With Thanksgiving coming up, and all the other holidays that follow, I find myself experiencing an overwhelming amount of gratitude. I used to despise the holidays - perhaps it was being in an unhappy relationship, taking my family for granted, and allowing all of the outward stresses to consume me. 

Ever since I started practicing gratitude, I have seen all the pieces of my life sort of fall into place. It helped me develop a sense of self love, which in turn made it easy for me to ditch that miserable relationship, communicate better with my loved ones and appreciate all the wonderful things in my life. Now I look forward to the holidays and the chance to come together with friends and family and celebrate each other.

I now practice gratitude each and every day. It started with a journaling experience where I wrote down 10 things I was grateful for every morning for 28 days. (Anyone know which book I was reading at the time?) Forcing yourself to come up with 280 things that you are grateful for is totally transformative for your mind - you find yourself being appreciative of everything you have in life like your hands and feet, your kindergarten teachers, your dishwasher, finding a good parking spot, etc, etc.

With this change in mindset, you start treating yourself better. You start treating others better. Your existing relationships flourish while you create new ones. The decrease in stress allows for better sleep and higher energy levels, and life becomes something you want to live, not just endure. Who knew such a simple task could lead to a holistic, spiritual awakening?

Okay, I’m done preaching. But what I’m here to tell you is that there are more ways than one to get started (or to continue) practicing gratitude. Did you know that essential oils can induce feelings of thankfulness and love? Along with anti anxiety and energizing effects, essential oils have been used for centuries to promote self-acceptance, balance the chakras, and to get through trauma. There are quite a few oils that can be used to clear the negative clutter from your mind and make room for gratitude!

These are a few of our favorite combinations:

You can start with a 50/50 blend and adjust to your liking

frankincense and myrrh

bergamot and peppermint

lemon and lavender

patchouli and clary sage

vetiver and juniper berry

To use these blends, you can put 10 drops (total) into a 10ml roller bottle and fill the rest with carrier oil, and roll over your chest, back of the neck, insides of wrists and bottoms of feet.

You can diffuse these blends also. Start by adding 8 drops (total) to your diffuser and add more as needed.

Follow this recipe for a room/linen/body spray:

Add 40 drops of oil (total) to a 2oz spray bottle. Add 2 tsp of alcohol or witch hazel and fill to the top with water. Shake before using and spray throughout your home or in the car, or use as a body mist.

Now that you’ve got your oils, here are some ideas for how to incorporate gratitude practices into your day:

• Use/apply your oil blend first thing in the morning before getting out of bed, and either jot down some things you are grateful for or focus on them in your mind

• Diffuse or spray your blend in the car on the way to work or while running errands, and be mindful of all the things you have to be thankful for that are allowing you to get to where you are going (I am thankful for my car, the money in my wallet, the clear weather, the light traffic, etc)

• Diffuse or spray your blend in your home when you have guests over to promote compassion, empathy and communication

• Use your blend right before bed while thinking of things that happened throughout your day that you are grateful for. It might also help to write it down or talk about it with your kids or your partner before dozing off to sleep

It is always helpful to have a physical reminder to practice gratitude. It can feel difficult to find time in our busy lives to spend on this practice, but trust me - if our minds can find time to worry and complain then we can replace those thoughts with something else! You may want to keep your new blend somewhere in plain sight, like on the night stand, in the cup holder of your car, or on the bathroom counter to be sure that you work it into your everyday routine.

What are you thankful for? Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list for other blog posts like this one!