Self-Doubt, Fear and Radical Gratitude

I want to share this email and my response about joy and radical gratitude. After reading The Art of Radical Gratitude, the following question arose:

“Your book is full of beautiful images and words that cause me to reflect and put into practice.

My question as an analogy:
My question is, when you get there, when you have obtained joy, happiness and bliss, then what? I feel undeserving of it. I feel as if I have earned my way to the end of the diving board and I have a decision. I can either dive my favorite, most beautiful, elegant dive or allow my self-doubt to push me off, plunge in fear and have to climb the ladder again and try to find my way to end of the board to experience again. Is the answer in the rainbow, the glass ceiling?”

From what I have read and from my personal experience, there is the choice, moment to moment to choose grace, joy and gratitude or self-doubt and fear. This is not a one-time event for most people; it is a choice at each breath. The joy and gratitude keep going deeper, ever deeper, with no end. The gift of the self-doubt and fear is to follow that, rather than run the other way, and breakthrough into joy in the absolute depths of fear, terror and self-doubt. That is the practice!

The answer is in the moment, living your life in joy and gratitude, no matter what! What a truly radical stance to take!

“Thank you so much! Now I understand how radical it is. And how difficult it is to have such joy when the rest of our society and world does not feel this way.
Thank you, in the moment, I choose gratitude!”

Gratitude Postcard Project

“Seeing blessings in the little things has lead me to a much happier experience and prevented me from going further into complaining, depression and being unsatisfied with my life,” says founder Damaris Pierce. “When you put appreciation into sincere words, it actually manifests that intention. Auspiciously, there is now a lot of scientific research and proof that any mental activity, whether it be fear, love or inquiry, has a direct impact onto the physical world. Whatever we put out there, we get back. Gratitude is a beautiful way to let the Universe know what you love, what you are grateful for - isn’t that what you want more of?”

The national I-Am-Thankful postcard art project encourages you to show your thanks! Postcards submitted can honor people, places, things or circumstances. They can be simple or elaborate, as long as they remain two-dimensional. Please visit http://www.iamthankful.com/ for more information.

Create your postcard and send it to Damaris. Join in by sending gratitude out into the world. Thank You!

Giving Thanks is not just for Thanksgiving!

Vote!

Walking in downtown Durango, Colorado I saw these wonderful women with their signs encouraging each of us to vote. Sponsored by The Women's Resource Center in Durango, Colorado, which promotes resources and advocates for the personal empowerment and economic self-sufficiency of women and girls in La Plata County.

Today marks the 88th year where women have the right to vote. This year it is very important that we all get out and exercise our right to vote and make our voices heard.

Using Anger for Transformation

In an earlier comment, Rebecca asked about anger. “During transformation, I sometimes notice anger and frustration more than fear or terror. While it can feel as if the anger is a response to deeper fear, sometimes it feels as if the anger is a stand-alone emotion stirred up or unleashed by the changes going on within.”

In my work I have found that anger is a deep-seated emotion in the ancient parts of our brains. Anger and rage are the impetus to change and transformation. Anger creates movement, while many times fear can create a frozen state.

This excerpt from my new book, The Art of Radical Gratitude addresses rage. Take the depths of rage that have been building since the dawn of consciousness and use it for your personal breakthrough and transformation. Add gratitude to the rage. This rage is really the energy behind creation; it is the force of evolution. We can choose to consciously thank that power- the energy of destruction and annihilation that brings about the birth of the new.

The raw power of anger is a formidable match to break through old stuck energies that block your dreams. Use the tremendous force and power of your anger, mixed with gratitude, to bring radical transformation to your life.

Maintaining the Discipline of Gratitude

I received this comment on my YouTube video, One Minute Shift - Gratitude Transforms the World! “The problem for me is maintaining the discipline of being grateful moment by moment for the necessary time required for building the powerful state.”

In my new book, The Art of Radical Gratitude, the Gratitude Tool Kit offers techniques and practices to easily create moment-by-moment gratitude. Each of the tools offers a unique practice to bring gratitude into your body, into your cells so that the commanding energies of gratitude can transform whatever is arising in the moment. As you work with the Gratitude Tool Kit, the process deepens creating a powerful vortex of transformational energy.

The award-winning photographs in The Art of Radical Gratitude also trigger awakening and change within your body to assist in the process of bringing gratitude into your life. Practice Radical Gratitude and watch your life transform.

Meeting fear with Gratitude

by Shannon Iris

Cynthia,
I am simply blown away. More accurately I am blown home. The concept of meeting fear with radical gratitude is a magic bullet for me. How precious. I have no idea why panic had re-emerged in my life (after a 5-6 year hiatus) but last night as I was falling asleep it was there again with a vengeance. About five minutes after falling asleep I woke with pounding heart, and because of my auspicious meeting with you that very day, met the process with gratitude. The panic was instantly replaced by joy: total confidence builder. I drifted off to sleep without fear. Round two (probably 15 minutes later) was much, much more intense... it got away from me. In the midst of full-blown terror I grabbed a hold of the concept of gratitude; it was like trying to grab a cord attached to a sail in a high wind. At first I couldn't discern whether I had it because the noise of the wind, the flapping of the sail and the pounding of my heart were deafening. The panic began to subside.

