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What we appreciate appreciates. What are you thankful for tonight?
Published February 16, 2011 | 
What are you thankful for right now? Get out your journal and write down a few things that you are truly thankful for.
My list for this evening would be-
I am thankful for:
my health
my fiance
my job
my cats
this time this evening to recharge from my busy day as a school teacher
the good food that awaits us for dinner: rosemary lemon chicken, artichokes, rosemary bread, French pinot noir wine
An interesting looking movie from Netflix about Tony Blair and his relationship with recent American presidents
The new people I am meeting through The Warm Milk Journal and Twitter.
The fact that I am getting married next month to the man I adore…
—- Your turn! : )
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Posted in Journal Prompts, journal writing, lists | 
giving thanks, gratitude journal, journal writing | 
2 CommentsFive benefits to keeping a gratitude journal
Published January 17, 2011 |
How many of you are keeping a gratitude journal? I find it to be very beneficial to jot down a few things I am thankful for either in the morning or right before I go to bed.
Developing an attitude of gratitude provides these five benefits:
- helping us to stay focused on all the good and abundance all around us
- redirects our minds if we are thinking about something negative or experiencing a negative emotional state such as sadness, fear, anxiety, etc.
- What we appreciate appreciates so we will manifest more of the good stuff if we are thankful for it now
- Keeps us centered, peaceful, more joyful, and more connected spiritually to others and God
- It improves the quality of our relationships for we appreciate the special people in our life more and we are pleasant to be around as well
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to begin a gratitude journal. The beauty of this practice is that it does not require much time. It’s amazing how rapidly thinking about what you are thankful for can turn your state of mind around to a more positive one.
My gratitude list for this morning might look something like this.
This morning, I am thankful for:
- My home
- My fiance
- My cat, mew
- My children
- My comfortable bed
- This rainy day so that I can happily nest and write all day
I’ll stop here. Your turn, dear reader….
Have a blessed day,
Debra : )
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To get a good night sleep, I recommend doing these 15 things.
Published January 5, 2011 | 
To get a good night sleep, I am currently doing these 15 things:
- Writing in my gratitude journal every day.
- Taking a newspaper diet: I am reading spiritually nourishing articles , writing in my journal, praying, meditating, and practicing gentle yoga stretches in the morning.
- Being gentle on myself.
- Focusing on the things I love and enjoy.
- Remind myself often that each moment is new and fresh. I am not tied to the past and if I fret about the future I lose sight of all the good things I have now.
- I write.
- I cook and eat great food and enjoy nice wine in the evening.
- I am present with my students, friends,colleagues, family, and other people I encounter throughout my day at the gym, grocery store, etc.
- I am relaxing more.
- I am trusting God.
- I exercise my body.
- I am focusing on simple, gentle, and sweet things
- Love is my guiding principle
- If I catch myself in a negative thought pattern, I redirect my mind right away and focus on something I love.
- I work on appreciating everything.
Thank you all for taking the time to read and follow The Warm Milk Journal. I wish you peace and a restful night of sleep tonight.
Debra : )
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Ten things I am thankful for today: a gratitude journal entry
Published November 24, 2010 | 
Thinking of the many blessings in our life is a guaranteed feel-good activity. Keeping a gratitude journal helps us to focus on what we are thankful for on a more regular and consistent basis.
Today, this is what my gratitude list would look like:
I am thankful for:
- My fiance and our loving, peaceful, and beautiful life we have together.
- Having a few days off from work for this Thanksgiving holiday.
- My health
- My job
- My new friends I am making on Twitter. Connecting with these wonderful people is incredible.
- My writing- creating and reaching out to others is the best.
- My parents
- Both of my football teams are doing well (Oklahoma State and University of Oklahoma). I attended both schools.
- Fun plans to go out with the family for pizza tonight.
- My cat Mew who is just pure unconditional love.
Your turn-what are you grateful for today?
Note: a nice book that I have owned for many years to keep a gratitude journal is The Simple Abundance of Gratitude by Sarah Ban Breathnach. At the start of the book she has a list of 150 often overlooked blessings. There is plenty of room for each day of the year to write down what you are thankful for. I started mine back in 1998 and keep adding entries each year in the side margins or wherever I can find the space. It is fun to reflect back on the richness of my blessed life during its many varied stages and experiences.
Have a blessed day. I am thankful for all of you, dear Warm Milk Journal readers!
