Thanksgiving is a time of celebration, a time of gratitude. Read on to learn how to make gratitude practical & fun and receive a FREE 15-min Guided Gratitude Meditation, especially for you.

?Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can?.

The Dalai Lama

Why is gratitude such a big deal?

When you think about gratitude, even if you don’t share it with another, it automatically puts you in a space of love.

Here’s a fun practice that illustrates this point: Regardless of what’s going on around you, connect to a time in your life when you felt really grateful. Make this memory alive; feel it like it is happening now. Your energy will shift. Gratitude helps you to remember the good things in life and to change negative thinking into positive thinking. It affects your energy on such a deep level that you attract towards yourself those things that you are grateful for.

Of course if you share your gratitude with other people, they too will benefit.

Why some people cannot stand the word ?gratitude?

The word gratitude has been overused. People are tired of hearing that they have to make a gratitude list before they go to bed. They read and hear about the power of gratitude all the time. They get bored and unmotivated because they don’t know how to apply it. Here are some ways the work:

How can I make gratitude practical & fun?

Choose your favorite gratitude practice and do it once a day for one week. Here are some options:

Think of one thing for which you are grateful (God, sun, Johnny, class, etc.) and using a dry erase marker, write it in one word on your bathroom mirror. You can easily erase it with a tissue at the end of the day

When taking a shower, thank your body for one way it helps you (Walking, holding the stress, sending me messages when I need to rest, etc.)

While waiting for your car’s gas tank to be filled at the gas station, thank yourself for one action you took to fuel yourself that day. In other words ? for one simple act you took to energize and nurture yourself.

Thank one person with whom you’ve had some difficulties when you meet them that day. Thank them for showing up in your life and giving you an opportunity to grow.

Smile unexpectedly.

Write down the Dalai Lama?s quote about gratitude (see above) or another related quote you find inspiring on an index card. Place the card somewhere you approach every day. (Kitchen table, next to your computer) and read it out loud.

Download Michal Spiegelman’s FREE 15-min Gratitude Mediation on your computer/ iPod/iPone

A note from Michal:

I am grateful for all my clients and all my friends for supporting me in living my dream of making a difference in people’s life. Please click HERE and enter your details to receive your FREE Gratitude Meditation.