The Science and Magic of Appreciation

One of my teachers, Marianne Williamson, often reminded us: what you appreciate, appreciates. It’s a phrase that points to the idea that when you feel grateful for what you already have, more of it flows into your life.

But when I first heard it, I couldn’t help but nerd out on the actual physics beneath the phrase. It turns out it’s not just a catchy metaphor. It’s an energetic law.

By definition and etymology, to appreciate something means to assign value to it. You’re bringing it into your focused awareness, declaring it significant. And from there, the magic (both quantum and Newtonian) begins…

From a quantum perspective…

Appreciation is a form of conscious observation, and observation collapses potential into form.

You might remember my quantum field analogy: all potential waves already exist in the ocean. It’s how you interact with the water (how you poke it) that determines which wave you experience.

When you appreciate something:

• It exists as a probabilistic waveform until your focused awareness interacts with it.

• The attention you give it down-selects from probability into a specific form. It becomes more “real” to you and within your field.

• But your attention in this case, isn’t neutral. Appreciation isn’t neutral. It’s a positive, organizing emotion – one that measurably increases coherence and electromagnetic order in your field (Coherence simply means that your body, mind, emotions and energy are working in rhythm rather than out of sync).

And this is the key: the quality of your attention matters. Admiration and appreciation don’t just observe, they harmonize. Your emotional coherence strengthens the waveform as it collapse. You’re not just neutrally selecting reality, you’re influencing and shaping its tone, structure and resonance.

From a Newtonian Physics Perspective…Static

Now let’s look at wave mechanics: constructive interference and coherence.

• When you appreciate something, you're aligning your own energy frequency to match its frequency (to resonate with it).

• That alignment leads to constructive interference, two waves in sync, amplifying one another.

• The result is a signal with greater amplitude, coherence, and stability. The energy becomes stronger and clearer in your system.

So in appreciating something, you’re doing two things:

• Selecting it (through focused awareness), and

• Strengthening it (through resonance and waveform alignment)

You’re collapsing possibility into form and amplifying that form’s signal in your field.

And this is where the more of it comes in.

A coherent signal is magnetic. Not metaphorically—physically. The more ordered and resonant your field becomes, the more it attracts experiences, people and opportunities that match.

You’re not ‘asking’ the universe for more, you’re broadcasting a clearer frequency, one that calls in more of what you’re already in harmony with.

And who wouldn’t want more of that?