The Power of Gratitude: Create a Portal of Love and Gratitude
Discover the power of gratitude through a personal story, a simple gratitude exercise, and two free resources: a guided meditation and gratitude journal.
A Meditation from the Heart
Gratitude is one of the most powerful energies we can bring into our lives.
When we practise gratitude, we begin to notice the beauty, love, support, and little miracles that are already around us. It may be a kind word, the warmth of the sun, a helpful person, a safe place to rest, or simply another breath.
The more we practise gratitude, the more we begin to see the wonders of life.
My name is Daniela Hills, and with my free Gratitude Meditation, I would like to invite you to join me in creating a portal of love and gratitude. Together, we can send this beautiful energy to the people in our lives, to the Earth, to the universe, and to all levels of Being.
I created this meditation a long time ago. It must have been more than ten years ago. Technology was not as advanced as it is today, but I still feel that the meditation turned out beautifully. I created the music myself on my computer using GarageBand. My microphone was not the best, but it worked, and the meditation came from my heart.
Later, I shared it on iTunes and YouTube. Some people truly love this meditation. Others have left comments that made me smile or wonder a little.
But that is how life is. I am still grateful that this meditation has reached so many people and that it continues to bring love and gratitude into the world.
At the very least, it is my small contribution, because I know that it is not always easy to see the good things in life. Sometimes we need a gentle reminder to look again and notice what we can still be grateful for.
What Is a Portal of Love and Gratitude?
You can imagine a portal of love and gratitude as a shared field of loving energy.
Every time someone consciously sends love and gratitude to another person or out into the world, they add something beautiful to this field.
During the Gratitude Meditation, you create an energy orb within your heart.
In this energy orb, you gather all your love and gratitude.
From your heart, you send a ray of this energy upward through your crown chakra.
You send your love and gratitude to your spiritual teachers and guides on all levels of Being.
The ray of energy continues toward the sky, the Moon, the stars, the planets, the Sun, the entire universe, and beyond to the Source of Being.
You then send this energy back to the Earth and all her beings.
You send love and gratitude to every continent and every country.
You send it to the country, city, or community where you live.
You send it to your friends, neighbours, colleagues, and the people around you.
You send it to your family, to every individual family member, and also to those who are no longer physically with you.
At the end of the meditation, you once again send love and gratitude to your spiritual teachers and guides.
You then allow yourself to receive the love, support, and gratitude that flows back to you.
The more people who join in this practice, the more love and gratitude we can send into the world. And do not worry—you do not need to remember all the steps. You can simply relax and follow the guided meditation in my free meditation course:
https://gatelightelearning.com/courses/how-to-find-inner-peace-through-guided-meditations
It is only a short meditation, but I believe its message is especially important in the world today.
Why Gratitude Is So Powerful
Gratitude changes where we place our attention.
It is easy to focus on what is missing, what went wrong, or what another person failed to do.
These feelings are understandable. We all experience disappointment, frustration, sadness, and conflict.
But when we focus only on what is wrong, it can become difficult to see what is still good, supportive, meaningful, or beautiful in our lives.
Gratitude does not mean denying our feelings or pretending that everything is perfect.
It simply invites us to look again.
What can I appreciate in this moment?
What have I learned?
Who has supported me?
What small blessing have I overlooked?
What is already present in my life?
When we begin asking these questions, our perspective can gradually change.
I would like to share a personal experience that showed me how powerful gratitude can be.
When one of my sons still lived with us, he sometimes came home from work in a bad mood. He would make a mess, go to his room, and usually only come downstairs again for dinner.
I remember thinking: “He is so ungrateful. He comes home, makes a mess, and I have just cleaned everything.” One negative thought followed another.
Then I caught myself. I remembered what I had learned about changing our experience through the power of gratitude.
I stopped and asked myself:
How grateful am I toward my son right now?
I imagined a scale from 1 to 100 percent and trusted the first number that came into my mind.
I was shocked. It was only 10 percent. That was not how I wanted to feel toward my son.
I sat down for a moment and began thinking about all the good things he was doing and had already done. There was so much.
At that time, our family had recently moved to Canada, and we all had to work together to build a new life.
I thought: “I am grateful that my son is supporting us during this time.”
Then I continued finding more and more reasons to feel grateful for him.
After a while, I tested my gratitude again. I continued until I reached 100 percent.
Only a few minutes later, my son came downstairs in a very good mood. He said, “Hi, Mom. What's up?”
We started talking about this and that, and it became a really enjoyable moment together.
This experience taught me something important about the energy of love and gratitude.
Our inner thoughts and feelings can influence the way we experience another person and the energy we bring into a relationship.
Of course, it is not always easy to feel grateful. I forget sometimes too.
But when I have a problem with someone, I try to remember to ask myself:
How grateful am I toward this person?
I may also ask: How can I show this person that I appreciate them? Sometimes this simple pause helps me see the person and the situation differently.
Do We Expect Gratitude Without Showing It?
A lack of gratitude can affect our relationships and many areas of our lives.
Sometimes we expect another person to appreciate us, thank us, or notice everything we do for them.
But we may not realize that we are also holding back our gratitude from them.
We may wait for the other person to change first.
We may think:
“They should appreciate me.”
“They should say thank you.”
“They should notice everything I do.”
But perhaps the other person is thinking and feeling exactly the same way.
