Gratitude: The Simple Practice That Can Transform Everything

This episode all about gratitude dives into a deeper look at gratitude, how it can be applied to the crazy things going on this November, and important tips to find gratitude no matter the situation.  This is one of our fave episodes!  We hope you enjoy!

You can find Jaclyn @ www.jaclynkaminskibodyandsoul.com
Follow me on Instagram or Facebook @jaclynkaminskibodyandsoul

You can find Ashlie @ www.ashlieallen.com
Follow me on TikTok @inspiredashlie or Instagram @ashliealleninspired

Transcript

0:04

Welcome to Soul Talk for the Seekers podcast and channel. I'm Ashley Allen. And I'm Jacqueline Kaminsky. We're two intuitive soul sisters joined by synchronicity and spirit here to dig in. We want to invite you along on our journey where anything may come up, but if you consider yourself a seeker, you're in the right place.

Ashlie: 0:31

Hello, and welcome back to soul talk for the seekers. Jack and I are super excited today because we are going to talk all about gratitude, which we thought would be the perfect topic with Thanksgiving being right around the corner. And especially let's be real with everything going on right now in the world. What a great time to take a moment and look at what gratitude really looks and feels like for everybody.

Jaclyn: 0:58

I love this and I'm so excited and I love to, to get your perspective and my perspective and see if they're even the same perspectives on gratitude. I

Ashlie: 1:07

know. I think it'll be interesting.

Jaclyn: 1:09

I do too.

Ashlie: 1:11

We haven't actually, which is, which is super interesting. So I mean, let's see her. I can. Okay. All right. Well, let's, let's go and just see where they, where they crossed. Okay. Um, when I think about it. I it's actually, it's a, it's a couple of things for me and I'll give an example. So last night I just gotten home from being at a town. I've been gone for a couple of days, miss my family crazy. And I was laying down and I had, um, my, my baby baby was sleeping in his crib, of course, but I had my two oldest one on each side of me, just hugging me and they both fell asleep like that. And I. The, the normal part of me would have been like, Oh, I got to get them in, in there, get them in their beds. I got to get them, you know, ready to go. And I was sitting there and I just went, no, like I want to be present in this moment and really feel the gratitude of everything happening right now for me. And I looked around the room and it's pitch black. We're all, we're in bed. Right. And I'm just paying attention to holding my babies and my husband next to me. And then I just had this huge reflection of, wow, I'm, I'm in this space that I get to live in. I. I'm in this, you know, in, I have this job that I love. I'm in this, uh, you know, this, this thing that I'm doing with you, Jack. I mean, I, I just sat there and I had this sort of total recollection of everything that just gets me excited. And, and I just took this deep breath of like, Oh, thank you. Like, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And so when I think of gratitude, it's a, it's an experience for me where I try to really just think into my moment and feel all the feels. And then there's a secondary part for me where I'm like, all right, this, and then everything else that's happening for me that I might not be aware of, or that's coming, or that, you know, has happened that I'm not thinking about, but it's like this all encompassing, like, I get to be feeling like this right.

Jaclyn: 3:32

I love that so, so much. And that story really warms my heart of like you laying with your two because I. Loved that when that was my experience and my kids turn 18 this week. And I'm

Ashlie: 3:44

like, Oh

Jaclyn: 3:45

my God. And listen, I am so grateful for the relationship I have with them now, but it's like, really? And so like, that is such a thing to me too, because gratitude to me is so much of like being fully present. Um, because it really does like to me it's like it pulls us out of like the what ifs or like I can't believe this just happened or right like and it just gets to expand right like everything that's showing up and showing the abundance that's been here all along and that just continues to always flow into us. Um, So it's funny because and I and I really do look at gratitude from like different places and how like it really is a practice right like now I get to just have so much gratitude in the moments, but it did not start that way for me right like it was, it's, it was a practice like it became a practice that then turned into a way of being in a way of living. Um, really, and It, it, it was like more of a, it's honestly, it was a way of like seeing the world and really it's, it, it is, it's been a way of seeing a way of being in a way of healing for me, um, gratitude. So I am super excited to talk all things gratitude today because I do, um, I love that we get to feel gratitude, even in the lifey shitty moments. Because there's something really friggin beautiful, even in those moments.

