As I’ve mentioned to you before, there are many ways to relieve stress—and they are especially needed during the holidays! And this stress reliever is by far the simplest and least expensive. If you can trust in the power of it, you’ll find this one the most effective overall.

It is simply the act of learning to tune into your feelings—and the feeling we’ll explore is that of gratitude.

This sense or feeling of thankfulness is often in response to receiving a tangible gift or having something go really great in your life. Yet there is another way to create this feeling within you—it’s making the conscious choice to focus on your current blessings WITHOUT giving any energy or thought to problems or shortcomings.

By doing this, you can make the practice of gratitude a way of life so that every moment is filled with the consciousness of gratefulness, thankfulness and appreciation. From the tiniest flower you see… to your neighbor doing his or her best to live a fulfilled life… you can actually see all the good and FEEL that within you.

Even the burned turkey or the traffic jam can be something to laugh about when you master your thoughts and emotions in this way.

Researchers who study the science of thankfulness can now show definitively that when you participate in regular and deliberate appreciation, you improve almost every aspect of your physical and emotional health.

By having research participants keep gratitude journals and execute self-guided exercises, they slept better… exercised more… increased positive emotions… achieved personal goals quicker… and assisted others more often.

It’s almost like a gratitude movement is taking shape now. There has even been a special cruise called an “Ocean of Gratitude Cruise” featuring Masaru Emoto, M.D., who wrote the book, The Hidden Messages in Water.

Emoto showed that the vibrational frequency at the atomic level of all matter responds to love and gratitude to create the most beautiful water crystal formations. This “Ocean of Gratitude Cruise” and other global efforts to send love into the hearts of humanity will shift others around them to this frequency.

By learning to tune into your own feelings, you’ll see that there is generally more of a demand for peace, unity and acceptance among people.

So, during this holiday season, open yourself up to the healing emotions of thankfulness, gratefulness and appreciation, and enjoy and celebrate your time with family and friends. Your mental and physical health will be renewed and reenergized and ready to combat the every day stresses!