Debra : )
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Feeling thankful will lead to better sleep
Published October 5, 2010 | 
Getting into a state of gratitude is a great way to get out of ourselves a bit: shift away from our grievances, annoyances, the stresses of the day… and tap into something very special: the good things that are there, that have always been there, and that will always be there if we only choose to notice, acknowledge, and focus on them.
Tonight, I highly recommend that you enter this graceful state. Feel thankful for all that you have. You are truly blessed in many ways.
How is your journal writing going? A good practice is keeping up a gratitude journal. List down things in your life that you are thankful for.
Remember,
WHAT WE APPRECIATE APPRECIATES
My entry in my gratitude journal tonight would look something like this:
Dear God/ Universe, I am so very thankful for:
- My fiancee John who means the world to me. It is so incredible to have someone to love and who loves me!
- My children who never fail to inspire me, challenge me, and remind me that life is precious and that children bring out the best, worst, and the deepest recesses of our souls out into the open.. what a gift to live a life where we are responsible for something much bigger than ourselves.
- My job. I am a school teacher and I have the opportunity on a daily basis to teach and inspire my second graders. What a responsibility. What a sacred honor.
- My home. I live blocks away from a gorgeous Florida beach. I am surrounded by old oak trees and palm trees. The people in my neighborhood are warm, caring, friendly, and loving.
- My cats. If I need company, someone to take a nap with, cuddle, or just gaze at something truly adorable I have my cats, Patches and Mew.
Your turn….
By the way, if you get into this gracious state of feeling thankful for the blessings in your life, your benefits will include:
- Feeling happy
- Feeling loving and loved
- Feeling calm
- Feeling peace
- Feeling centered
- Enjoying your evening
- Looking forward to tomorrow
- Sleeping peacefully tonight.
Good night and sweet dreams to all.
Debra : )
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An entry for your gratitude journal tonight
Published September 12, 2010 | 
What are some things that you feel thankful for right now? With recent challenges I am having at work and with the recent 9/11 anniversary I find it very healing and helpful to think of my blessings and all that I have to be thankful for. Tonight in your journals before bed, write a few things that you feel thankful for now. Really feel that gratitude. I sometimes put my hand on my heart when I am doing this exercise. I may also pause from my writing from time to time and just close my eyes and reflect on my thanksgiving.
Tonight, my journal entry of gratitude would look something like this.
I am thankful for:
- The nice meal I just enjoyed with my family.
- Time to relax and enjoy a movie with my sweetie tonight as soon as I publish this post.
- My friends who are so supportive when I am feeling down.
- My cat, Mew, who inspires me and loves me no matter how grumpy I can get at times.
- New friends I am meeting online through The Warm Milk Journal and associated Twitter account.
Your turn….
P.S. If you like what you are reading when you visit the Warm Milk Journal please subscribe using the form to the right. I would like to thank my new friend, Caren Gittleman from Cat Chat who brought it to my attention that my email subscription form was not enabled and functioning. I am so sorry to any of you who have tried to subscribe and were unable to.
Well, you can now!
Sweet dreams,
Debra : )
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Sleep To Renew The Spirit
Published June 29, 2010 | A book that I have had on my bookshelf for a good many years is: The Science of Well Being by Wallace D. Wattles & Dr. Judith Powell
There is a small section in this book that addresses the importance of sleep for our well being.
Some guiding principles:
- It is in sleep that your brain is recharged with vital energy
- Our breathing is much deeper when we are sleeping
- It is therefore important to keep the air in the bedroom well ventilated: keep a door or window open to keep air circulating.
- Our mental attitude is important: go to sleep with pure cheerful thoughts as you are nodding off..
- Read something spiritual or uplifting before going to sleep
- Exercise gratitude: write in your gratitude journal, say a prayer of thanks
- Meditate
- If you have insomnia, do not let it worry you. While you lie there awake, picture yourself healthy and feel thankful for all of the abundance in your life.
Many of these ideas I have written about previously in The Warm Milk Journal. Repetition is key to our learning. It is good to hear similar ideas repeated from different sources of wisdom.
Sweet dreams!
Debra : )
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Some journal work for tonight…. recalling and focusing on the good from today
Published June 25, 2010 | When you are in your quiet, getting ready for bed space, get out your journal, place it on your lap, close your eyes and just breathe for a few minutes…..
