John Randolph Price is the author of numerous bestselling books, including THE SUPERBEINGS, THE ABUNDANCE BOOK, THE ANGELS WITHIN US, and PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY. He is the board chairman of The Quartus Foundation, and with his wife Jan, he conducts workshops and intensive gatherings. In recognition of their work in initiating the Global Mind-Link and World Healing Day, the Prices were named the 1986 recipients of the “Light of God Expressing Award” by the Association of Unity Churches. John was also given the 1992 Humanitarian Award by the Arizona District of the International New Thought Alliance.
The common meaning of gratitude is to be thankful for benefits received. While this is important, I feel that the energy of gratitude is one of the most powerful attracting forces in the universe. A heart filled with thanksgiving, even when appearances tell us that we are mired in scarcity, conflict, and affliction, moves us to a higher frequency in consciousness—and we soon witness reality shining through the illusion.
To paraphrase what I’ve written in my book Empowerment, our desires are first fulfilled in consciousness, and then they come forth in the outer world as the ideal experience and form—so the secret is to be thankful while our good is still invisible. Gratitude releases a dynamic current of spiritual energy to go before us to exert a mighty influence in our world. It not only eliminates negative patterns in the subconscious caused by ingratitude, it also forms a connecting link—a bridge—to every possible source of good. Of course, there is only one Source, but Divine Mind works in mysterious ways to perform magnificent wonders through an infinite number of channels. And through a feeling of gratitude, we put ourselves in alignment with universal riches, loving relations, and the healing power of Spirit radiating from within.
My wife Jan and I have proved the power of gratitude many times in our lives. In the 1970s, I was having a difficult time in a business situation and had spent days praying and meditating for a solution. Then one morning as I was getting out of bed, I heard an audible voice boom through our bedroom with the words “Quiet trust.” To me, that meant that the problem had been solved, and my role in the scheme of things was to still my mind (that is, stop worrying) and trust the divine process. A feeling of intense gratitude came over me, and for the next several days, my constant expression in mind and heart was Thank you, God! And then suddenly out of chaos came perfect order and harmony.
On December 30, 1993, when Jan had a heart attack and died on the EMS gurney in our home, I felt a sense of detachment and little emotional response. Even when the paramedic said to me, “I’m sorry, we’ve lost her,” I wouldn’t accept it. On some level of consciousness, I knew she would come back and would recover quickly. After more than four minutes on the other side, she did return, and later at the hospital while waiting for a report from the doctors, I let that feeling of gratitude rise up as never before. My prayer in the waiting room was one of great thankfulness for the Lifeforce within her that was healing and perfecting her body. The next morning, Jan, too, was expressing gratitude for life, her incredible experience, and how wonderful she felt—and the doctor was shaking his head in thankful awe of her rapid recovery. Gratitude, which combines the energies of love and joy, had filled that hospital to overflowing, and it would not have surprised me to learn that other miraculous healings had taken place during that time.
When we live with grateful hearts, fear cannot enter, guilt is dissolved, and there is only peace, love, forgiveness, and understanding. To me, that’s what life is all about.
