The ability to live each moment

The hieroglyphy for peace is a simple loaf of bread set on a reed mat. It implies nurturing, simplicity, contentment, and rest, a prayer of thankfulness before a meal, an offering made.

The heart is contented because it receives what it needs and its needs are simple: silence, prayer, nourishment, presence. Simplicity of the heart keeps our aims and purposes in life clear... In peace we contemplate our lives and concentrate our energies on the true desires of the heart aligned with God.

We learn that patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to live each moment, knowing that we will be attended to by God.

November 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 10)

May your hearts be open to every gift, dear friends! for, the gift within every gift is always opportunity. Life is a gift to us; every moment is given. The only appropriae response therefore is gratitude. Our lives are surely enhanced as we pause frequently to appreciate and to be thankful.

A connoisseur of gratitude

Notice that the more you become a connoisseur of gratitude, the less you are the victim of resentment, depression, and despair. Gratitude will act as an elixir that will gradually dissolve the hard shell of your ego -- your need to possess and control -- and transform you into a generous being. The sense of gratitude produces true spiritual alchemy, makes us magnanimous -- large souled.

~ from HYMNS TO AN UNKNOWN GOD by Sam Keen
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A grateful and humble heart

By teaching in silence and by bringing down the force of the Light, you are asking for a very deep and very intense surrender. What is surrender?

To offer everything to the Divine is surrender. To give our live our lives to the Divine is surrender. Simplicity is surrender...Always remember, no matter how great we are, that there is something greater -- the Divine. To be humble is surrender...Whatever you do, give it to God with a grateful and humble heart.

~ from ANSWERS by Mother Meera
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Prayer opens the heart

Prayer opens the heart. Each time we pray we are connecting with a greater source of energy and we are amplifying that energy. Our gratitude, thanksgiving, for even the smallest gift we have received, allows our heart to open. The more the heart opens, the larger our vision becomes. This prayer, this energy, links us with all the goodness on the planet.

~ from OPEN MIND by Diane Mariechild
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Grateful for all the gifts of life

As you open yourself to your soul, a calming sense of peace and connectedness develops within you. This peaceful feeling deepens your levels of thought, releases the innate healing powers of your body, reminds you to be grateful for all the gifts of life, and broadens your perspective, so that you can be at peace with the way things are.

~ from "Rekindling the Fires of Your Soul" by Jack Canfield
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In gratitude, I realize that I must always be ready to shift

We seat ourselves so that we are evenly spaced from one another and begin to meditate. In my own meditation, I see how I have tried to control a situation in which a friend wanted to participate -- a situation that was actually beyond my control. In retrospect, I recognize that the presence of my friend has been a blessing. In gratitude, I realize that I must always be ready to shift and adapt, for in rigid resistance, I might miss my greatest opportunities.

~ from JOURNEY TO THE FOUR DIRECTIONS by Jim Berenholtz
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You can add enjoyment and meaning to any task

You can add enjoyment and meaning to any task by beginning each one with an awareness of the Divine Presence and by taking a moment of silence to be grateful for all you are able to do! Even the most difficult or mundane task can be done effortlessly and joyfully when approached with an attitude of thanksgiving. You are open to new creativity, new energy, and new inspiration. While working, focus on the Divine Presence, and see how the day goes by with ease and efficiency ... see how your work is blessed.

~ Unknown
Unknown gratitude

To learn to be grateful for each challenge

To learn to be grateful for each challenge, every heart, every tear, as well as for the unexpected joy and love you encounter, is a lesson of great growth. Every experience is a step closer to your eventual union with the Source of All Creation. Even a moment of expressing your gratitude for your own creation, your own eternal life each day brings you closer to the love and power within.

~ from "Children of the Light" Newsletter ... Issue #55
Unknown Children Of The Light gratitude

The refusal to reeive

It is hard to explain to a loving person who can only give, what the refusal to receive does to would-be givers. If our gifts come out of the substance of who we are, to refuse our gifts is a rejection of our very self. At the same time, the turning away of a gift destroys the reciprocity of love. In place of mutuality, it sets up a hierarchy of love that makes the one who always receives and whose gifts are refused feel empty, powerless, and incompetent to love well, and so unable in turn to receive from the beloved with a grateful heart.

