About Steven Aitchison
Update: Please click on this link for more information about The new Mind Alchemy course. All the links to the downloads have now been removed. I would like to thank all 800+ readers who expressed an interest in this course and for everyone who completed the course the first time round, it is becasue of you I could make the course better.
Before we start
Have you completed
Day1 |Day 2 |Day 3 |Day 4 |Day 5 |Day 6 |Day 7 |Day 8 |Day 9 |Day 10
Day 11 |Day 12 |Day 13 |Day 14 |Day 15 |Day 16 |Day 17 |Day 18 |Day 19 |
Day 20 |Day 21 |Day 22 |Day 23 |Day 24 |Day 25 |Day 26 |Day 27 | Day 28
A few readers are now blogging about their experiences on the course, and it would be great to lend your support:
Stacy Claflin – Grow With Stacy
Marty BoneIdol – Living Life in Chapters
Stephen – New Life Starts Here
Read the interview I have done with Angela Artemis from Powered by Intuition
Check out the interview with Sandi Amorim for Deva Coaching Following an Alchemist
Watch an interview I made with Suzie Cheel on Mind Alchemy
Mind Alchemy Day 19
Today is another ‘Daily Exercise’, so I hope you’ve been doing the other daily exercises:
Okay, today is probably one of the shortest of the days. It’s one of the simplest but also one of the most powerful days.
We’re going to be looking at becoming unconsciously grateful in life, which is a deep level of gratitude.
Two types of gratitude
Conscious gratitude
You may have practised gratitude in the past and maybe taken it a step further and written down everything and everyone you are grateful for in your life. Whilst there is a benefit to this type of gratitude, it can be a little superficial.
Conscious gratitude in that it doesn’t become a part of your identity, it becomes something that you do rather than that you are. We usually practice superficial gratitude when you feel down and say to yourself ‘I should be grateful for everything I have in life’ and then you start to tell yourself everything you are grateful for.
Unconscious gratitude
Unconscious gratitude is when being grateful becomes a part of your identity. Whilst we have to embed this type of gratitude for a few weeks, it soon becomes a part of who we are, we are a grateful being.
Unconscious gratitude also has the amazing benefit of bringing more into your life, which we’ll discuss later.
Life truly is amazing and sometimes we forget just how amazing it is. Have you ever been totally in the moment and truly seen the wonder of life itself: yourself, nature, the people around you, everything. It’s an amazing experience, and no there is no drugs involved here 
Whilst I have practised gratitude in the past I would say, in my mind, I am grateful for my wife and just how amazing she is, I am grateful for my kids and the joy I feel being with them, I am grateful for my parents, I am grateful for the ability to earn money etc etc. It is great to remind ourselves of the people and possessions we have in life, but when I went deeper into gratitude with the help of another good friend Zeenat Syal from Positive Provacations I really began to experience a shift in myself and everything around me. Life became a little easier, I seemed to attract more of the things I wanted in life, it seemed as if I was flowing with life instead of jumping in and out of life.
To become unconsciously grateful we are going to go deeper, we are going to be grateful for the things we take for granted like breathing, the air that we breathe, the birds you hear in the garden, your ability to walk, the music that you listen to, your ability to speak, your perceived failures in the past, the people you dislike in life, the seats that you sit on – the things we wouldn’t normally pay attention to.
I can almost guarantee you that if you practice this every day for a few weeks, and do it regularly throughout the day, whilst driving your car, waiting in a queue at the supermarket, the spare minutes we have, you will see a shift in consciousness, something will click.
Added benefit
The added benefit of being unconsciously grateful is that life becomes a whole lot easier. Things start happening to you to make your life easier, people come into your life when you need them, your mind seems to work on another level, things you perceived as difficult becomes easier and a whole host of other benefits that you can tell me about in a few weeks time or even a few days time.
Please please try this, even for a few days and you will see the benefit.
Today’s exercise
Download todays exercise sheet to get you started in becoming unconsciously grateful.