Then open your eyes, open your journal, and write about all of the good you saw, heard, smelled, tasted, and experienced today.
If you think you had a terrible day and there isn’t anything possibly good that you can write down, think again…are you alive and breathing? Did you eat?
We can always think of something to feel thankful for.
Go to sleep being mindful of all of your blessings and abundance in your life.
Debra : )
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What are you thankful for?
Published June 14, 2010 | It is so important to focus on the things we appreciate about our lives rather than the things that we are not happy about.
This may take some training and time especially during those times that we are really stressed out and feel like nothing is working out for us. So even if you had a really crummy day today, what are you thankful for? You are breathing, are you not? You have the gift of life. That is incredibly awesome. Do you have a roof over your head? Food in your pantry and refrigerator?
You get the idea. No matter how miserable and victimized we may think we are, we can always think of something to be thankful for. Getting in the habit of a gracious, thankful mindset will have profound positive consequences in your life.
Remember: what we appreciate appreciates!
Get out your journal tonight and write down as many things as you can think of that you feel thankful for.
Sweet dreams.
Debra : )
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Journal Writing: the benefits of keeping different kinds of journals
Published May 9, 2010 | The benefits of journal writing are many. The ways to use journal vary. Here are some ideas.
The Recording Journal: This kind of journal is where you chronicle your daily life. I kept this kind of “dear diary” journal most of my life (starting at about age 10). It is really interesting to look back on some of these journals you wrote as a younger version of yourself. You may find that some things don’t change much and you are still anguishing over the same issues you did as a teenager (finding the right mate, your weight, etc.) You may also see all of the growth that life experience has given you. That is most satisfying. You may find patterns from your life that can give you some kind of insight for your present life. I look back on many of my journals and just feel thankful for the rich life I have had thus far.
The Travel Journal: This is a kind of recording journal but warrants a special book of its own. There is something truly expansive and wondrous about adventure and visiting new places. Your senses come to life as you take in these new experiences. You are taking photos most likely with your camera- so why not record your experiences in writing as well? It will be a wonderful souvenir of your journeys years from now.
The Gratitude Journal: We mention this kind of journal quite a bit here at The Warm Milk Journal. What we appreciate appreciates. It is hard to stay in a negative state of mind if we are focused on the many things we are blessed with in our life. On a daily basis write down things you are thankful for. I started doing this many years ago on my own and also with the guidance of Sarah Ban Breathnach’s The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude (which is never too far from my bedside) . Giving thanks is a wonderful habit and practice to get into.
The Worry Journal: This is another kind journal that comes up a bit here at The Warm Milk Journal. Many of us are losing sleep at night because our minds just won’t shut off the worries. The idea here is to give our minds a place and time to get all the worries out. List the worries. Then perhaps next to each worry write down a solution for it. This can then get us out of that hopeless feeling state. If our minds go back to worrying, gently remind ourselves that we had our “worry time” for now. We can also remind ourselves in this journal that 99% of what we worry about doesn’t happen. We can also play out the “worst case scenario”: if what we are worrying about really happened, then what? Write it out. Would it really be as bad as our fearful minds have imagined it? On the top of each page of our worry journals we can write: This Too Shall Pass . Whatever is going on in our lives (good or bad) will pass. Life is dynamic. Is does not stand still. That idea alone has given me much comfort.
The Ideas Journal: You never know when you are going to get inspired and have a terrific idea. It is always a good idea to have a little notebook at hand to write down your ideas. I am using some notebooks I have kept to develop some business ideas. Some of these ideas are quite good and they would have been lost if I had not jotted them down.
The Spiritual Journal: inspirational quotes, affirmations etc. I believe that journal writing helps us connect to our higher power. I often feel the closest to God when I take some quiet alone time with my journal and write. I sometimes write to God or the universe and ask for guidance. Our intuition and inner voice really comes out with this practice.
The Creative Journal: poetry, doodling, stories, anything fun, wacky. No censoring here. Just let your creative and playful spirit come out. This is a really fun kind of journalling experience. To get inspired, check out any of Sark’s books.
The Dream Journal: This can be fun. Have a journal by your bedside and when you first wake up, write down any dreams that you remember. Our dream world is pretty fascinating. Many common recurring dreams that we have have been interpreted and it is interesting. There are may books on dreams. One good one I currently have is the second edition of The Dream Encyclopedia by James R Lewis and Evelyn Dorothy Oliver.
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