In case you haven’t been participating in my 40 Day Gratitude Practice, but you’re looking for something transformational to carry you into 2022, Venus retrograde begins on 12/19/21 and will be in her cycle for 40 days, until 1/29/22.
According to one of my favorite astrologers, Dana Gerhardt,
Forty is a magically recurring number.
Without a devotional approach to this sacred interval, we can easily fall prey to its subconscious traps. We can make bad decisions about money or love, especially if we’ve been neglecting our Venus needs. As the original Venus, Ishtar set the pattern—within which there is broad room for wild creativity.
What’s your best outcome? During the 40 days and nights of a Venus retrograde, quite simply, you can transform. You can use the supportive weeks ahead to become a better, more radiant version of yourself.
A daily gratitude practice is an excellent tool for transformation. In numerous studies (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005; Lashani, Shaeiri, Asghari-Moghadam, & Golzari, 2012; Cheng, Tsui, & Lam, 2015), researchers found that writing about gratitude for 5 minutes a day increased participants’ long term happiness by 10%. It shifts your focus – the natural inclination is for the mind to focus on the negative, it’s part of our survival instincts. When we consciously focus on the positive, it counteracts that and can actually begin to shift our brain chemistry and relieves depression (Seligman et al., 2005; Krysinska, Lester, Lyke, & Corveleyn, 2015).
Other benefits of a gratitude practice include
There are two ways I would suggest you do a gratitude practice:
Here are the themes, based on the Kabbalistic formula I used for 365 Days to Enlightenment. Contemplate the concept before launching into your list. If you’re on the Daily Message mailing list, you can read that day’s message for inspiration.
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12/19/21: Shifting Out of a Mindset of Lack
12/20/21: Getting Out of Hatred
12/21/21: The Illusion of Separation
12/22/21: Working With Others
12/23/21: Want vs Need
12/24/21: The Beauty in Differences
12/25/21: Making the Holidays Mean Something
12/26/21: Freedom in Tranquility
12/27/21: Divine Friendship
12/28/21: As Without, So Within
12/29/21: Responsibility
12/30/21: Integrity
12/31/21: The Next Indicated Action
1/1/22: Sharing Joy
1/2/22: Active Prayer
1/3/22: Heart Song
1/4/22: Embracing Change
1/5/22: Regret
1/6/22: Miracles
1/7/22: Hope
1/8/22: Civilization
1/9/22: Spontaneity
1/10/22: Having a Sense of Humor
1/11/22: Recompression or Reentry
1/12/22: Success
1/13/22: Improving the World
1/14/22: Being in the Flow
1/15/22: Changing Your Mind
1/16/22: Peaceful Prosperity
1/17/22: Spiritual Choices
1/18/22: Sex
1/19/22: As Above, So Below
1/20/22: Cultivating Interest In What is Going On Around You
1/21/22: Becoming Strong
1/22/22: A Generous Outlook
1/23/22: Choosing Self Esteem
1/24/22: Silence
1/25/22: Releasing the illusion of lack
1/26/22: Miracles & Magic
1/27/22: Appropriate focus
1/28/22: Time is an illusion
1/29/22: You Are Responsible For Your Experience