Ashlie: 5:30

I

Ashlie (2): 5:30

totally, totally agree.

Jaclyn: 5:32

And they might even be some of the most beautiful. expansive things, even though we may, right, like not see it right in that second. Um, but it really has, at least for me, it has, they always have been like, oh, so yeah.

Ashlie: 5:49

Totally. I totally agree. I mean, it's funny because about an hour after I'm like in this moment, just soaking it up, I can feel my son starting to like, Burn up and I'm like, Oh no. And then he starts coughing. And I'm like, are you getting sick? So, so it is, it's funny. It's like, I was in that and thank God I was in this like gratitude space because then we had about an hour and a half to two hours of him just being up crying because he couldn't stop coughing. So it's like the timing of it was really good because it helped me to not, to not be like, Oh, I'm not sleeping. Oh, he doesn't feel good. Oh, this is such a problem. Like I wasn't in that space at all because. Right before that I was just soaking up the cuddles and so I could even approach him getting sick, you know, starting to cough and whatnot differently because Beforehand, I was doing something that was in so much appreciation of this little dude, you know,

Jaclyn: 6:45

oh my God. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I like to, um, it's funny because I like I know a lot of people are like, I actually implemented this at work, by the way, like finding gratitude and everything. And I, we start our meetings at work, like, what are you grateful for? And it's funny, because some people like are like, Oh, and I'm like, you can find Find and so this is something like even just as we start like with everyone like I invite everybody just to close their eyes for a second take a breath and then I want you to open your eyes back up and just look where you are and just find one thing in this moment that you get to be grateful for that you get to see gratitude in and maybe it is like the smell of your coffee and maybe it is the fact that like The sun is shining or that you have a nice blanket on you or that you even are just like have the time to be able to listen to this podcast right it could be anything just find that one thing because it's always there.

Ashlie: 7:47

Totally agree and you know something that I was thinking about too, especially with the timing of this podcast. So. We're in November. We're right before Thanksgiving, but this isn't just any November. There's several things happening right now. We're entering this age of Aquarius. We're in this political, there's just like political air, you know, we've got things going on. From a, um, from a status standpoint when it comes to Hollywood and celebrity and what does it mean to be one and, and, and what the, what weight does that carry? There's like, I feel like there's this upheaval Occurring right now in just the way that everything that we've known is being perceived and, um, and, and the way it's being taken and inwardly. And then on top of that, we have these, you know, um, these congressional hearings that were all about sightings of, um, what are they calling them? They're not calling them UFOs. They're calling them, um, You something else. I'm this is escaping me right now, but essentially acknowledging that there's, you know, aliens in our ocean and all of this stuff. And so there's some wild shit being talked about on the news.

Jaclyn: 8:56

Are you taking me a completely different path right now?

Ashlie: 8:59

No,

Jaclyn: 9:00

I'm not. I'm not. I'm actually So much to say

Ashlie: 9:02

on all of that. So I so I have a lot to say about all of that too. But I think what I've noticed is there's been this like this I felt this almost immersion of additional fear that's been sort of showing up because it's like, everything's getting upended. What do I need to like, do I need to be a prepper now or do I, what do I need to get ready for? Like, am I getting ready for world war three? Am I getting ready for, and I don't even like speaking any of that. What I want to say is this is such an important time to sit with the gratitude and be in the presence of everything around us because at the end of the day. This is the moment to remember we create our own reality. This is it. And if we're starting from a place of gratitude, that can take any of these little inklings or moments of fear that anybody may be feeling, whether we're talking about any one of these things I just mentioned, and you can completely shift what it means to you. And, or if it even hold weight for you, right? Like, does it even hold weight? Does it, does it get the right to hold weight for you?

Jaclyn: 10:10

Yeah, oh my god, so much so. And I really like to think of this too, because it is, it's, it is a rewiring of your mind.

