Gratitude And The Law Of Attraction – My Online Gratitude Journal #1
June 13, 2008 by Akemi Gaines
Gratitude is contagious.
Just watch people saying “Thank you.” “Thank YOU.” to each other. We like hearing thanks, and when we hear it, we naturally reciprocate. We also like the opportunities to say thanks.
I am starting the Gratitude Friday series, inspired by Stephen at Adversity University. This will add a new perspective to this Yes to Me blog. So far, I’ve been taming the “Akemi” in this blog because I want to build the online community of people who aspire to live their purpose and / or build businesses that resonate with who they are. This blog is not about personal rants. Features like Interview With Successful Entrepreneurs and guest blogs are key components here, and when I share my real life stories, I intend to present them with universal wisdom that can help the readers.
Offering informative and inspiring articles and building the community remain to be the main objectives of Yes to Me. In this Gratitude Friday series, however, I will take a different approach and let “Akemi” come forward. I will share my ups and downs of the week as a new entrepreneur with real life. I hope this helps you get to know me better 
Gratitude and the Law of Attraction
I do fair amount of reading and commenting other people’s blogs. This week, I found an interesting article at Tom Stine that defends the Law of Attraction. There have been some articles recently that put down the Law of Attraction and I was feeling sorry for those who may be discouraged to try it because of those articles. I thought of writing something in LOA’s defence myself, but wasn’t quite ready to raise the discussion. Tom did a nice job pointing out the different planes of energy (logical observable world and invisible spiritual world), and I’m grateful for his courage to write that post.
Yep, I know the Law of Attraction works. (No, I can’t prove it, and I have no idea about quantum physics. For me, if it works, it’s useful. If the word “law” bothers you, call it the way you like it – the term has nothing to do with its effects.) Law of Attraction is the backbone of this Gratitude Friday. What I am genuinely grateful for, I get more of them, and more of the people / things / events that bring me gratitude.
Gratitude to my business outsource
I’m grateful for my graphic / web designer Elaine for doing such a wonderful job here at Yes to Me and at my new website Akashic Record Reading. Here, she adjusted some of the formatting so that the long blog titles are easy to read and links are clearly visible. She also helped me to fine tune akashicrecordreading.com I initially started working with her because she was in Oregon, but all the work communication is done by email, so really, anyone in the US can work with her. I recommend her to anyone who needs some design work, such as business cards and web design / modification. She is in her first year of her business, so she is offering very good rate for her professional work.
Gratitude for learning opportunities
I joined Toastmasters a few weeks ago because I want to organize seminars as life coach. My group meets every Wednesday lunchtime. I was the joke master this week – my second time delivering jokes. I enjoy attending the meeting a lot. The meeting is very well organized, and the people are so nice!
In addition to learning public speaking skills, this meeting helps me to have friends locally. I just moved to this area last October, and I was feeling a bit lonely without a corporate job that gets me meet lots of people. Really, when I was working the 8 – 5, the best part was that it let me work with so many people in and outside of the company. Working from home, on the other hand, is nice as it lets me define my time and tasks.
Gratitude for good health
I am grateful for my good health. I’ve been working on eating even healthier, reducing my sugar intake, and I naturally lost a few pounds in two weeks.
Finally, I have a bit convoluted gratitude for the Oregon weather . . . Can you believe it’s mid June and not even 60 degrees!? At night, it drops to 40s and I actually had to use heater this week. I learned a new word “June-uary” Now I don’t do well in the heat, and that was one of the reasons I moved from Tennessee to Oregon, so I am grateful – but maybe this is too much . . . Wait, the weather report says it will be in the 70s this weekend! Let’s go out and play!!
What are you grateful for? (Read: What would you want more?)
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Thanks for the compliment. Much appreciated. There are aspects of the Law of Attraction that seem a bit unnecessary to me, but overall, I can’t argue with it. To be honest with you, as I pointed out in my article, I think the thing that really gets to a lot of people when they are presented with LOA and the Secret folks is how connected it all seems to MONEY. I started to write a post once about how it seemed to me that it was the Law of Attract….ing Money! You rarely read an article about using the Law of Attraction to bring world peace closer to you.
