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Beauty,
Gratitude and the Open Heart
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by: Margaret
Paul, Ph.D.
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The following
article is offered for free use in your ezine,
print publication or on your web site, so long as
the author resource box at the end is included.
Notification of publication would be appreciated.
Title: Beauty, Gratitude and the Open Heart
Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
E-mail: mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com
Copyright: © 2003 by Margaret Paul
Web Address: http://www.innerbonding.com
Word Count: 721
Category: Spiritual Growth
Beauty, Gratitude and the Open Heart
Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
"…beauty on your earth is a shadow of the
beauty of our heaven, and it’s a bitter thing to
have a blindness for beauty on earth, for it makes
a longer teaching to see the beauties of
heaven." Spoken by an Irish spirit in the
book The Boy who Saw True (anonymous author).
I have been counseling individuals, couples,
families and business partners for the last 35
years, and am the author of eight published books.
Since my work is spiritually based, I have
developed many ways of helping people open their
hearts to love. Opening to beauty is one of those
way.
I have always appreciated beauty. Since I’ve
been a small child, I’ve collect beautiful
things - shells, rocks, wood, as well as works of
art, and there are always lots of plants around.
There is nowhere in my environment where there is
not something beautiful to look at, both inside
and outside in nature. When I walk through my home
and the land around it, my heart fills with awe
and love as I appreciate the beauty around me.
I’ve done this so automatically throughout my
life that it never occurred to me that many people
do not open to beauty nor create beauty around
them.
In working with some of my clients struggling to
keep their heart open, I’ve mentioned focusing
on an object of beauty, and have been surprised to
find that many of them have no beauty around them
- no plants, flowers, works of art or objects of
nature. When they look around they see walls,
appliances, computers and other buildings. Their
left brain functions just fine in this
environment, but what about the right - the
creative, intuitive, spiritually-connected aspect?
I want to encourage everyone who reads this to
consider feeding your soul with beauty. There is
nothing like awe and gratitude for something
beautiful to open the heart to gratitude in
general. If you can love the intricate design in
the bark of a tree, or the vibrancy of a flower,
or the balance of a beautifully thrown piece of
pottery - that might lead you into loving and
appreciating the beauty of you and your own soul.
It might open you to feeling gratitude for your
life and the sacred privilege of experiencing your
journey on this planet.
How much of your thinking time is spent being
upset or unhappy about something? What if all that
time was spent in gratitude for what you have and
for the beauty around you? What if you were
present enough in this moment to revel in the fact
that you can turn on a faucet and have hot water
come out? That you have food to eat and a bed to
sleep on? If you are reading this, it is likely
that you have a computer, which means you have
more than most of the people on this planet.
Try this little experiment: find something of
beauty - it can be as simple as a leaf, a flower,
a photograph, a small work of art or the top of a
tree out your window. Now let yourself completely
open to the thing of beauty. Let yourself feel the
beauty in your body - in your heart, your solar
plexus, in your stomach, arms and legs, in your
forehead. Let the beauty enliven your body and
fill it with vitality. Breathe in the beauty and
feel your body’s reaction to it. Open to
gratitude, thanking God for this experience of
beauty.
Notice the peace and joy it gives you to be in
this moment with this simple object of beauty.
What would life be like if you spent more moments
like this, in the present with beauty and with all
you have? How much of your waking time is spent in
this way?
Beauty and gratitude are soul foods. When you
choose to open to them, you extend an invitation
to love, peace and joy. This raises your frequency
and opens the door to your spiritual Guidance.
Your Guidance is always here for you, helping you
on your soul’s journey. Opening to beauty and
gratitude, with a deep intent to learn about what
is loving to you and others, will open you to your
spiritual Guidance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author
and co-author of eight books, including "Do I
Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?",
"Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By My
Kids?", "Healing Your
Aloneness","Inner Bonding", and
"Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By
God?" Visit her web site for a FREE Inner
Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com or
mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com
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