~ from MEMORIES OF GOD by Roberta C. Bondi
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Each thing I have received

Each thing I have received, from Thee it came,
Each thing for which I hope, from Thy love it will come,
Each thing I enjoy, it is of Thy bounty,
Each thing I ask comes of Thy disposing.

~ Celtic prayer of gratitude
Anonymous Celtic Prayer gratitude

Gratitude is the vision of the Giver

Gratitude is the vision of the Giver, not of the gift. It comes from God. Hope and fear are like the two wings of a bird when it is flying straight to its destination. If one wing fails, its flight fails and if both fail, it dies. Hope is the vision of God in perfect beauty.

~ from THE SECRET SHRINE ed. by Catharine Hughes
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In all things may we be grateful

In all things may we be grateful, our hearts open to joy.
O Blessed one, speak to us within our hearts;
let your Voice be heard.
As we listen and heed your Word, joy will be our song of thanks.
As you lead us into the Silence, we become friends with solitude;
With trust in You, our lives become simple, with assurance
and peace leaving no room for fear.
All that we have is gift from You, O Beloved,
all that we are is Yours as well.
May we come to see that all we give to others,
we give to ourselves and You.

~ Anonymous
Anonymous gratitude

Best of all is to preserve everything in a pure, still hear

Best of all is to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song.

~ Konrad von Gesner
Konrad von Gesner gratitude

The ability to live each moment

The hieroglyphy for peace is a simple loaf of bread set on a reed mat. It implies nurturing, simplicity, contentment, and rest, a prayer of thankfulness before a meal, an offering made.

The heart is contented because it receives what it needs and its needs are simple: silence, prayer, nourishment, presence. Simplicity of the heart keeps our aims and purposes in life clear... In peace we contemplate our lives and concentrate our energies on the true desires of the heart aligned with God.

We learn that patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to live each moment, knowing that we will be attended to by God.

~ Normandi Ellis
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True prayer

True prayer expresses gratitude for what already is...

~ Anonymous
Unknown gratitude

True prayer

True prayer expresses gratitude for what already is...

The attitude of gratefulness

And, how do you express your gratitude? -- by simply having the attitude of gratefulness... Gratitude and attitude!These two thoughts are similar, in that gratitude is an attitude, one that keeps you inside the flow of All Good, which is God.When you can maintain the attitude of gratefulness throughout each day, you are well on your way to growth, spiritually and in every other area.

Within my being lives a silent power

Within my being lives a silent power,
A firm, sound frame of wise and compassionate strength.
How often do I deny this gift,
This blessing from my Source?
Perhaps as the outward power of the sun recedes
in winter,
I will learn to own the strength within.

To live in gratitude for every moment

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live in every experience, painful or joyous; to live in gratitude for every moment, to live abundantly.

Gratitude is a choice that becomes a habit

GRATITUDE is a choice that becomes a habit. It is a major ingredient in the alchemy of transformation and is closely related to love... Gratitude creates a combustion of energy that powers our living cells. That's why all spiritual traditions teach the importance of gratitude. It certainly isn't because the deity needs any reassurance. Rather it's because when we are in the state of gratitude, we're affirming our faith in our own highest good and denying authority to the paralyzing, constricting energy of fear.

I understood the importance of thanking God for the things we receive

I understood the importance of thanking God for the things we receive. Gratitude is an eternal virtue. In humility we ask, and in gratitude we receive. The more we give thanks for the blessings we receive, the more open we become for further blessings. God's desire to bless is full to overflowing. If we will open our hearts and minds the receive blessings, we too will be filled to overflowing ... We may become like the angels themselves, helping others who are in need. In prayer and service our lights will always shine. Service is the oil to our lamps generated by compassion and love.

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