Gratitude: "The quality of being grateful or thankful" (Dictionary.com)

In many spiritual texts, you are often told to have an "attitude of gratitude" for it is a key part to creating the life you want. Often, in your day-to-day world, it seems difficult, if not impossible, to keep this in your awareness.

Many of you have underlying conflicts with gratitude because of what you’ve been taught as children. Being grateful has the feeling of obligation for many — that because you did or said something and then received it from The All, there is a requirement before you can receive. We want you to know that there is a different way to look at being grateful for all that you experience in your life, without having to be, do, or say something to achieve it.

That different way is to learn to appreciate everything in your world regardless of what it is.

Appreciation: "Gratitude; thankful recognition; clear perception; giving proper value, increase" (Dictionary.com)

Using the word "appreciation" instead of "gratitude" can help kick-start your understanding of how to be thankful for even the most uncomfortable of life’s circumstances. It also allows you to come from a place of power — recognizing that all the situations you have attracted into your life have something to teach. Appreciating what you experience allows you to have a clear perception of what you have attracted and to attach the "proper value" to the experience.

Fall is the time for harvest and thanksgiving because Mother Earth now provides after a season of planting and growing — the time for reaping what you’ve sown. But, what if you reap something you didn’t want or expect? You ask how you can possibly be thankful for that? We suggest that you change the word "thankful" to "appreciative" when you look at your manifestations and wonder how to find the good you seek.

By using "appreciation," you place yourself in a state of looking for the clarity of the situation to discover the opportunities that lie within it and give the circumstances their proper weight and measure. All that you experience is to learn more about who you really are: a spiritual being of love and light.

We suggest that you begin by appreciating everything. Make an appreciation journal; recognize your own power in drawing to you the people, circumstances, and situations that enter your life. Acknowledge that you are the creator of your experience and discern, with the eyes of Love, that your Higher Self has supported you in drawing these events so that you can give the proper value to yourself.

And… for the next 30 days try this experiment: The next time you want to say "thank you" to someone, instead, tell them you "appreciate" them. You are so used to using the words "thank you" because you’ve been taught to be polite that the meaning of the phrase has been lost. Discover the difference "appreciation" makes when said to someone in your world. By appreciating everything, you not only acknowledge your acceptance of the good, you actually increase its value with the clear perception that all is well — regardless of external appearances.

We appreciate and love you so very much!

Cherise Greski is America’s Inner Guidance Coach and a Certified Spiritual Educator with the Americana Leadership College. Everyone has psychic gifts. Within in an hour, you can discover if you are prophetic, clairvoyant, clairaudient, or a healer. Discover a five-minute technique to get immediate answers from your guides on anything in your life. Call 708-466-5233 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it today to discover your gifts.