Feed your Soul - Nourish America's Children
Great Question! Why is Gratitude Important?

Gratitude and Appreciation are some of the most transformative energies that are available to us. The Universe acts much like a giant photocopier - bringing you more and more of what you already claim to have. Gratitude is becoming consciously aware of all that is there for us in life, and then acknowledging the gift. Gratitude releases a dynamic current of energy flow of the highest vibrations into the universe, which magically returns to you in physical form, more of what you are grateful for.

Gratitude works on the principles of The Law of Attraction which states that like energy attracts like energy, like a magnet. Energy of a certain quality or vibration tends to attract energy of a similar quality and vibration. You attract to you the essence of whatever you are predominantly thinking about. If you are consistently thinking about what you already have and express your gratefulness for having it, your results will reflect more of that. (By the same token, if you are consistently thinking about what you do not have, your results will equally reflect that.)

Whatever you hold your attention on, you will attract, IF you know how to do it and how to apply it in your life with exact precision and how to use it with 100% accuracy. When used properly, it is absolutely infallible, as predictable as gravity, because it is a Universal Law that cannot be changed.

How does this work??

"There is a thinking process from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe. A thought can process this substance and produce the image that is imagined by the thought. A person who can form thought processes, by impressing upon the formless substance will create reality.

In order to do this, a person must pass from the competitive to the creative mind; otherwise he cannot be in harmony with the Formless Intelligence, which is always creative and never competitive in spirit. A person may come into full harmony with the Formless Substance by entertaining a lively and sincere gratitude for the blessings it bestows upon him. Gratitude unifies the mind of man with the intelligence of Substance, so that man's thoughts are received by the Formless. A person can remain upon the creative plane only by uniting himself with the Formless Intelligence through a deep and continuous feeling of gratitude.

Everyone must form a clear and definite mental image of the things they wish to have, to do, or to become; and they must hold these mental images in their thoughts, while being deeply grateful to the Supreme that all their desires are granted. The person who wishes to get rich must spend their leisure hours in contemplation creating Visions, and in earnest thanksgiving that the reality is being given to them. Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of frequent contemplation of the mental image, coupled with unwavering faith and devout gratitude. This is the process by which the impression is given to the Formless, and the creative forces set in motion. The creative energy works through the established channels of natural growth, and of the industrial and social order. All that is included in these mental images will surely be brought to the person who follows the instructions given above, and whose faith does not waver. What you want will come to you through the ways of established trade and commerce.

In order to receive these realities one must be active; and this activity can only consist in more than filling the present space. We must keep in mind the Purpose, to achieve abundance through the realization of our mental images. And we must do, every day, all that can be done that day, taking care to do each act in a successful manner. You must give to every person a useful value in excess of the cash value one receives, so that each transaction makes for more life; and we must hold the Advancing Thought that the impression of increase will be communicated to all with whom we come in contact, in other words the abundance continues to create with everyone we touch.

The men and women who practice the foregoing instructions will certainly achieve abundance; and the fortunes they receive will be in exact proportion to the definiteness of their vision, the fixity of their purpose, the steadiness of their faith, and the depth of their gratitude. "

This information comes from The Science of Getting Rich which is a success classic book written by Wallace D. Wattles in 1910. Wattles' work is considered a philosophy of Mental Science or Mind Science which may have preceded the New Thought movement. Wattles published the work during a time of famous self-help founders such as Thomas Troward and Charles F. Haanel.