Looking back I clearly feel the essence of what gratitude offered me... presence, Gratitude grounded me in the experience. I remember it all, the texture of my pounding heart, the intensity of the storm. This morning I have a vision of my situation last night: I was on a sailboat in high seas. The environment was raging and for the first time all the pieces were there to handle my situation.

The storm continued all night, I would wake and tend to the necessities of being afloat on high seas and drift easily back into sleep. Today I am rested and empowered - I am seasoned.

Tears of joy flowing from deep gratitude,
Shannon Iris

To learn more about meeting fear with Gratitude please visit www.radicalgratitudebook.com

Shifting Your Reality Changes the World - Process of Transformation Article #10

Do you get confused when changes happen in your body? Within each level of consciousness exists different world views, different ways of living and perceiving reality. Shifting from one frequency to another requires a shift in thinking patterns and a subsequent shift in the quality of your life and how you live your life.

As the shift takes place from one frequency to another, frustrations, anxieties and fears may arise. This new frequency is unknown, with unknown laws and rules. At the lower frequencies, fear is in charge. At the higher frequencies, your authentic Self becomes more and more in change. The truth that ‘all is one’ starts to resonate more deeply in your body and the tension, the friction between the cells diminishes as your mind opens up and embraces all. The duality is embraced in the mysterious paradox and greater levels of inner peace are experienced.

When diving deep into the cells, a doorway opens to the infinite, into the mystery and into all that is. This is the doorway many are seeking to find when they search outside themselves for answers and the truth. The body holds the secret and is the doorway, the passageway into the divine, to the heart of the beloved and into that which we are seeking.

As we each experience our own magnificence we can then see that magnificence in others and in the world around us. How on earth can we wage war on our own fellow human beings when we become aware of and see this magnificence? As more people dive deeper into the transformation process and embrace their own true Self the world will start to shift. We each hold the key within ourselves to transforming our lives and the world around us. Are you ready to do your part? Start now, start within your own body and be a part of the world’s transformation.

Nutritional Supplements, Massage, Bodywork and Dance Assist Change - Process of Transformation Article #9

When there is a heavy rainstorm, the next day the rivers are muddy. Likewise when high frequency energy has gone through your body, the old gets stirred up and released. In the release, the emotions can and may surface along with all the old debris. Allow all your emotions to come out. Sometimes you feel worse, and then you feel better than you did before. Drink lots of water. Your body is releasing lots of old toxins and water flushes out the old. Be gentle with yourself; send yourself gratitude for what you are going through.

Move your body as you send gratitude allowing the gratitude to start to flow into all the suck blocked places. Stretch the parts that hurt. Move and wiggle through the pain into delight. Allow the delight to spread as your body moves to its own inner heartbeat and rhythm. Put on some great music and dance around. With different kinds of music your body will move in different ways. Sometimes you may want soft, slithering oozing music, while at other moments a pulsating, pounding rhythm is helpful. Your body likes to move through different states as it unwinds the past. Using only a few types of music may limit your results. Explore! As you explore new music, your body will open in new ways allowing the delight and joy to cascade into yet another hidden recess in your body, moving you closer to sensuous delight in your body.

Bodywork is another fabulous way to assist your body to transform. There are so many amazing healing modalities available today that your body has a vast array of techniques to choose from. Find the ones that make your body sing.

A great nutritional supplement can be really help here. It brings the necessary support for your body to release the toxins, to transform and to open to more light, luster and splendor. If you start to detox too quickly, cut back on what you are doing. If it is nutritional supplements, cut back a bit. If it is too much cough yoga, cut back for a little while so your body does not have to go though too intense a healing crisis. You can be gentle with yourself and experience deep transformation.

As the next layers release make sure your body feels safe. Safety is needed for the nervous system to re-organize, for the cellular membranes to shift and for the field to be filled with light.

This is a excerpt from my new book - The Art of Radical Gratitude. To order your copy please visit www.radicalgratitudebook.com. Thanks!

Thank Your Sagging Flab and Watch Your Life Change - Process of Transformation Article #8

Loving your body and giving thanks for the flab, the parts that don’t work very well and all the parts that work beautifully will change your life. Bring gratitude to the kidney stones, arthritis, and the back pain. It certainly cannot hurt and perhaps it will transform. This practice is not a replacement for seeing your doctor.

Gratitude can bring ease to your body. Flabby sagging breasts will not be perky again, but you will feel better about your body with gratitude for the sagging flesh. A deep inner contentment and satisfaction can replace the self-judgments, self-loathing and self-hatred so you can enjoy your body. It has done such a marvelous job of getting you to where you are now. Thank it!