I’ve not really got a problem with the whole money thing, but a lot of people do. That, plus the number of hard core salesmen involved in the Secret and LOA, really turns a lot of people off. So, out goes the baby with the bathwater.
Just some thoughts for you, Akemi. Have a great weekend…. Tom
Hi Tom,
I see your point. These are issues of how LOA is presented or utilized. But of course, what people do with LOA does not affect LOA, just as what people say or do with the law of gravity does not affect the gravity. (Or the movement of the planet . . . “Yet it moves. . .” someone said.)
Abundance is one the values we all seek, including (but not limited to) money. I have several points I want to make on this, and it’s going to be way too long in the comments, so I will let you know when that post is ready.
LOA is based on each person’s thoughts and feelings, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who are working on creating peace in their lives. This may eventually expand to world peace, but we can’t jump to attract world peace . . .
I agree with Tom. A lot of people assume that with a materialistic focus the LOA can’t be worth anything; yet at the same time who’s in the best position to do something for world peace, or abused children, or the environment if not people who have attracted money? I’m a firm believer in the idea that if you seek to attract wealth NOT solely for yourself but for the benefit of others you’ll do well. My hope is to do well enough financially to continue to support my favorite charities…
Hi Steve,
I agree that we do well in making money when we have a sense of service. Then we can donate part of the profits to charities. Isn’t making money rewarding and meaningful!
Hi Akemi,
Beautiful post … thank you so much for the mention! I’m humbled to be considered as a mentor … but grateful to be allowed to play a small part in your journey!
Regarding the LoA … sure, there’s a lot of talk about attracting financial abundance. Nothing wrong with that, it certainly gets people interested and listening. In the end, money is never about money. Money may be about security, freedom, opportunity, possibility, service … it depends on each individual. In the end, abundance is the availability of those energies … not their manifestations. That’s just gravy.
Blessings,
Andrea
Andrea Hess | Empowered Soul Blogs last blog post..Intuition: Setting Short-Term Intentions
Andrea,
You are so welcome.
I’m with you regarding the Law of Attraction. I think some LOA teachers used money as a way to get people’s attention, and it eventually got out of hand because many people have negative association with money. Not the fault of LOA.
An insightful post.It is very important to learn.. how to live spiritually in this mataterialistic world and how not to ‘loose’ sight of HIM while performing our duties.
God bless.
Hi Akemi,
I’m enjoying your gratitude post. There’s nothing better than feeling gratefulness and letting others know how they touched our lives. Those simple thank yous go far, don’t they?
I’m a big believer in the LOA, or whatever you want to call it. We do attract that which we spend most of our time thinking about. For that reason, I like to stay positive.
I hope you’re have a great weekend.
Barbara Swaffords last blog post..Adding A Favicon Just Got Easier
Surjit,
Thank you for stopping by. I think our lives are great adventures, our souls taking up physical presence and enjoying the shapes and colors of this world. What do you think?
Barbara,
I’m grad you like this. Before, I was doing the bi-monthly reviews to share Yes to Me’s achievements with my readers, and now I can expand my gratitude to include my personal life.
Did you notice my favicon? Thank you for your post!
Oh Yes! I fully agree with your views.
God bless.
Akemi:
Congratulations on adding a gratitude post to your blog! I’m honored to be considered a mentor of sorts for you. Thanks!
I can understand why some people might consider LOA to be based on fantasy, especially when pushed upon by “salesy” promoters looking to make money off of it. But like the others have commented above, when taken in the context of what you do with the money, if it’s for the greater good, then we’re helping make this world a better place to be, right?
Having said that, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to attract weath. Let’s face it. If we had enough money to travel, buy what we want and live comfortably, we’d be more secure, content. That makes us easier to be around. Isn’t that also making a contribution to the world by being one less miserable soul who’s “just getting by”?
It’s all a matter of perception, really. We all have different viewpoints about the LOA and I believe in it strongly. I see nothing wrong with harnessing the powers of the universe for the greater good and that includes our own well being.
Stephen Hopsons last blog post..Changing Your Perceptions…Can You Do It?
Stephen,
There is much mystery to the energetic working of this world. I don’t understand LOA completely, but that doesn’t interfere my using it.
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