Ashlie: 10:19

Yes,

Jaclyn: 10:19

yes, totally. So like, it really, it's, it is, it shifts how your brain works, right? So like, it actually shifts how your brain works. Plus your energy, but like, let's just, we can even go into like the rewiring of your mind because you're right. Your brain releases the serotonin and the dopamine, right. Our happy chemicals that really is responsible for regulating our mood, our motivation, like just our, right. Like our wellbeing, but, um, when we can practice gratitude, even in like the smallest, simplest ways. We are going to rewire our brain to focus on what's good instead of what's missing, what's wrong, right? The fear, all of that. So, and your brain really is, I like to think of it like a sponge because it soaks up what you give the most attention to. So if you're going to continue to put all of those negative thoughts out there, Guess what? Your brain is going to get so good at finding and replaying every single one of those negative thoughts out there. And right. Like, so everything that you just said, guess what? That's all you're going to see, but you can intentionally shift that focus to gratitude and flip that switch. You really are going to teach your brain to look for the good. And that becomes your default setting versus the one that you could be living out of.

Ashlie: 11:45

So, you know, you know, right now.

Jaclyn: 11:49

I just want to say one other thing. The other real big thing is like, it doesn't have to be some big ass gratitude. It gets to be small because your brain doesn't know, um, the difference between like something really big or something small. So you can be thankful for like a warm cup of coffee, like a warm cup of coffee or like a life changing moment. But your brain doesn't know the difference and that little small one is just as big as that big one. And then you have all of those feel good chemicals and you get to, like, you're, you're building your neural pathways to be stronger and become positive and see all of those things, not to mention your energy fields and you, Right. The more gratitude that we sit in, the more gratitude and like all of the goodness that comes back to us. So go ahead. I just said a whole mouthful and a lot of shit. Go ahead.

Ashlie: 12:37

No, but I love, like, I think what you're saying is so important though, because the, the rewiring and I think that That has to be an intentional action that you take. Oh God. It just has to be. Um, and I'm going to, I want to give another specific example because I'm not, I'm not above this. Like, I literally ran into this last night. I, last night. So I had this moment of gratitude and then everybody fell asleep and I'm like, Oh, I'm still awake. I'm not tired. What am I going to do? I get on my phone and then I start reading stuff on my phone and I go down the rabbit hole. Cause I, I'm a researcher at heart and that can be a blessing, but it can also put me into, it can escalate me into states of fear unnecessarily, completely unnecessary. The good news is because I know better, I can see when it's happening. And I can go actually know like I'm going to return back to that state where I'm so protected, so full of gratitude and so good. So when I go to sleep tonight, I'm going to sleep choosing. My field, like choosing my fields. And so I did have to do that last night though, because I was watching shit about, you know, watching shit about, Oh, they're UAPs. That's what they're called. And like in the ocean and this and that, and like reading, like reading some of the disclosure. I just love, I just think it's so interesting to learn. And so I love, I like, I'm like, Ooh, what's happening? Like, I don't know. And I don't necessarily. It's more like to take it in and then just like, Oh, cool. But I had to actively rewire my own thoughts tied to some of that because, because I was trying to go to sleep. Let's be real. Like, is that, is it easy to go to sleep when you're thinking about a bunch of shit you hadn't really thought about? No, it makes it hard to fall asleep. So, so whether you're an, I, and I, and I hope that some of you, I hope somebody listening to this resonates like I've also gone down the peanutty rabbit hole. I've got, I've gone, I go down these rabbit holes where I can research just because of the fascination. And, and so when you go, if you have gone down any of these rabbit holes of the upheaval of celebrity, that the things happening in our world, any of it, the election, all of it. Take this, what you're hearing right now is your opportunity and your permission slip. To return to a place of this gratitude and of like, Ooh, no, I'm taking back my piece again. And I'm taking back and choosing the world that I'm creating. And I, I think that this a moment in time for anyone who is, um, focused on their spiritual well being and their, um, And, and the, I, I, I don't know, I, I, I, the word awakeness comes to mind, but I don't know if that's the word, cause I'm not talking about wokeness. There's a difference here. Let's be clear. Um, it's, it's that state of spiritual awaken, awakeness and where you are seeking higher consciousness. And I think if you're listening to this podcast in general, you're probably somewhat interested in higher consciousness or you wouldn't be listening to this podcast. And I, and I, and I think that this moment in these, these like these bubbles of fear you can get yourself caught in. Opportunities for us to go, no, I'm choosing, I'm choosing the path to higher consciousness. And that's not actually what that looks like. Like this is an opportunity for all of us to really choose that intentionally.

