“Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.” -Eileen Caddy

Thanksgiving day is a wonderful opportunity to not only remember a day long ago when we came together in celebration of connection, but also a day to reflect on the many benefits of giving thanks, feeling appreciative for ourselves and others, and reflect on how grateful we are for everything that has happened in our lives.

Benefits of giving thanks and appreciating yourself and others:

1. Increases self-esteem.

2. Increases self-worth.

3. Raises immune system functioning.

4. Elevates your mood.

5. Helps you to feel love and healing hormone.

6. Makes you feel more relaxed, focused and calm.

3 Ways To Give Thanks And Appreciation To Yourself:

1. Give yourself a big hug!

Wrap your arms around yourself and allow gratitude to swell in your heart, feel grateful for the whole person that you are- this means deciding right now to accept EVERYTHING you have ever done in your life, regardless of whether you think it is “good” or “bad.” Decide right now to forgive yourself for all the things you may have done to hurt yourself or others. Allow today to be a day or re-birth, where you can forgive yourself for anything you are still having a hard time letting go of. Remember, every experience we have had up until this point, has given us a different perspective and taught us many lessons! All of it is a blessing! See it as that and choose to live right now with more love, compassion and nurturing for yourself. Hug yourself for a few minutes and allow a big smile to also shine from your face. You are the only person in your life that can hug yourself this way! Notice how great it feels to give to yourself. It might feel awkward at first, let go of any judgements about this activity, and allow it’s benefits to take over. Eventually you will feel the joy that arises, if you give it enough time to kick in, generally I have found at least two minutes! If you like more ideas on how to get in touch with yourself, click HERE.

*While you are giving to yourself and others play this beautiful track called THANK YOU. This music was intentionally performed by sound healer David Jesse Kennet, broadcasting the feeling of thanks, appreciation and gratitude. It carries the energetic intention of THANK YOU. Notice how listening to it makes you feel a bath of gratitude in every cell of your body!

2. Write yourself a note of appreciation of paint yourself a picture of gratitude for being  YOU!

When we write, our soul is usually involved… this is a beautiful way to connect to your heart and feel grateful for yourself. Write down all the different qualities about yourself you are grateful for. You can also email or text yourself this message of thanks. What are you grateful for? What accomplishments have you made that you appreciate about yourself? Let yourself know through your writing how much you value yourself.

You can also draw a picture of yourself and add your favorite symbols to surround yourself in these symbols that evoke love and appreciation. For example, you can place a bright sun or a radiant star around you, or hearts! Celebrate yourself through writing a poem about yourself, drawing a picture or just writing yourself a note of thanks!

3. Leave yourself a voice mail message or record your voice thanking yourself for all the wonderful qualities you possess that make you uniquely you!

I highly recommend you record your voice, telling yourself how much you love and appreciate yourself just as you are. Let yourself know in your own voice, how much you value, respect and honor yourself. Recording your voice is great, because you can replay this anytime and even listen to it while driving! Notice how the sound of your voice, and you telling yourself how much you care for you feels. This is a great way to strengthen your inner relationship. I have found this very helpful to me, there is something about it coming from me, that feeds my soul and makes me feel cared and nurtured, from me, as this is truly empowering and comforting. The more we give to ourselves, the less needy we feel and can love and be loved without it feeling like something we need from others to satisfy something we might be missing inside. This form of love and appreciation feels lighter and promotes healthy relationships.

3 Ways To Give Thanks To Others:

1. Tell someone how much you appreciate them with words, a card or a voice message.

Express your appreciation, gratitude and thanks to the people you love and if possible, you can also thank the people you may not feel as close to, as they are also teaching you many valuable lessons I am sure in your life. Notice who in your life, you might have neglected, or maybe have not appreciated enough. Make this a day where you will start a new day re-igniting your relationship with lots of gratitude!

2. Lovingly Touch or Massage someone you love.Touch and massage are powerful ways to experience the love and appreciation hormone. Touch someone’s hand, give them a back rub or you can do a more formal massage with oils and laying them on a massage table if you have one. Simply placing your hand on someone’s back and evoking the feelings of gratitude as you touch them sends a powerful message to them. We are designed to feel and love. Notice how that person feels and send them love and appreciation from your heart, to your hands to their body. Get some tips on how to massage the feet HERE.

3. SMILE!

Smileyfaces

As you see your friends, co-workers and family, think in your mind “I am so grateful for you, I appreciate you” while you smile at that person. Your thoughts carry a certain vibration. When you smile while having that thought, you are emitting a vibration of gratitude behind every smile you make. A conscious smile filled with gratitude emits an even more powerful effect. Smile for the pure joy of smiling too, and then notice how adding the intention of feeling grateful for that person, makes you feel your smile differently. Think about how knowing this person has enriched your life, what have they taught you? Notice how magical you and the other person feels when we spend time smiling at one another!