Tomorrow
Tomorrow we will looking at your overcoming fear. Until tomorrow my fellow Mind Alchemists……..
Action follows a thought…
This course is about taking action, and to become pro active in changing your life. Take time to do this exercise and really think about it throughout the day. You don’t need to wait until tomorrow to take steps to improve your ‘Wheel of Life’, but with the support and encouragement from all the members we can help each other and support each other, but ultimately ‘you have to bring something to the table!’
Your thoughts
As always it’s good to talk about your experiences and share it with the rest of the members of the course, so let us know how this exercise went for you and if you gained any insights or had any revelations about yourself or your life.
You can share your thoughts at Mind Alchemy Facebook Group
You can Tweet using the hashtag #MindAlchemy
Or of course you can leave a comment below
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Thank you Steve again, this helps me to better understand some of the writings on the subject from my religion:
“They should manifest gratitude and thankfulness to God, and the best way to thank God is to love one another… In this day, to thank God for His bounties consisteth in possessing a radiant heart, and a soul open to the promptings of the spirit. This is the essence of thanksgiving…. As for offering thanks by speaking out or writing, although this is indeed acceptable, yet when compared with that other thanksgiving, it is only a semblance and unreal; for the essential thing is these intimations of the spirit, these emanations from the deep recess of the heart.” (Baha’i Writings)
Thanks for your comments Ligia, much appreciated.
Actually, I only wanted to find out if you were up and watching, or having a lie in
Life itself is perfect, for me it is. There is so much going on around us, unlimited energy within us all, and I don’t think many people think about this but once upon a time we where just a sperm swimming on our way to be part of LIFE. There is so much going on around us right now, all the small things in the universe that put it together in magical piece and harmony.. “Life is beautiful” – “You are beautiful!” and it’s time to wish you all the best in life and gratitude
Hi Engilbert, all the best to you to
You are right on, being in ‘unconscious gratitude’ IS the same thing as experiencing Presence in the moment– when we are Present, we have no choice but to be grateful, its a natural extension of present moment awareness. The reverse is also true, when we are grateful, we become Present. How cool is that?
Hi Tessa, very cool indeed
Steve, I had always been grateful for the obvious things. Today you taught us to be grateful for the mundane things that we take for granted, and I realize that those are not so mundane after all! Imagine not having fresh air, clean water, a comfy bed etc, life will be that much more difficult!
Haruki recently posted..My Perfect Day
Hey Haruki, life without a comfy bed would be unbearable
but it is something we take for granted given that there are so many people in the world without one.
Thanks Steven. One of the things I am really grateful for is this Blog. You are doing a wonderful job. Thank you for all the time and effort you are putting into this course.
Last week I applied for a job posting that perhaps I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been reading your blog. You given me a number of new ways to look at my life, my situation, my goals. I am challenging my fears and taking actions that will change the course of my life.
Thank you.
Steven, I also appreciate what you’ve done for me and many others. I’m so grateful for this and you’re doing a wonderful job here, thank you. I do also agree with Wayne about, you give me new ways to look at my life, it’s great!
Thanks Engilbert, always appreciated.
Thank you for your kind words Wayne, it’s great to have you on board and actively participating in this course and for that i am really grateful to you
Really good exercise today. It is something I do from time to time and its a good reminder to remember to do more often. It’s had a profound effect upon me in the past as I’ve mentioned in my blog today.
Marty recently posted..Letting go your Outcomes – The pinball effect
I like visiting your blog and I believe you are top notch guy! – I clicked your link and got the following error: Sorry. 404 Page Not Found – Try for yourself
other than that, I wish you all the best and will continue to read your blog
Hi Engilbert.
I’ve been messing with my blog settings recently and that may be why you have not been able to see it. Hopefully its ok now.
Marty recently posted..Letting go your Outcomes – The pinball effect
Hi Marty, not getting to all the blog posts as much as i would want to. thanks for you thoughts as always.