Jaclyn: 16:05

I love that. I do. I love that so much. Yeah, I think that, um, gratitude really is just so powerful in so many ways and, um. I do like I want to just go back to for a second like when we really are in like, because I know that people are like, right, even in. And you know what I'm gonna use an example I'm gonna use my father's death as an example here, like in the, in the darkness right when you were in your shit you're like, I'm sorry how was there, how can I find gratitude in here. Um, because that's something that I feel like comes up so often. And I want to say that you can always find gratitude even in the darkest of darkest of darkest times. Um,

Ashlie: 17:02

totally.

Jaclyn: 17:02

And even if it's like, right, like, yes, right. Like maybe you just had a loved one pass and that's awful,

Jaclyn (2): 17:10

awful, awful, awful. And

Jaclyn: 17:13

how lucky were you to have that person in your life? And how lucky were you to like, be able to write, love someone so much because you wouldn't. Right? Like, if you're feeling deep grief, the reason you're feeling deep grief is because there's deep love.

Ashlie: 17:28

Oh my god, you were reading my mind. That's literally what I was just thinking. I was like, oh, I associate deep grief with just deep love. Like, oof.

Jaclyn: 17:36

So, it's like, there's always, like, even, and I mean, like, even in the darkest of shit. There's something there. And it's like, can we pull back, expand back and be like, what's here? Cause there's always something beautiful in every moment. Always, no matter what.

Ashlie: 17:57

You know, something else that comes to mind with the deep grief piece of it too, I always, I think of like, along with the big love is it's like, it's this cool acknowledgement and moment where you can go, wow, no, that's a place where I had more love to give. And then, and then it's like, okay, so if I had this love. That I wanted to continue to give, where can I redirect that love that I had to give into something new and like breathe new life into something with that love that, that I had to give that, you know, that, that overage of love that I had to give, because that's also a debrief is that big love looks like too. So how can you re infuse new life into, into something to, to, to put that energy into something new?

Jaclyn (2): 18:42

Hmm. Yeah, totally. I really love that.

Ashlie: 18:48

And I think grief too. Speaking of that, like, it's not just, that's not just losing somebody. Like there can be grief tied, like there, you could be feeling grief tied to, I mean, A lot of, a lot of things. I mean, any of these things we're talking about that we've, that we've even brought up today, you could be feeling grief tied to, I probably felt grief when I found out Santa wasn't real. I mean, let's be real. I've got my, my sick babes next to me and he wants another peanut butter cupcake.

Jaclyn: 19:22

Um, yeah, by all means, go for that. Um, yeah, I, so I wanted to say that and the only other thing that I wanted to mention, because before we do that, I wanted to find some, I wanted to share some like ways, um, that you guys can. Like some practices, right? For like, if you're struggling with the gratitude, like that maybe can help. But before we go, the thing that I do absolutely love is, um, and this is like really helped me so much is the gratitude that I have for my soul choosing my body, choosing my human experience and like, choosing to be here, right. Living on earth, living this human experience. Like I have so much fucking gratitude for that. And for the fact that like the universe gets to co create with me at all times. And for the fact that like, I remember, like I fucking remember, I am not walking around Right, like with my, right, like, you know, with my eyes closed, like so many are, like, I'm grateful that I woke up. And that, like, there's so much gratitude in that for me, um, that I deeply feel every single day. Like, I know I am the co creator of my life. It is not that, um, I feel powerless. Like, I, I hold the power. And that is, whew, I love it. So yeah, I just wanted to mention that also. That's like such a deep thing for me.

Ashlie: 20:58

I totally agree with you and I'm in the same place. So even when I'm like really feeling shitty about something, like the cool thing about feeling shitty about something like, Ooh, the cool thing is like, Oh wow. Like there's something in that for me, there's something that I, and that I might not be able to see. And I love. I love it. That no matter how shitty something could feel to me that I, I can let myself feel shitty, but then step away from it and go, Ooh, but there's something in that. Like there is, and I, and I can't wait till I find out what it is. I cannot wait until I find out.

