him for inspiring me with some additional information for my toolbox. Mike Robbins, you have impacted me greatly and for that I’m very thankful!

Change your Perception – Easier said than done. We live in a society that encourages cynicism and criticism of just about everything. I call it the Seinfeld syndrome. Jerry Seinfeld made complaining cool. I do believe this is changing but look at your attitude. Can you look for what is working in your life or do you always look for what isn’t. Notice what you like more than what you don’t. Flip your perspective and look for the fun and pleasurable. Release the judge and the critic. It is challenging in the work and public environments. It seems conversations or stories revolve around people’s faults, how one measures up, one’s demise or the collapse of something. Yoga and meditation have been miraculous practices for me in noticing my negative thought patterns and how I’ve been programmed. In the Yoga Sutras, this practice is called Pratipaksa Bhavanam. We work to catch the destructive thoughts and focus our minds and cultivate opposite, positive thoughts. The glass can certainly be full!

Practice, Seek and Take Action – Once you are aware that you need to change your perspective, practice seeking out things to appreciate. Take action and do and say things that are appreciative. The challenge in our society to acting appreciative is our perception that we lack time. But little things go a very long way in the field of appreciation. Buy a stack of cards that inspire you and keep them so that when you want to thank someone you can shoot them a quick note. Have little post it notes near your desk and when someone does something awesome, post a note on their computer screen. Surprise someone. People love surprises in the world of all things planned. Send an inspirational quote to a friend’s Facebook page just to let them know you are acknowledging them for something. Leave a short voicemail honoring someone each day. Buy small gifts that you have on hand that you give to people you want to appreciate. Learn to be motivating, inspiring and empower people through your encouragement.

Acknowledge Externally – For just a few minutes in the morning and evening take time to journal, pray or meditate on the things that went well in your day. From the bed that you slept on, to the clothes on your back, to the food that nourished you, to all the people that supported you, to the car that drove you to work, and so on. There are many daily things that we own, use or encounter that have a huge impact on our lives and the choices we make day to day. Start to recognize even what seems mundane as a true miracle that you and have created in your life.

Acknowledge Yourself – For just a few minutes in the morning and evening take time to journal, pray or meditate on the things that you did well. Sometimes our own goals get in the way because we are trained to see what we didn’t achieve. We spend a disproportionate amount of time concentrating on the negative. So flip this and think about compliments that came your way. Appreciate tasks you completed or goals you achieved. Even if you had a rough day, acknowledge that you made it through the day, you used your breath, and you did your best. There will always be something positive that you can appreciate about yourself.

Be Authentic in Your Appreciation: It’s easy to say a laundry list of things that you appreciate just to get it done, but that’s not really what the magnetic laws of attraction are all about. You need to not only name what you appreciate, but really feel the vibration of it. So be genuine when you are appreciating. Place your attention in your heart, not in your mind. Tap into your heart and let the appreciation flow from this authentic place.

Through all these practices of acknowledgment and gratitude, the wellspring of abundance appears naturally. It really is the principle of “the more you give the more you get”, a natural law of the universe. When we give abundantly, support appears in return. Gratitude spreads contagiously because it makes us all feel good and joyful.

I hope today that you can find the time to take a step toward creating a life of abundance by finding a way to appreciate yourself. Appreciating yourself is the first step in any life practice toward happiness and well being!