Active Appreciation

Active Appreciation: A Portal to Gratitude

Someone wise once said, “If you think you’re enlightened, spend a weekend with your family.” 

As the bustle and rustle of the holidays are upon us, as Mercury is in retrograde, inviting us to slow it down and take another look, we will be given many opportunities to return ourselves to the loving Presence of our true nature. 

In the midst of a funk, it can feel nearly impossible to remember your authentic power, which holds the peace and neutrality we all need these days. The confusion of self-doubt, frustration, or a tiny little trigger can cloud the brilliance of your soul. 

What if the key to returning yourself to your true loving nature wasn’t about pushing harder, fixing yourself, or chasing something external? What if the way to get there was easier than you thought — soft, subtle, and instantly accessible? Like a portal.

What if that portal was through Appreciation?

As a Spiritual Psychology Life Coach, I’ve seen time and time again how simple energetic shifts create powerful ripple effects. One of the most effective — and immediate — ways to reconnect with your soul’s wisdom is through the vibration of gratitude. 

The challenge, however, is that it can be hard to just blink our eyes and twinkle our nose like Samantha the witch and transform the world into the way we want it. 

So I created this little practice to support myself – and you – in walking yourself home to your Presence. It’s a practice called  Active Appreciation.

Active Appreciation: Uplift Yourself in a Minute

Active Appreciation is a term I coined to describe a moment-by-moment, intentionally conscious practice of choosing appreciation as a way of shifting your emotional vibration.

Where gratitude is often linked with having overcome something or achieving a specific outcome, appreciation is available to us right now — in the present moment. It’s a gift we offer to life itself.

Every thought you think creates an emotional response. Moment by moment, you choose which thoughts to entertain — and your emotional state follows.

When we intentionally place our focus on what we can appreciate in the now moment, we elevate our frequency. We begin to resonate with the higher emotional states we all desire: joy, peace, love, and inspiration. These are the natural and inherent frequencies of the soul. These are the energies of our Higher Self.

In those higher vibrations, clarity emerges. New perspectives become visible. You feel lighter. More of your True self. More loving.

Soul Power Is Called In with Attention

Soul Power is authentic power. A power that is derived from an inside place. Our Soul Power holds within it all the derivatives of the yummy experiences we are all out looking for in the physical world. Experiences of Joy, Peace, Aliveness, Inspiration, Fulfillment, and Gratitude. 

Active Appreciation is a portal to gratitude.

When you’re upset, overwhelmed, or discouraged, it’s not easy to just jump over to feeling grateful. But Active Appreciation is a walk you can make. You start from where you are. You observe your surroundings and then, gently, slowly, you begin to notice things in your immediate environment that you can appreciate. For example:

• Light streaming through a window
• The support of the chair beneath you
• The air on your skin and the breath in your lungs
• A glass of clean water, easily accessible to you

These are invitations. They’re the opportunity to piece together the Truth that life is always supporting you, that a bigger divine plan is always unfolding and you have the power to return yourself to the power of your own Presence. 

The Power of a Practice

Here are the steps to practice Active Appreciation anytime you need a reset:

Active Appreciation Practice

1. Pause. Become aware of how you’re feeling in this moment.
2. Take a few breaths and bring your attention to the now.
3. Begin noticing your surroundings. What can you appreciate? Choose one element at a time.
4. Offer appreciation to it — mentally, emotionally, energetically. Let it be an act of giving.
5. Continue this for 5 minutes.
6. Notice how you feel now. Let the shift land.
7. Acknowledge yourself for choosing alignment.
8. Acknowledge yourself for the epic journey you make as a divine Being having a human experience.

This simple practice changes everything — because it changes you.

The Invitation

The next time gratitude feels impossible to access, when you’re stuck in frustration, overwhelmed by the holidays, or caught in self-doubt, remember that you don’t need to leap there in a single bound. 

Active Appreciation is the portal, meeting you exactly where you are and gently walking you home to the frequency of gratitude, one small observation at a time. One breath. One beam of light. One moment of noticing. This is how you return to your soul’s natural state of thankfulness and connection. 

Gratitude isn’t something you have to manufacture or force — it’s what naturally emerges when you remember the truth of your loving nature, which can be found in the opening to the present moment. And that remembering? It’s always just one conscious choice away.

TAKE ACTION: When you’re ready to move more fully into your own heart, Donna invites you to book a session on her calendar so together you can explore the landscape of your life and what’s calling for expansion in the year ahead. During a complimentary Soul Clarity Session, she helps you uncover what your soul is longing to transform, leaving you with insights, clarity, and a renewed connection to the wisdom already within you.