JANICE CHRYSLER: Let us just take a moment and think about how we start our day. Is it with a grateful heart or one of worry and despair? We all say we should be thankful but within our hearts do we truly feel it? It can be difficult to cut through all the negative energy around us brought to us from others and events beyond our control.

By reminding ourselves of all the many blessings in our lives we are able to cast off these negative feelings and remove them from our aura and in turn prevent them from developing into physical and/or emotional disease.

Expressing thanks brings with it an instant lift to our soul as it is difficult to be in a state of gratitude and remorse at the same time. We have the choice each day to celebrate the miracles life has to offer or to fill our being with regrets, remorse and grievances. Why would we choose the negative feelings when we have within ourselves the ability to observe and feel the positive emotions available to us? This is not to say that we will never feel sad or lonely again, but knowing that our soul is centred and focused on positive intent will allow us to heal emotionally, physically and spiritually.

We usually wait until some painful experience forces us to look for a form of emotional healing; it could be a physical complication, a relationship we are questioning or a yearning to discover our purpose. The starting point to mend all emotional and spiritual pain it to simply think of a least one thing we can be grateful for at this moment in our life - just one thing!

Next we need to take a good look around us and find a few more things to be thankful for, being sure to stop any negative 'buts' or 'ifs' from entering our thought patters; thoughts such as, "That was okay, but if such and such had, have or had not happened I would have been even more thankful."

Many years ago I heard Red Skelton then a very elderly man (dating myself here) on a talk show. He was asked if there was anything he did that helped make him so positive? He replied that everyday he made a point of trying or learning something new and being thankful for the opportunity to do so. Then, at the end of that day he would be sure to make a list of at least five good things that he experienced. That has always stuck with me and I figured it was pretty good advice.

We need to challenge ourselves daily by trying new adventures even if it is simply driving a different way to the store or work, speaking more than a hello to the grocery clerk, finding out the name of the person who serves you coffee or deciding to give love to everyone you meet by way of a smile or a kind word.

Soon we will feel our soul soar with thankfulness as we draw more and more positive energy into our lives. Soon gratefulness will come without thought, but rather become a part of our being. A heart singing praises will not have room for any negative feelings, at least not for long.

Taking time to be grateful opens us up to be ready to receive the wonderful things the Universe has to offer us. The more grateful we are the more will come our way, after all, why would we be sent more wonderful things if we are not acknowledging what we already have? The Universe may feel we are not ready for anything more.

We can train our minds not to become obsessed with regret or worry but to be in the here and now. We can choose not to judge our lives from moment to moment but simply to live our life.