The subconscious mind can do a real number on us. Humming just beneath the surface of things, it can haunt, taunt and tattle-tale on us in ways we don’t even realize. That is, until we calm it with a visualization exercise or meditation.

Yesterday a dear friend of mine did what she calls a feelingization with me around a issue I’ve been dealing with for several months. Within fifteen minutes she helped me morph my fears into love by suggesting I focus on a time when I felt deep gratitude. After bathing in the glow of that sensation for a moment, she had me move to a time when I felt deep love.  She allowed me then to name my fears, place them in a golden cup and illuminate them with light.

To me, gratitude is the stepping stone to love. You are awash with it when you give thanks for all that is good about your life. I would go far as to say gratitude is a life-sustaining component for a life well lived. When we focus on what is going right and on what we have, we move from the have-nots to the haves in an instant.

In fact, it really isn’t even about what you have that matters. What matters is what you think about what you have.

Consider a time when you were mad at someone. You tend to concentrate only on the incident — or the feelings that the incident brought up. But if you take a moment to look at the broader picture, you might shift your focus on all the good things that person has done. And the incident gets reduced to the size it deserves.

An attitude of gratitude brings us back to our center. And gratitude brings us love, which heals our fears like nothing else can. To move front and center into love we must remember that to have love we must give it.

Love can exist anywhere at any time.

Love starts with you.