Jaclyn: 21:32

Oh, I love those. I agree. And it's so funny to say that, but it's true. It's like, Oh, what is going to be on the other side of this? And I have gratitude for it. I'm like, I,

Ashlie (2): 21:42

how

Jaclyn: 21:42

lucky am I? So yeah, um, but I definitely think we can give everybody some just right like some for those who write okay like okay well how do I actually implement this in my life. Um, and some are probably super easy and others so it's like take what resonates as always and then leave what doesn't. But you want to

Ashlie: 22:04

start. Go ahead. Go start.

Jaclyn: 22:06

Okay. So one of the ones that I used to do, I actually like to do this too, when I'm feeling like stressed, overwhelmed. And I like share this too, like when people have anxiety, stuff like that, like just to bring gratitude for the moment is like bringing like the five senses into the gratitude. Cause it, it's going to pull you out of like the too much thinking and help you really anchor into like your present moment. But I'll do like, what do I see that I am grateful for? And maybe it's like. This, the clouds in the sky, like I am obsessed with clouds and I am so grateful when I get to see a cloud. And then it's like, what do I hear? And maybe it is like, I hear nothing. And you know what? I'm grateful. Sometimes. For silence and like, what do I smell? And like, I always have candles or I always have something like I will find a smell that I am grateful for. And then what do I feel? And maybe it's like, just like the leggings on my legs and how soft they feel that day. What do I taste? And maybe like, I'll go and take like a sip of like water and it's like, Ooh, like how that feels and how it tastes in my body, or you'll get my gist. And I like to do that. That really does. It just like anchors me into the present moment, but it also really, really brings and hones in on that gratitude. And it's super simple and takes one second and pulls you out of that stressed, overwhelmed, too much thinking anxiety of everyday life.

Ashlie: 23:38

Oh, totally. I love that.

Jaclyn: 23:42

Um, I don't know if you want to share one or because I could go on and on with tons because I like I said, I this was a practice that I had to really work on when I originally and I didn't even realize how much I had to really work with gratitude, but I have, um, actually, that like that's it. I think we kind of mentioned that one. But that brings me to like, when I'm really angry or resentful, or have like, because that's like, If you know me, you know, my fire brings lots of, um, anger, which is something that I've really worked on, which I can share all about in another episode. But, um, I know that anger really can feel all consuming, but what I love about gratitude is it can help you zoom out to see the bigger picture. So, and I think we've kind of talked about that, but when I get angry, Or really insert anything so maybe mine happens to be anger, but it's like everybody else's it's like, what is this moment teaching me, or what is one thing I can appreciate about this situation, even if it's hard. Right. And that goes to like maybe, um, you know how you always have your saying like, Right. Thank you for the opportunity to manage this abundance. Maybe that's it. But like, oh my God.

Ashlie: 25:12

Yes. Do you know what I love that you So, okay. No, but no, I love what you say that because you know, that's my quote. Like, you know, that's my thing That's my and so it's literally like that was what my thing was gonna be next is like that's That's what takes me into gratitude when i'm not feeling it is that quote Right. I'm

Jaclyn: 25:31

sorry. I didn't mean to steal it from her. I was just like, No,

Ashlie: 25:36

no, I'm just, I'm happy that like, I'm just so happy you bring it up because literally that, that's my, that's my forever posted on my computer. It just is,

Jaclyn: 25:46

I know

Ashlie: 25:49

it just is. And it always changes my point of view when I am in a shit ass mood. It just does. Yeah. Um, and, and the, can I also, this is going to be funny to any. To any parent and, and honestly, anybody who's ever changed a diaper. Okay. Yeah, you can put that in a trash. If you knew what I was doing right now is I'm watching my son throw his pull up in the trash because guess who just, you

Ashlie (2): 26:15

need another one. Okay. Let's get some underwear.

Ashlie: 26:17

Um, we're getting underwear because okay. Let's yeah. We'll get some underwear for you. So this is my biggest moment of gratitude as a mom right now, because We can put the pulp in the trash because he just started pooping on the toilet yesterday. That's huge. I know for you guys. I know.

Jaclyn: 26:41

Oh my God.

Ashlie: 26:43

I know. So like literally while you were talking, Jack, he's doing, he's, he's going to be mad at me later in life for having us on record. That's

Jaclyn: 26:54

what he was doing. Oh, I love that so, so much.

Ashlie: 26:58

Like that's my gratitude right there is my little boy is. He's growing up and, um, and he's proud of himself right now. I don't know if there's nothing better.

