LAW OF GRATITUDE
Image: Portrait of a Lady in Allegorical Guise, Holding a Dish of Pearls (detail), Pierre Mignard
As we continue to explore the leaders of the New Thought Movement, let’s tap into the brain of Wallace D. Wattles and his classic book on prosperity, The Science of Getting Rich—penned over 110 years ago. Despite its slightly religious undertones, the message remains relevant: living in a state of gratitude positively feeds our brains and connects us closer to “the creative energies of the universe.” In this newsletter, we’ll assess the Law of Gratitude and finesse how to turn comparison, jealousy, or other ego-fueled thought patterns into productive, expansive, creative ones.
Image: Espace Niemeyer in Paris, France, by Oscar Niemeyer
GRATITUDE IS THE STATE OF WEALTH
from The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles, 1910
“It is also easy to understand that the soul that is always grateful lives in closer touch with the Source than the one who never gives thankful acknowledgement. The more gratefully we fix our minds on the Supreme when good things come to us, the more things we will receive, and the more rapidly they will come. The reason is simply that the mental attitude of gratitude draws the mind into closer touch with the Source from which the blessings come.
If it is a new thought to you that gratitude brings your whole mind into closer harmony with the creative energies of the universe, consider it well, and you will see that it is true…Gratitude will lead your mind out along the ways by which things come; and it will keep you in close harmony with creative thought and prevent you from falling into competitive thought.
Gratitude alone can keep you looking toward the All, and prevent you from falling into the error of thinking the supply is limited; to do that would be fatal to your hopes.”
EXERCISE:
CHANNEL JEALOUSY into INSPIRATION
Jealousy is one of those emotions that we all have experience or experience but is one that we want to watch like a sleeping dragon. When unleashed, it can cause mayhem. When we can learn to channel our jealousy into something greater, into inspiration, we can transmute this emotion into creative energy rather than destructive.
How do we channel jealousy into something that brings us closer to what we actually want? When we feel the urge to compare or play into ego regarding jealousy, how can we reframe what we see as an extension of what’s possible for us? To use it as inspiration. As Virgil Abloh once said, “you can do it, too.” Next time we see a competitive thought, instead of indulging in the spiral that could follow, try to see it through a new lens…rather than labeling it as jealousy, look at it as a deeper part of you showing you what you really want. The jealousy is only an emotion that arises when our ego tells us we can't have it ourselves. So the next time you feel jealous, take away the label + name of the emotion. Instead say, “oh wow, thank you for pulling my heart strings and showing my what I REALLY want.”
Make a list of things or people you're jealous of. What are you really jealous about? What's the underlying story? What does it bring up in you when you see it in others?
For example, if you have a certain friend who loves their job and is so happy with the place the work, the amount of money they make, and their financial landscape and every time you hang out with them those familiar feelings of jealousy pop up.
Rather than talking negatively about this person—either in your head or out loud—save your energy and use it to think about your own life and what you want to change. Maybe it's time to leave the job you've been unhappy at for years. Maybe it's time to finally ask for that raise you know you deserve but have been too scared to do. Take inventory and then take action. Replace jealousy with gratitude for the Universe showing you what you really want and see what then unfolds…
Next, write down a list of all the ways in which you will commit to unlocking your own potential of having it yourself and how you will accomplish it.
And now, to clear the energy, go back to that person and experience you are jealous of. Think or one nice or inspiring thing about them or it. Bless it. Thank you for showing you clues to your vision which may have been hiding in the shadows.
Image: John Chamberlain
In this quick episode of “Infinite Intelligence,” Abraham Hicks makes a powerful case that just because something we want is SPECIAL doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s LESS of it in the world. A great reminder that the more we live in the anticipation of all the good that is and to come—a liminal space of gratitude and excitement—the more life offers to surprise us.