The Power of Practicing Gratitude and Focus

Enjoying the gifts of focus and practicing gratitude

Practicing gratitude is something extraordinary, I have made it a daily process for life. And it is one of the first steps in communication with animals.

Did you know that what you focus on expands?

via GIPHY

It’s true. Your body, mind and spirit are like a computer. Similar to when you Google something, you use your focus to determine what you want more of.

It does not judge or determine good or evil; it doesn’t decide if this is a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ approach.

It just checks what you’re looking at and gives you more of it by crowding out all the rest.

Follow your thoughts which are further reinforced by the emotional energy you give to your focus.

That’s it.

And by the way, it tends to ignore the weaker energies of desire, hope, and negative ones (like no, shouldn’t, or shouldn’t).

If you focus on your problems, your body, mind and spirit understand that this is what is important to you.

Because that is what you are investing so much effort, energy and time in, it must be true.

So your body-mind naturally believes that you obviously want more of that, and is happy to indulge you by giving you more trouble.

If you focus on what you want, then that is what your body-mind improves for you.

That’s true for your relationships, your job, your health.

And it is especially true when working with your animals.

When you focus on what isn’t working or what’s bothering you about their behavior or health issue, they sense your focus, see what’s on your mind, and pick up strong emotions.

They can then interpret the communication for meaning, based on their point of view, experience, and history.

The “I really wish you wouldn’t do (that)” part is lost because you don’t want to clutter your thoughts, your mental monitor, and your imagination.

If you focus on wishing your dog didn’t get on the couch, then what he hears is that he’s on the couch.

And they usually feel some excitement about it because you’re energetically excited.

If you focus on your horse being so heavy in your hands, they understand that you must like it because you are focusing so much on it.

So they keep doing it, maybe even more than before…until they take you out of the saddle.

If you focus on your cat scratching the furniture, he will see the images you keep sending him. And he will be happy to do it again and again and again and…

So what can you do to correct these and other problems?

Try to focus on what you DO want them to do. Feel how wonderful it would be if they did that (practice gratitude) and imagine the great rewards they would get if they did that. How much fun it would be, how proud you would feel of them, what a joy they are for you…

Many times poor behavior or performance is simply a matter of misunderstanding your approach. It’s all about intention, perspective, and communication, followed by gratitude.

“What’s in front of us and what’s behind us are small things compared to what’s inside us. And when we bring what’s inside into the world, miracles happen.” -Henry David Thoreau