This does not mean that we should ignore unfair or hurtful behaviour. It simply gives us an opportunity to look honestly at our own thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Am I showing gratitude?
Am I expressing my appreciation?
Or am I focusing mainly on what is missing?
Sometimes a small and sincere expression of gratitude can soften a difficult situation.
Even a simple “thank you” can change the energy between two people and open the door to more understanding.
And the good thing is, you do not even have to say it out loud. You can express your gratitude quietly in your mind, just as I did in the example with my son.
But you must truly mean it. Your gratitude should be sincere and come from your heart.
How Grateful Are You?
Here is a simple exercise that can help you understand how you truly feel toward another person.
1. Think of someone in your life.
It may be someone you love, a family member, someone you work with, or a person with whom you have experienced difficulties.
2. Now imagine a scale from 1 to 100 percent.
Ask yourself: How much gratitude do I feel toward this person?
Trust the first number that comes into your mind.
Do not judge yourself. There is no right or wrong answer.
Perhaps you feel 90 percent gratitude. Perhaps it is 50 percent. Or perhaps it is only 10 percent.
3. Now ask yourself: Is it 100 percent?
When it is not, gently begin looking for reasons why you can feel grateful toward this person.
What have they given you?
What have you learned from knowing them?
Have they supported you in some way?
Did the experience help you become stronger?
Did this person teach you something about yourself?
Did the relationship help you understand what you need - or what you no longer want in your life?
“How Good It Is That…”
A helpful way to find gratitude is to begin with the words: “How good it is that…”
For example:
“How good it is that this person helped me recognize my own strength.”
“How good it is that this experience taught me to create better boundaries.”
“How good it is that I now understand my needs more clearly.”
“How good it is that this person encouraged me to make an important change.”
Sometimes it may be difficult to find even one reason for gratitude. In that case, you might say:
“How good it is that this person is giving me an opportunity to look more deeply and discover what I can learn from this experience.”
Even a difficult person can become one of our teachers.
This does not mean that their behaviour was right. It does not mean that you must remain close to them. And it does not mean that you should give up your boundaries.
It simply means that you are choosing to recognize what you have learned and how the experience may have helped you grow.
4. Test Your Gratitude Again
After you have found one or more sincere reasons for gratitude, return to your imaginary scale.
Ask yourself again:
How much gratitude do I feel toward this person now?
Trust the first number that comes into your mind. Has the number changed?
When it is not yet 100 percent, you can gently continue looking for more reasons to feel grateful.
Do not force yourself. Your gratitude should be honest and come from your heart.
Even a small change can be meaningful. You may notice that your feelings begin to soften. You may feel calmer when you think about the person. You may also understand more clearly what this experience has taught you.
Sometimes, when something changes within us, the energy between us and another person may begin to change as well.
Gratitude Does Not Replace Healthy Boundaries
It is important to understand that gratitude does not mean accepting harmful or disrespectful treatment.
You can feel grateful for a lesson and still say no.
You can appreciate what an experience has taught you and still choose to walk away.
You can send love and gratitude to another person while keeping a safe and healthy distance.
Gratitude is not about excusing another person’s actions.
It is about gently releasing some of the emotional weight you may be carrying within yourself.
It allows you to keep the lesson without having to carry all the pain with you.
Trust me, I have also had to learn how to set boundaries - sometimes very strong ones - and I am still learning.
But I also want to feel peaceful within myself.
This is why I try to return to gratitude, even when it is difficult to find something positive or something to feel grateful for.
Sometimes I say: “I am grateful because this experience taught me how to set boundaries.”
Or: “I am grateful because this person showed me how I do not want to behave.”
Sometimes another person may even reflect something back to us that we need to recognize and change within ourselves. This is not always easy, but we are all learning and growing, aren’t we?
Make Gratitude a Daily Practice
Gratitude can become a simple part of your daily spiritual practice.
You may begin your morning by thinking of a few things you are grateful for.
During the day, you can return to gratitude whenever you feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or disconnected.
In the evening, you may take a quiet moment to reflect on your day and remember the people, experiences, and little moments you appreciated.
With regular practice, you may begin to notice more reasons to feel grateful. You may become more aware of the people who support you. You may notice more beauty in ordinary moments.
You may remember to express your appreciation more often.
You may also begin to recognize that even difficult experiences can bring opportunities for learning and growth.
To help you with your daily gratitude practice, I have two free resources for you: my guided Gratitude Meditation and my 21-Day & Beyond Spiritual Cleansing for Mind and Heart Journal.
Two Free Resources for Your Gratitude Practice
You can listen to my free guided Gratitude Meditation inside my Free Meditation Course:
You can also use my free 21-Day & Beyond Spiritual Cleansing for Mind and Heart Journal to reflect on your thoughts and feelings, release heavy energy, and reconnect with gratitude, balance, and inner peace: https://gatelightelearning.com/f/21-day-spiritual-cleansing-for-mind-and-heart
You can listen to the meditation, work with the journal, or use both together as part of your daily gratitude practice.
Let us come together and create a portal of love and gratitude.
Every loving thought matters.
Every sincere moment of gratitude adds something beautiful to the world.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. With love and gratitude, Daniela Hills
Let us come together and create a portal of love and gratitude.
Every loving thought matters.
Every sincere moment of gratitude adds something beautiful to the world.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
With love and gratitude, Daniela Hills
