Praise is expressed appreciation
and commendation. It is applause, laudation, honor. All of creation responds to
praise. It is said even vegetation grows best for those who praise it; animal
trainers would never succeed without praise; children need approbation to
stimulate and inspire them. It is even necessary that we praise our own
ability. Through an inherent law of Mind, we increase whatever we praise.
Praise yourself from weakness to strength, from ignorance to intelligence, from
poverty into abundance! – Ernest Holmes 1926 Science of Mind
Praise yourself from life
struggles to prosperity for life. How does that work? I believe that
psychologists and philosophers could fill libraries with answers to that
question and never make it easier than a simple daily practice of praising what
we have and all that, which we may use.
When Jesus needed to feed the
multitudes, he did not say, Oh drat, how am I to feed all these people with a
few dried tilapia and some biscuits?” Instead, He blessed and praised what he
had and his disciples began distributing until all had sufficient and to spare.
Now, I have heard that this was a miracle in that the fish and bread became
enough for all; and I have also heard that it was customary for the people to
carry food with them in the same way we pack lunches for school, work, or
picnics. One way or another, when Jesus looked up and gave thanks, he set the
Law of Increase in motion.
Perhaps, if we must have a reason
why it works, we can simply decide that when we appreciate, we enjoy what we
see and sense in other ways, so we pay closer attention to our world and notice
more than we ever would with head bowed in complaint or discouragement. What I know
for sure is that when I am happy with my world, my people, what I have, and with
me then I find plenty to praise and it increases as I praise it.
By the way, praise is like faith
in that it requires action to make it work. Jesus broke the loaves and fishes
as affirmation of his thanksgiving for enough. Use and enjoy what you praise, remember,
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if you don’t use it, it’s going to rust.” This
means use your health, call forth creative ideas, and put them to work, keep
good company with family, friends, and community, and be sure to spend some of
that wealth on treating yourself to more of your own special good of life.
We live in a world that is so
beautiful that we can find that beauty in the midst of any scene when we look
to see it. Find a single morning glory or a butterfly, praise it, give thanks
for that small spark of beauty, and discover how the spark becomes a rich glow
that lights the dingiest places. Now see that light as it spreads to wherever
you go. You carry it with you with your prayerful praising attitude and you
become the catalyst and magnet of your own prosperity.
How wonderful life is in all of
its variety. How sure Life is in Its perfect Presence within every bit of that
variety. I trust in that sureness and praise its workings in my life. My
sureness draws my awareness to the magnificence of Presence in all things that
brings to me and brings me to all of the many things I require as I require
them. I praise the process and act with that sureness as I praise and prosper
now. And, so it is.
John
John Lusk
“First
you ask definitely for direction, then it will enter your consciousness as a
definite thought; then in your turn you give it back the thought and it will
give you back the thing. It answers every question, solves every problem; it is
the solution to every difficulty.” Ernest Holmes
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