{"id":6468,"date":"2009-11-25T12:32:26","date_gmt":"2009-11-25T17:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/?p=6468"},"modified":"2009-11-25T12:32:26","modified_gmt":"2009-11-25T17:32:26","slug":"the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"The Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/div>\n

\"gratitude1.jpg\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Not too many of us in the United States are left with the illusion that the first Thanksgiving was a romantic feast where native Americans and white folks forged a beautiful friendship that lasted hundreds of years. \u00a0Most of us know the tragedy and devastation that European settlement of the US brought. \u00a0And lots of people don\u2019t celebrate Thanksgiving as a result.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But if we forget about the Pilgrims and gorging on the traditional 10-course meal from which it takes weeks to recover, we end up with a day to give thanks which is a valuable part of the spiritual path.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Finding something to be grateful for, even in the midst of a miserable time in our lives, is one of the most healing things we can do. \u00a0Back in 1910 metaphysician Wallace Wattles wrote, \u201cGratitude brings your whole mind into closer harmony with the creative energies of the universe,\u201d and since then this idea has really taken hold and become a part of daily rituals for many of us.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I\u2019ll leave you by quoting myself from my Visioncrafting <\/a>book, and send you my warmest wishes for a full heart and a desire to look forward to a brighter tomorrow.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

When we experience gratitude we open our hearts and minds and counteract the contraction of fear and doubt. \u00a0A gratitude practice is a very useful tool. \u00a0It is human nature not to pay attention to the good things in our life and to take them for granted; a daily review of the things for which we are grateful can help to refocus our attention and help us to build the positive attitude that is the foundation of transmuting the base metal of our life into the gold of transformation and actualization.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Marcus Tulius Cicero said, back in ancient Rome, \u201cGratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.\u201d \u00a0Gratitude for what we are given is the single key that turns prosperity and wealth into a true experience of abundance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Gratitude is an emotion that is felt primarily in the heart center. \u00a0On a mundane level a practice of gratitude helps us to maintain perspective about our lives. \u00a0On a more esoteric level, gratitude opens the heart center which helps us to ascend from the ego into an experience of divine love and consciousness. \u00a0This openness helps to unlock the blocks of fear which opens the door to transformation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Gratitude also helps us to expand beyond judgment and restriction. \u00a0When we approach the experiences of our life with a sense of gratitude, it becomes much easier for us to see every experience as an opportunity for growth and transformation rather than a burden. \u00a0It is impossible to be a victim when we are grateful for what we have been given.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not too many of us in the United States are left with the illusion that the first Thanksgiving was a romantic feast where native Americans and white folks forged a beautiful friendship that lasted hundreds of years. \u00a0Most of us know the tragedy and devastation that European settlement of the US brought. \u00a0And lots of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":537,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[842,1571,2093],"class_list":["post-6468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holidays","tag-gratitude","tag-pilgrims","tag-thanksgiving"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude - Astrological Musings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not too many of us in the United States are left with the illusion that the first Thanksgiving was a romantic feast where native Americans and white folks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude - Astrological Musings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Not too many of us in the United States are left with the illusion that the first Thanksgiving was a romantic feast where native Americans and white folks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Astrological Musings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-11-25T17:32:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/astrologicalmusings\/images\/gratitude1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynn Hayes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynn Hayes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/\",\"name\":\"The Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude - Astrological Musings\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-11-25T17:32:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-11-25T17:32:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#\/schema\/person\/79a21ba57527a93b02136b02ea5eb2e2\"},\"description\":\"Not too many of us in the United States are left with the illusion that the first Thanksgiving was a romantic feast where native Americans and white folks\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/\",\"name\":\"Astrological Musings\",\"description\":\"Exploring the way the movement of the planets affect our inner and outer worlds.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#\/schema\/person\/79a21ba57527a93b02136b02ea5eb2e2\",\"name\":\"Lynn Hayes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d66c632862817d88a0ce2af3a36c4050?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d66c632862817d88a0ce2af3a36c4050?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lynn Hayes\"},\"description\":\"Lynn Hayes has been a consulting astrologer since the mid-1980s, working with clients to achieve greater self-understanding and empowerment. She uses the birthchart to identify psychological and evolutionary patterns and systems, and then uses a process using a powerful combination of methods including \u201cVisioncrafting\u201d TM to permit breakthroughs in all areas of your life and heal old wounds that can prevent you from moving forward. Learn more about her on her website.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.astrodynamics.net\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/author\/lynnhayes\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude - Astrological Musings","description":"Not too many of us in the United States are left with the illusion that the first Thanksgiving was a romantic feast where native Americans and white folks","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude - Astrological Musings","og_description":"Not too many of us in the United States are left with the illusion that the first Thanksgiving was a romantic feast where native Americans and white folks","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/","og_site_name":"Astrological Musings","article_published_time":"2009-11-25T17:32:26+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/astrologicalmusings\/images\/gratitude1.jpg"}],"author":"Lynn Hayes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lynn Hayes","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/","name":"The Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude - Astrological Musings","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-11-25T17:32:26+00:00","dateModified":"2009-11-25T17:32:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#\/schema\/person\/79a21ba57527a93b02136b02ea5eb2e2"},"description":"Not too many of us in the United States are left with the illusion that the first Thanksgiving was a romantic feast where native Americans and white folks","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/the-real-thanksgiving-the-power-of-gratitude\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/","name":"Astrological Musings","description":"Exploring the way the movement of the planets affect our inner and outer worlds.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#\/schema\/person\/79a21ba57527a93b02136b02ea5eb2e2","name":"Lynn Hayes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d66c632862817d88a0ce2af3a36c4050?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d66c632862817d88a0ce2af3a36c4050?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Lynn Hayes"},"description":"Lynn Hayes has been a consulting astrologer since the mid-1980s, working with clients to achieve greater self-understanding and empowerment. She uses the birthchart to identify psychological and evolutionary patterns and systems, and then uses a process using a powerful combination of methods including \u201cVisioncrafting\u201d TM to permit breakthroughs in all areas of your life and heal old wounds that can prevent you from moving forward. Learn more about her on her website.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.astrodynamics.net"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/author\/lynnhayes\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/537"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6468\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}