We were doing some clean up and organizing on Mabon morning. Cleaning off the desk in the Temple office I found a bag of catalogs that Steve and Christopher got at the International New Age Trade Show. As Steve was sorting through it, I saw a shimmer. It came from a ring in a plastic bag that was a free gift from the show. The ring had “gratitude” engraved into it. I took it out of the package, slipped it onto my finger, and found that it fit. That started me thinking about gratitude and what I’m grateful for.
Mabon is not only a time of harvest but a time to think about what you are grateful for. During our ritual we called out things that we are grateful for. It reminded me that, for many years, I have written a list of things I am grateful for during my personal Mabon ritual, read it, and then burned it. Gratitude has become a more popular practice with the popularity of “The Secret” and such. Gratitude attunes us to prosperity and manifestation. It makes us able to change our perceptions so we are also happier with our circumstances.
An old gentleman I knew told me that he had a formula for a successful prayer that his mother has taught him. He would praise Divinity, begin to thank them for something they had done, ask for something that is needed, and then thank them again for something the divine had given him. Though I use it in a pagan context, this old gentleman reminded me that changing your resonance to gratitude begins the process to receive more.
The day after Mabon, I went into the bookstore to look around. In the bargan books I found a book on a man’s practice of writing thank you cards and how it had changed his life. I took this as my third sign. I have an agreement with the universe that my omens must happen in threes so that I know for sure that they are omens. I thought what a good idea it would be if I did a practice of writing thank you cards to share my gratitude.
I hope this blog will give you some ideas of how you can bring gratitude into your practice and be more mindful of it in your life. Thanks for reading!