How to Be Thank Full!

Although there are many Thanksgiving meal preferences, most of us look forward to turkey and all the trimmings: mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, corn pudding, carrots, and pumpkin pie – is your mouth starting to water?

What would Thanksgiving be without turkey and stuffing and dessert? And family. And grandchildren. And football games. And Fall weather. And a nice long walk to work the calories off. And a week’s worth of leftovers.

Did you know that there are hundreds of ways to cook a ham, dozens of ways to keep a turkey from getting dry, and 6 ways to keep turkey dressing moist. But there’s only one way to keep cranberry sauce from being too tangy and only 2 kinds of eggnog worth buying.

As the big turkey day approaches, remember it isn’t about preparing a turkey or recommending the perfect eggnog. It’s about being Thank Full!

The story is told of two old friends who bumped into one another in the grocery store on Thanksgiving eve. One of them looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears.

His friend asked, “What’s wrong, good buddy?”
The bummed out fellow said, “Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.”
 “Wow! That’s a lot of money. I’d think you’d be happy.”
 “Two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died.”
   “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. He left me eighty-five thousand free and clear.”
   “Wow! Sounds like you’ve been blessed….”
   “You don’t understand!” he interrupted. “Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million.”
   Now his friend was really confused. “Then, why do you look so gloomy?”
   “Well, because nothing came in this week!”

Let’s take a look at what it means to be ‘Thank Full’ means and why it’s important to be Thank Full instead of being full of …. (okay, you get to fill in the blank! Suggestions: cynicism; negativity; fear; anger; stress…)

Let’s start with the famous quote from the Bible, that everyone seems to misunderstand. It comes from I Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks.” For some reason, people interpret this to mean FOR all things give thanks. But the actual verse says IN — and there;s a huge difference! That heart attack was NOT the best thing that ever happened to you because it “made you” slow down, eat healthier, and get back in shape. NO! It was your response to the heart attack that made the difference! The key to this powerful piece of wisdom, In everything give thanks, lies in the first word: IN. It tells us how important it is for us to take dominion over our thoughts, and recognize that regardless of the situation we find ourselves in, we can remain in an attitude that is grateful … grateful for our intuitive wisdom, grateful for our alignment of our human self with our Extraordinary Nature; grateful for the Spiritual Principles and Truths that give us dominion over the world of appearance. That’s being Thank Full!

Here are a couple of more quotes to ponder:

Gratitude and Giving Consciousness are so closely related, they are like two peas in a pod! Together they create a never-ending cycle of inner joy, abundance, and positivity! But it’s important that our giving comes from our Highest Level of Consciousness. That’s why we created the Turkey Talk-Ometer — a way to evaluate our level of giving, and take positive actions to move up the Turkey Talk-ometer all the way to Thanksliving … living from an awareness of being Thank Full.

Click here to download your PDF version of the Turkey Talk-Ometer.

Level 1: Grudge Giving

Grudge giving comes from a consciousness that says, “I hate to give! They don’t deserve it!” When you do a heart check, you identify a feeling of resentment. You give, but there’s no way you want to, and you are hating every minute of it. This is actually not really giving at all; it is more of a holding onto. It’s the person who was passed over for a promotion, then does just exactly what they need to do to get by, but won’t do one eensy bit more. Who are they hurting? Only themselves.

The Rx to move you out of the GRUDGE GIVING is to practice forgiveness — big time! Let stuff go. Release resentment! Give it up! Grudge giving only hurts you!

Level 2: DUTY GIVING

Duty giving comes from a Consciousness that says, “I ought to give.” When you do a heart check, you identify a feeling of guilt … or a martyr complex. You’re giving all right, but only because you feel like you have to. There are tons of examples, particularly at holiday time: gifts you purchase and give—because you have to; relatives you invite to your home — because you have to; traveling you do — because you feel it is expected; even parties you attend — because it is the smart or appropriate thing to do! Duty giving robs us of anu potential joy that could show up in the situation, because we’re too busy feeling like a martyr!

The remedy for Duty Giving is to practice the Indiana Jones Principle! When faced with something you are dreading, approach it like an adventure! Spend a little time at Headquarters, quickening your powers of Imagination, Love, Understanding. and Faith … and maybe a little zeal thrown in! Then imagine you are setting out on a new adventure, remind yourself of JOY, and focus on looking for something you are grateful for in the situation! Doing this on a regular basis will soon boost your Consciousness to the next level.

Level 3: THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving comes from a Consciousness that says, “I enjoy giving.” When you do a heart check, you identify a feeling of generosity and love. You’re definitely moving up on the Thanksgiving Turkey Talk-ometer rating! But what you’ll notice is that, at this level, your focus tends to be on giving from the awareness of what you possess. When you feel abundant, you give abundantly; when you feel a sense of lack, you back off on your giving spirit. And we see-saw back and forth.

The antidote that will turbo-boost you from this level right up to the top of the Thanksgiving Turkey Talk-ometer scale is a subtle shift of Consciousness that comes with the recognition that there is no separation between us and God! No separation! We attain this awareness through studying Truth principles, spending time in the Silence, and practicing everything we are learning! When we do this, we move from the material to a whole new level of Consciousness —

Level 4: THANKSLIVING!

Thanksliving comes from a Consciousness that says, “I LIVE to give.” When you do a heart check, you identify a feeling of oneness with everyone, a recognition of pure thankfulness, dependent on nothing external, and a sense of abundance, a KNOWING that you are one with Divine Substance, and always have everything you ever need. Therefore, you can live in a perpetual state of Thanks and giving. … a perpetual state of joy! You live to give, because you know you can never outgive Divine Source! That is a spirit of Thanksliving!

Consider this powerful excerpt from Rev. Dr. Bil Holton’s book, Rev. Bil Unplugged and Unedited, on Thanksliving:

Thanksliving places you above the ups and downs of everyday living. It’s a life in which you are not held captive by outer appearances. It’s a life of perpetual gratitude. A life of being grateful for what you have. A life of great fullness.

Thanksliving means you are the curator of your own soul when you elevate your thinking to a higher spiritual octave. It means allowing your inner priesthood to guarantee safe passage through the crucible of your skin school experience—no matter what happens to you down here. Your thoughts, intentions, beliefs, cells and molecules are monks, nuns and priests. Your body is your monastery and your consciousness is your cathedral.

Be ‘thanks full.’ It turns a meal into communion, an ordinary moment into an extraordinary moment, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Being thankful turns unemployment into redirection and the unknown into an adventure. It turns disappointments into acceptance and confusion into clarity. It turns hard times into the best of times, a handshake into a hug, a smile into laughter, being scared into sacred beingness, anger into forgiveness, unhappy employment into ecstatic other employment, relocation into opportunity, illness into illumination.

This then is the Consciousness of Thanks Living … being Thank Full, which extends beyond a date on the calendar. It is more importantly a reflection on what’s going on inside you … and it is directly proportionate to your focus. As we move into this Thanksgiving week, we invite you to check your focus, and measure yourself on the Thanksgiving Turkey Talk-ometer. If you find you are beneath the Thanksliving level, simply in that moment, stop, go into the Silence, and shift your focus:

• Focus on Others, not yourself;
• Focus on Joy, not outer circumstances; and
• Focus on Abundance, not the appearance of lack.

And you will find yourself truly walking the spiritual path on practical, Thanksliving Feet!