Many people have recently discovered the powerful “Law of Attraction” revealed in the DVD called , “The Secret.” My wife and I discovered it when presented on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I was intrigued by what I heard . My curiosity led me to order a copy.
After watching it, the one thing that kept sticking with me was the idea of gratefulness. That, in order to attract whatever I want into my life, I must start by being grateful.
As I pondered this concept, my thoughts kept moving “outside the box.” It's easy to be grateful for good things. But, I kept thinking, “What would happen if I started being grateful for bad things?” At first this seemed insane, but, the more I thought about it, the more I felt compelled to try it.
First, I developed a metaphor for how to view the effects of being grateful. I envisioned my body as a storage battery capable of storing positive energy. The source of this positive energy would be all the good things for which I am grateful. As with any battery, the charging process would involve the act of being grateful for all things good in my life. By developing a long list of tangible and intangible things for which I am grateful, I could daily “charge-up” my battery simply by the act of consciously and gratefully reviewing my list.
I decided that any negative would be the force that had the ability to drain energy from my battery. Therefore, I would have to make a conscious effort minimize the effect of any negatives encountered. My goal would be to keep negative experiences from draining the positive energy.
With my metaphor and plan in place, I decided upon a day to conduct my experiment. Being a Registered Nurse working in a busy Emergency Room, I daily encounter many negative experiences. One that is most difficult to deal with are people who repeatedly come in with bogus complaints seeking prescriptions for narcotics to support a habit or sell on the streets. These encounters instantly put me in a foul mood and drain the virtue out of the marrow of my bones! On the day of my experiment, Murphy's Law was in full operation! Within the first hour of the shift, I encountered three such individuals! Contrary to my normal inclination, I made a conscious decision to declare my gratefulness for the opportunity to care for these individuals. I didn't understand the “why,” I just did it with the thought that this was going to be a positive experience.
The result was nothing short of a miracle! Instead of feeling drained and angry, I felt energized and uplifted. Being grateful for something I normally view as negative, enabled me to neutralize the negative effect. Instead of draining my store of positive energy, I felt an increase of positive energy simply by making a conscious decision to be positive!
Tony Robbins teaches a concept about the mind that states: “Our minds are incapable of distinguishing between what is real and what is vividly imagined.” When I made a conscious decision to view a negative as a positive, my mind was incapable of overriding my will. Since I viewed it as a positive, my mind said; “ OK, let's store this as a positive!” The result was that my positive energy increased and I continued to feel uplifted throughout the day! A positive benefit for me and for others around me! When I am full of positive energy, others notice. It may be the smile or the uplifted attitude. Positive energy is attractive to everyone! It's what everyone wants whether they admit it or not! I know my wife benefitted when I got home! Instead of spending time “venting” about the rotten day I had, I was able to share what an uplifting experience it had been!
I'm excited! I'm grateful for discovering the Secret! I'm looking forward to applying more of it to my life! I'm grateful for the opportunity to share it with you! I would encourage you seek your own gratefulness adventure!
