Through Gratitude we come to better appreciate what we have, open our hearts to life as it is, and as we cease our longing for more, we paradoxically make space for more of what we truly need to come into our lives.

Mbono provides a place where you can literally share your gratitude with the world, amplifying it as it inspires others.

"Joy is prayer — Joy is strength — Joy is love — Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. God loves a cheerful giver. She gives most who gives with joy. The best way to show our gratitude to God and the people is to accept everything with joy. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love." - Mother Teresa

Intention is a deliberate act of will in which we declare and commit ourselves to a new state in the universe. It does not need to be practical or even possible with our current knowledge. It does have to be something we can either believe in, or suspend our disbelief in order to allow it to come into existence.

An example of intention is when in 1961 President John F. Kennedy declared that the United States would put a man on the moon within 10 years, something thought almost impossible at the time - and a goal which turned out to be achieved in 8 years.

Another is Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech - a dream which once declared became a statement of intention whose words are still ringing in changes across the planet.

Intention is about words uttered with power and certainty - we give our intention to our Word, and so it becomes.

Ursula Le Guinn's five part Earthsea trilogy (written long before five part trilogies became popular - make sure to read the book and not the very-loosely-related DVD), starting with "A Wizard of Earthsea", is about a world where magic is common and illusion the lowest of skills. The real Mage knows the True Name of a person or thing, and in so doing is able to control it, or even call it into creation from nothing or return it to the nothingness from which it came. And the true Mage is also always aware of the balance of things, and that all acts of creation have their consequences, and are to be used wisely.

Through imagination, dreams and visions we access our highest potential. We receive a glimpse of what is possible and can experience its power, beauty and majesty, and have the opportunity to think and feel how our lives would be different.

To imagine does not require us to take action - it lets us touch another reality, taste it, sample it. We can then choose, if we wish, to take the next step to realizing this vision: to set and declare our intentions. Or not - imagination leaves us free.

The resources in this section also include tools for inspiration, which means to "breathe in", and supports us in firing our own imagination through the inspiring words and thoughts and experiences of others.

As we experience more and more of the creative potential we have in our own lives, we begin to realize the power we have in the lives of others, the power to create a world which works for everyone, and our visions, dreams and intentions expand from the personal, that which benefits ourselves, our family and friends, our local community or even our country, to that which is for the highest good of all humanity.

Albert Einstein developed his theory of relativity imagining what it would be like to ride on a beam of light.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela spent 27 years in prison and emerged to become one of the world's most respected politicians, transcending generations of cruel conflict, victimhood and desire for revenge to lead a nation in embracing the South African traditional principle of Ubuntu - that we are each only fully human through our shared humanity with one another.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono awakened and inspired the world with the powerful images from their song "Imagine" - a vision of a world where we all live together in a world at peace.

Link: http://www.eckharttolle.com

Link: http://www.gratefulness.org/

Our international nonprofit organization provides resources for living in the gentle power of gratefulness, which restores courage, reconciles relationships, and heals our Earth. is dedicated to providing education and support for the practice of grateful living as a global ethic. Gratefulness is a universal principle that serves as the core inspiration for personal growth, cross-cultural understanding, interfaith dialogue, intergenerational respect, nonviolent conflict resolution, and ecological sustainability.

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