by NEALE DONALD WALSCH

STAYING POSITIVE when surrounded by—even when submerged in—what others might call “negativity” is easier than you think. The trick is to bring an end to judgment, to “judge not by appearances.”

When you bring an end to judgment, you bring an end to an entire way of living. This is no small thing. This is a life changing shift in attitude and behavior. This is a miracle.

But how does one perform this miracle? That is the question to which everyone wants an answer.

Please, then, pay very close attention to what I am going to tell you now:

The way to move out of judgment is to move into gratitude.

That is such an important corollary that it should be plastered all over your house and everywhere in your world. On your bathroom mirror. On the refrigerator door. On your car’s rear-view mirror. Above your computer screen. You might even tattoo it on your left wrist—or at least engrave it on a bracelet that you wear there:

The way to move out of judgment is to move into gratitude.

This means remaining grateful for every outcome. Every outcome. This is about saying “Thank you, God” for even those things that you are sure you did not consciously choose and that you are very clear you do not want.

Somebody once said, “Happiness is not getting what you want, it is wanting what you get.” That “somebody” was profoundly right.

Gratitude is the miracle cure for every moment of dis-ease. It is the fastest way to dissolve anxiety, to heal disappointment, to replace negativity with positivity. It is the shortest route from a dead-end back to The Path. It is the connecting energy to God.

Try it some time.

The next time you are confronted with any undesired outcome, result, or experience, just stop. Stop right in the middle of whatever’s going on. Just . . .say inside your head, “Thank you, God.”

Take one good, deep breath and say it again. “Thank you for this gift, and the treasure that it holds for me.”

Be assured that it does hold a treasure, even if you are not seeing it right now. Life will prove that to you, if you give it a chance.

When gratitude replaces judgment, peace spreads throughout your body, gentleness embraces your soul, wisdom fills your mind. Let gratitude replace judgment and your whole experience of life will take a turn for the better in five seconds.

In five seconds.

This is because attitude is everything. Attitude puts the course correction in life when you have stepped off The Path. Attitude is like the Map of the Mind. It is like the Global Positioning Satellite of the brain.

A negative attitude will send you down the road to unhappiness. There is no avoiding it. It will absolutely happen, and it doesn’t matter what the problem. A positive attitude will put you back on The Path to inner peace and happiness. Again, there is no avoiding it. It will absolutely happen, and it doesn’t matter what the problem.

Yet how can one move into gratitude when the circumstances or conditions presenting themselves are utterly miserable, desolate—or even life threatening?

By knowing that every moment in life is an unparalleled opportunity for you to inwardly declare, express and experience the Divinity that lies within you.

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Excerpted from Happier Than God by Neale Donald Walsch. Copyright © 2011 (Emnin Books).

Neale Donald Walsch is a modern day spiritual messenger whose words continue to touch the world in profound ways.