self Improvement
Get Happy: Straight Talk About How to Be Happy All The Time
8:17 PMInner Peace.
A common phrase, one that gets tossed around a lot.
It’s something most of us would agree that we want, and yet do we even
know what it means?
Here’s the basic definition of inner peace:
Inner peace (or peace of mind or inner calmness) refers to a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress.
Sound unrealistic?
It’s really not. It’s totally realistic, and accessible, for those who are determined to have it.
Here’s a quote from one of my favorite books, The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer:
‘The highest spiritual path is life itself. If you know how to live daily life, it all becomes a liberating experience. But first you have to approach life properly, or it can be very confusing. To begin with, you have to realize that you really only have one choice in this life, and it’s not about your career, whom you want to marry, or whether you want to seek God. People tend to burden themselves with so many choices. But, in the end, you can throw it all away and just make one basic, underlying decision. Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy? It’s really that simple. Once you make that choice, your path through life becomes totally clear.’
Most people don’t dare give themselves that choice
because they think it’s not in their control. But it is. And if your
answer is ‘Yes,’ you have to mean it. That means you can’t qualify it,
and say ‘I will be happy when this happens, or when I get this….’
It has to be an unconditional Yes. This is the highest spiritual path.
If you decide you’re going to be happy from now on for the rest of your life, you will not only be happy, you will become enlightened.
But you have to mean it.
It has to be an unconditional Yes. This is the highest spiritual path.
If you decide you’re going to be happy from now on for the rest of your life, you will not only be happy, you will become enlightened.
But you have to mean it.
"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." - Dalai Lama Tweet
And when you mean it, you are now in your place of
power. When you mean it, you will no longer give your power away to
others, or to circumstances. When you mean it, you are acknowledging
that your happiness, your inner peace, is in your control. Of course it
is. But we forget.
Here’s the thing. When you decide that from this moment until the end of your life, you choose to be happy, it is an unconditional answer. It has to be. This is a high spiritual path, and a road to enlightenment.
If you do make this choice for yourself, things will happen to test your resolve.
Your car breaks down on the highway. A loved one gets a difficult diagnosis. Your husband leaves you. The stock market crashes.
Now, you have a decision to make. You must decide whether you will break your vow or not.
Because, here’s the deal. Things are going to happen
that are out of your control. The only thing we can control is our
reaction or response to it. Choosing to be miserable isn’t helping you
or anyone else. There is always a reason to be happy. We can be happy
simply because we are alive, because we have been given the gift of
another day.Here’s the thing. When you decide that from this moment until the end of your life, you choose to be happy, it is an unconditional answer. It has to be. This is a high spiritual path, and a road to enlightenment.
If you do make this choice for yourself, things will happen to test your resolve.
Your car breaks down on the highway. A loved one gets a difficult diagnosis. Your husband leaves you. The stock market crashes.
Now, you have a decision to make. You must decide whether you will break your vow or not.
This is not easy. It takes real intention, and awareness. It requires the courage to take a hard look at where we have been allowing circumstances and people to affect our inner peace. It is a choice that must be made daily, hourly, minute by minute at times.
And yet. When you make this choice, this vow, and you really mean it, something magical happens.
"Most folks are happy as they make up their minds to be." -Abraham Lincoln Tweet
It works.
You realize that you CAN choose to be happy, no matter what. That you are in control. And that no matter what happens, your inner peace is unshakable, because you have chosen it to be.If you want to experience this for yourself, I have a couple of suggestions that will help you.
–Know the comfort zones in your thoughts. We all have familiar patterns of thinking that we gravitate to, especially during times of stress or difficulty. Perhaps it’s sadness, anger, self-criticism, or criticizing others. Understanding where your thoughts tend to go automatically is a big help. These are your comfort zones. They don’t feel good, but they are familiar and our minds go to these thoughts easily, just like a needle on the groove of a record. Bring awareness to the times when you go there. The more awareness you have, the easier it is to choose something else.
–Practice when things are good. Choosing happiness, or inner peace, is a practice. It’s like flexing a new muscle that you haven’t used before. It takes practice to get stronger. The more you can practice when things are relatively smooth in your life, the stronger you will get and the easier it will be to choose it when something challenging happens.
–Understand your inner energy. Notice what it feels like when you are happy. Your heart feels open, and energy rushes inside of you. When you aren’t happy, your heart feels closed and there is no energy inside. Pay attention to how both of these feel. When something bad happens, your mind is telling you that you need to close. But you don’t have to. You can learn not to close. The minute you feel yourself closing, catch yourself and choose to remain open.
–Meditate. Meditation is the practice of remaining open. It is the place where we relax our heart and bring ourselves to a state of openness and happiness and peace. This is the training ground for the rest of our day. Begin your day with meditation. Re-commit every morning to choosing happiness.
It is easy to get into a habit of being affected by everyone and everything. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can choose happiness for yourself, and experience it every day for the rest of your life. It’s your choice.
If you want to learn more about inner peace, happiness, and find support and further teaching and encouragement as you journey to your best life, come join me in my Facebook group, Women of Passion, Power and Peace. I’d love to have you be a part of a tribe of amazing women who are committed to growth and realizing their biggest dreams.
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