The wisdom of the universe lies within your body, in the cells. This wisdom comes from an internal connection between the upper and lower parts of your body. The intuitive knowing that springs forth from your guts unites with the heart and head to create a joyous, loving productive life.

When the internal knowing from the lower part of your body is denied, made wrong or violently cut off, war is carted within the body that leads to dissatisfaction, disease, depression, heartache and unhappiness. Why not use the internal knowing and longing as a force leading you to your own evolution? That deep longing is the energy behind the untying of the knot that exists between the heart and solar plexus. The deep longing is to be complete and whole within your body, the ultimate connecting of the upper and lower parts of the body for profound inner connection.

Clear Your Thoughts and Live Your Hearts Desires - Process of Transformation Article #7

Are you tied down by your negative disruptive thoughts? Thoughts come and go but are rooted and tied down to the internal thought structures. These structures can change with the high frequency of love and gratitude.

Imagine lying on the floor with weights strapped all over your body. Your hands, arms and legs all have 30-pound weights tied to them while your back has 300-pound weights built into your clothes. Now, imagine trying to dance. This is what happens to the energy in your body when it is weighted down with tons of mind chatter and sludge. The thoughts are not who you are. The internal wave functions at a low frequency because each of the untrue beliefs is an anchor or weight that the wave has to carry. It is very hard for the wave to flow freely at a high frequency with lots of internal baggage. As the old ideas get released, the wave can become freer and oscillate at its truer frequency. Gratitude clears the old thought structures and brings new clarity and ease to your body.

As the old thoughts and thought structures are cleared from the mind, there is more space and the possibility for a deeper connection with all parts of the body. As gratitude seeps into all areas of your body this creates a flowing movement that activates the alive pulsating wellspring of creativity, abundance, happiness and well-being. Are you ready to let go of your internal baggage and experience the joyous life your heart desires?

Chaos, Fear and Following Your Bliss - Process of Transformation Article #6

It takes either an act of courage or an act of sheer desperation to jump out of the groove, out of the old thinking to follow your dreams. Perhaps it takes a bit of both to make so bold a move as to disregard all one has known in the past and to step out of the dark, sticky, gooey molasses lined trenches and follow the small bird flying high in the sky. Does it require hitting bottom before one takes the leap into the air, or faithfully praying for a sure footing to land on?

The structures and the chaos are both necessary components. The chaos is needed in order to break apart the old and for it to reconfigure at a higher frequency. During a frequency shift the wave gets wobbly. Fear and terror arise, sometimes tears or an unsettling feeling. The old ideas that held the lower frequencies in place are flying around and the new inner core is stronger to send out a higher resonance. Things look chaotic during a frequency shift. There is a tendency to want to go back to the old, known pattern, yet the new is getting stronger and wants to express itself. The terror that keeps the old in place is getting stirred up with the new, stronger signal.

Consciously bringing in more love, joy and gratitude into the wobbly, shifting wave assists in the unfolding process. High frequency music, breath work and bodywork help to release and clear out the old as the new wave gets into the flow, the pattern of a higher oscillation. Tremendous inner reserves and strength are needed to increase the oscillation. Yet this inner strength comes from surrender rather than from a fighting or forcing. Surrendering to the higher frequencies of gratitude, peace and joy, allows that energy to trickle down and touch the lower frequencies. Everything is given up to gratitude.

The new pulse starts deep and slowly radiates out. New power emerges. The body/cells rest and open to receive the wave. The deeper the relaxation, the deeper the wave can penetrate into the cells. As more and more cells resonate in the vibration of gratitude, greater chunks of the old are released; this can become a streaming process. As the process continues there is an anchoring and radiating of your authentic essence.

Add Your Language to the Gratitude List- new additions

I am compiling a list of 'Gratitude' and
'Thank You' in as many languages as possible.

The goal is to keep spreading gratitude all
around the world!

Please add to the list. Thank you!

1. Gratitude - Thank You = English
2. gratitude - merci = French
3. gratidão - obrigado = Portuguese
4. gratitud - gracias = Spanish
5. благодарность - спасибо = Russian
6. Dankbarkeit - Danke = German
7. Hakarat-Tova - "Gratitude" =Hebrew
   
8. Gratitudine - Grazie = Italian
9. Tashakor - Merci = Farsi
10. Kiitollisuus Gratitude in Finnish
    
11. Asante - Thank You =Ki Swahili
12. Shukuru - Grateful = Ki Swahili
13. japanese: 感謝
14. chinese: 謝意
15. dutch: dankbaarheid
16. greek: ευγνωμοσύνη
17. korean: 사은
18. Hawaiian Ho'omaika'i, mahalo
19. "thank you" in Hindi (Ābhārī hōṅ) (Dhanyavād)