Jaclyn: 27:08

Oh, there really is. And I love that. Um, that's so good. Yeah, and just a few others is like more just like a morning gratitude check in like you can name three things you're grateful for or even before you go to sleep, like just reflect on even if it's just one moment or one micro right like maybe you can't see the big go to the micro moments. And like, just be like, Oh, it brought me so much joy. It brought me so much happiness and like, feel that. And then the other thing that I love to do, and this could be really fun for the start of the new year, and I actually think I might do this. Um, writing just like one thing you're really thankful for each day and placing it in a jar and at the end of the year going back and like, how amazing is that to go back and look at all the things you're grateful for, like you want to talk about like massive gratitude expansion. That bitch is it.

Ashlie: 28:08

I, I love that. And I also, I think that's a great family activity too. Like what a great thing that you could do as a family, whatever your family looks like, like, what a cool thing. And even if you don't want to do it for a whole year, what if like, if you've got family coming in town next week, or if you're going out of town next week, or if you're listening to this, the week of Thanksgiving, what, what can you do even just for a week? Yeah. To do that as a family or as a, in the community that you're in, whatever that, whatever that looks like.

Jaclyn: 28:38

Totally. Yeah. We used to do that when my kids were younger, we used to go around and be like, what was one thing you were grateful for today? Um,

Ashlie: 28:47

it's actually what I do with my kids every night before bed. We do our prayers and they know that after their prayers, it's okay. What are you great? We say, what are you grateful for? And then, and then what do you love? Like we do both and I find cause I find it super important to raise your vibration before you go to bed.

Jaclyn: 29:06

Oh yeah.

Ashlie: 29:08

And gratitude is one of the single simplest way to raise your vibration. So doing even like you just said before you go to bed will raise your vibration going into sleep and a higher vibration going into sleep will mean better sleep.

Jaclyn: 29:25

Oh yeah, so much. And I do, I do love, um, right, because gratitude is the highest vibration aside from authenticity, right? Like being your authentic self. But it is, it ends, right? Like that's how when we, right, are living from gratitude, abundance and miracles and everything just flows and it just gets to be easy.

Ashlie: 29:49

Totally.

Jaclyn: 29:50

Yeah. Um, oh, I just love it.

Ashlie: 29:54

So maybe to close, we, you know, if you're listening to this right now, what's one way, and it can be any of these tips, it could be writing down the quote, it could be at the end of the day, it could be the, um, exercises that Jack, you know, brought in with the presence. And there's so many ways to exercise this,

Ashlie (2): 30:14

but what can you do to pull into gratitude once today or to do it right now, and with the gift of instantly raising. Your vibration, like what a, what a better way to. Move through the remainder of the day.

Jaclyn: 30:28

Let me just say this, and if you can't find anything, like, maybe it's just the fact that you're here breathing, showing up for yourself. Like, that alone is the perfect Um, and I think that's the most important thing to be grateful for. And knowing gratitude doesn't have to be perfect. It just gets to be honest.

Ashlie: 30:45

Yeah. Honesty. Is the best way to approach it. Sometimes.

Jaclyn: 30:50

Right. You don't need to. Nope. It just has to be honest. Like it just gets to be honest. Like, Oh, wow. I am so grateful that I'm like, just sitting here breathing. Right. Or I'm just sitting here. Like I am just here in this moment. I am grateful as hell for that. So it's like even, um, you know, just softening into starting small one moment, one thought, one breath. Cause that's really all it takes to shift your energy, open more doors and be you. Really grateful and rewire those right like neuro pathways. Um, so I would say as we close, Ashley and I are grateful for all of you guys. So much gratitude. For taking the time for yourselves. Number one, grateful that you are even listening. Grateful. Um, if you would share this, if you would show some love and I would love if you shared with us, like what gratitude practices you guys have, cause they always, um, are just so beautiful and I'd love to hear what everyone else does. And yeah, if this, you know, episode sparked anything, please share and give us a review because it really does mean the world to us. Until next time, uh, we will talk to you soon.

32:22

Thanks for hanging out with us. If you want to hang some more, you can follow us at Ashley Allen Inspired and Jacqueline Kaminsky Body and Soul. Until next time, keep seeking.