How to Raise Grateful Children and all about Gratitude!

They call themselves the Mom-Preneurs and they are the creative team behind a new Thanksgiving craze. They have created a "Turkey on the Table" kit that comes with a turkey (not flesh and blood), double-sided feathers that are replacable, a marker, and a storybook on "how to make the most of your bird" that is sure to spark creativity and gratitude. Of course, when I read the article, I immediate converted the methods to be used all year long. We know that during the holidays it is easy to get caught up in gifts and forget the reason for the season. So these bright moms created a way to make gratitude the focus. They wanted to make sure their collective five kids grew up realizing how fortunate they are. They approached Thanksgiving with each child writing something he/she was grateful for on one of the blank turkey tail feathers. (This could be a picture, a word, or a story.) Then he stuck the feather on the bird. By Thanksgiving, the turkey was fully dressed and made a fine table decoration. These gals were inventive enough to create kits that were sold at 1600 stores including Bed Bath & Beyond. And, even more important, their children were excited to write gratitudes each day. Now, if we take this concept a bit further we can come up with other ways to include gratitude in our day. You can have a gratitude jar and each time your child demonstrates he is grateful, you put a marble in the jar and when the jar is full, take him out for a treat. And you can come up with others ways to accomplish the same purpose. What if we practice gratitude all the time? The reason I loved the idea of teaching thankfulness to children is that gratitude is a HIGH spiritual energy and when we express and FEEL it, we attract more of the things for which we are grateful. Gratitude is a magnetic force and can be used for GOOD!! If you listen to people closely, you notice that many have "victim" stories. I am always amazed at how they choose to express how bad things are when we live in such an abundant world. ( I had the flu; my son/daughter lost his/her job; My plumbing needs to be fixed; I slipped and fell.) Of course, when they do this, they lower their energy and if you get involved with their stories, you lower yours as well. Thus consider your choices - raise your energy to experience a better life and more blessings or lower your energy to live in upset and fear. That choice should make it clear! Gratitude is the way!! Jean Walters is best selling amazon.com author: Set yourself Free: Live the Life YOU were meant to Live! and Be Outrageous: Do the Impossible - Others have and you can too! You can reach her for Akashic Readings or Coaching at jean@spiritualtransformation.com

How to Learn to Trust (People, Your Intuition, Life)

Can I Trust My Partner? Many people ask , “How can I learn to trust my partner / friend / spouse etcetera? Yet, the real question is not about trusting others, but learning to trust yourself. Long ago we were handed a set of beliefs and we accepted them without question. Children don’t know how to analyze an idea to determine its truth, but they do know how to feel. For the most part, the concept of intuiting truth or determining what feels right and what doesn’t has been disavowed. In other words, we are taught to believe what we are told and we observe what our parents do, and that becomes out guidance rather than trusting our own feelings. A wisened soul may secretly recognize deception, whereas most folks just go by the rules and do as they are told while ignoring the queasy feeling in their gut that speaks of something being wrong. Hence a problem develops because we buy in to family dynamics and belief systems that are debilitating, limiting, and just WRONG. Here is an example; I am your mother, father, sister, brother, best friend so you should believe what I am telling you. From there you are offered an uninformed opinion or judgment that skews a situation to fit their idea of truth or makes that person look good. Perhaps you ignore your gut feeling that screams, that doesn’t feel right. Thus you go along with their “program” to insure your acceptance in that particular tribe or group. And that is when you destroyed your self-trust. Because you have put others opinions and beliefs ahead of your own, you have lost touch with yourself and the still small voice of intuition that resides within you. The voice is still present, but ignored. You have put the concern for what others think of you higher in your preferences than the guidance that comes from within. Getting back to the theme of how to trust others, we find ourselves in a quandary of mixed thoughts and emotions. You have lost the ability to trust because you have lost your integrity in listening to and following your higher energy (intuition). Because you have not learned to trust yourself, you don’t know how to trust others. Put simply, trust yourself so that you know who else you can trust. The answer is within you. Your still small voice will tell you. Your job is to listen. To take this a bit further, because you have a history of ignoring higher (intuitive) intelligence, you rationalize reasons for being in or staying with unhealthy relationships. In other words, you make up stories: I’ve know Joe (or Julie or Estelle or whoever) since kindergarten (so therefore I should trust her/him). Or my parent told me this, so therefore it is the way to go (even their parent lives an ineffective life). Or, you “wisely” decided that Jim was a good guy because he has a lot of friends and is seemingly well liked. And you naively conclude that if others approve of him and find him trustworthy, then he must be. As a consequence you are letting others do your thinking for you and you have determined a person’s trustworthiness based on his friends. Really! You have not seriously observed his connection with his buds. You are taking everything on face value and you wonder why you end up disappointed. Do they enjoy each other because they play well together? Are these folks a true support system that shows up in difficult times or a play group or good old boys club? Is it that they have grown up together and are still holding on to childhood relationships or sharing in adult concerns? Do they have a common higher purpose that they explore together or is it Monday night football? In other words, what is the nature of Jim’s relationships? No judgment; just observation. As you learn to observe people and relationships, the truth becomes obvious. That is, it becomes clear to you and trusting your own observations helps you develop willingness to be open and honest with yourself. Thus you begin the journey to self trust and drawing your own conclusions based on observation or actions, words, and intention, but not judgment. When people don’t trust themselves, they quickly judge circumstances and people so they can feel safe. Of course there is no safety in hiding and protecting. It is just another avoidance behavior. And when we default into judging, we will never have the life or love we desire. Moving this a bit deeper into self-trust, every person has a connection to their inner guidance as it is always present and available. We call this intuition. This guidance is always active and speaking to us. It can come through as a gut feeling, an image (you hit every STOP light at every intersection), a sign (like a book falls on your head), or a knowing. (an absolute definite feeling of how things are). Intuition is a feeling of lightness and being more alive. As you listen and act on this intuitive voice, it grows in strength and supports you in your hopes and dreams. When you go against it you feel heavy, lack energy, and feel a kind of deadness. People say, “I’m stuck. I don’t know what to do or think.” Primarily that means they have gotten their “instructions” but are afraid to go against what they were taught to believe, so now they are stuck. Afraid to move forward, they are stuck in the past. Generally “stuckness” indicates it is time to do something different, brash, courageous -- take a step in a new direction. If you feel stuck, ask yourself, “What has my still small voice (feelings) been urging or prompting me to do?” Is there some sort of “break-out” required. It will always involve looking at your situation with new eyes. That means asking some appropriate questions – what is this situation trying to tell me? (Cue: it has to be a propulsion forward; it is never a put-down.) What is the change I am being asked to make? What fear am I challenging? What is the next step toward my highest good? You can even write these questions down and ask for guidance. By being open, your answers will come and, be aware, they will not be what you anticipated. You will always be guided toward a higher expression, not necessarily what you would be considered safe. Yet, when you follow this guidance, you will end up exactly wehre you wanted to go or BETTER. The secret is learning how to listen. Remember, you are listening to HIGHER energy. You are not being asked to jump off a cliff. You might be encouraged to make a phone call, set up an interview, take a class, show up at an event, and, in general, become more visible. As you listen and follow, your life force will flow, your intuition will get stronger, and your energy will be renewed. Then you will know how to trust yourself and how much to trust others. Jean Walters is a best selling author on Amazon.com Her books are Be Outrageous: Do the Impossible - Others Have and You Can too (a book about discovering your passion and Set Yourself Free: Live the Life YOU were meant to Live! and Dreams and the Symbology of Life by Jean Walters-Lucy - For readings or counseling, you can reach her at Jean@spiritualtransformation.com 1185 words