Are you happy?

"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere." -- Agnes Repplier Are you happy? Don’t answer too quickly. Sit with this question for a long time and you’ll be introduced to brand new dimensions of who you are and of what matters in your life. "Happiness comes only when we push our brains and hearts to the farthest reaches of which we are capable." -- Leo C. Rosten Like beauty, joy is one of the highest vibrations on this planet. Bring the joy that's already inside you to life...

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Find peace inside

"All spiritual disciplines are done with a view to still the mind. The perfectly still mind is universal spirit."

-- Swami Ramdas

Getting into the habit of meditating, praying and/or resting daily helps us pull back from our preoccupation with the material world. In silence and solitude, we have an opportunity to pay attention to what’s happening inside rather than outside.

When we do this consistently, we learn to relax and to quiet and detach from our mental chatter and our turbulent emotions. As we begin to witness ourselves in personality, we also begin to experience our soul.

"Meditation may require a lifetime to master, but it will have been a lifetime well spent. ... If you want to judge your progress, ask yourself these questions: Am I more loving? Is my judgment sounder? Do I have more energy? Can my mind remain calm under provocation? Am I free from the conditioning of anger, fear, and greed? Spiritual awareness reveals itself as eloquently in character development and selfless action as in mystical states."

-- Eknath Easwaran

Step by step, progressively learn basic meditation methods to relax, concentrate, focus, reflect, contemplate and illuminate. 

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Open to the new

"All the people we call ‘geniuses’ are men and women who somehow escaped having to put that curious, wondering child in themselves to sleep."

-- Barbara Sher

How willing are you to learn something new? How open are you to new perspectives?

Only when we’re open can we really hear what’s being said or really see what’s happening or really experience the moment.

Openness demands that we be willing to move to places we’ve never been before. It asks us to continually challenge the foundations of our belief systems so we can test out new ideas. And to do that, we need to accept insecurity.

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

-- Alvin Toffler

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Two views

"... no matter what our difficulties may be, we recognize that there is a deep untroubled stream flowing below all surface troubles and that we are of one substance with that stream. The soul knows no difficulties." -- James Thornton Masters teach that we can experience two completely different states of reality at the same time -- from the personality and from the soul. Author Pema Chödron talks about being hungry, cold and tired but at that same time deeply content. Ram Dass speaks of how the emotional heart can be breaking while we recognize that all is unfolding perfectly. Allowing our soul to be present with the discomforts of the personality shifts our experience of the discomforts. "True self simply refers to the aspect of our being that is completely aware of its expanded nature no matter what we may be experiencing in our lives." -- Martia Nelson

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Forgive the hurts

"Forgiveness will never fail to free you." -- Jerrold Mundis How do we forgive when we’re angry and hurt? As a first step, we can be willing to truly feel our anger and hurt. Honouring our feelings by being fully present with them helps to release the feelings themselves. And it helps to remember that people only hurt others when they themselves are in pain. When we can recognize the other person’s suffering, our heart can open in compassion. We can also remember that at some time or another, we too have hurt someone through our own unskilful action. Only love can heal the rifts caused by a hurtful deed. Forgiveness holds immense power because it mends separation. It moves us towards the unity and love that lie at the core of our being. It is a fundamental part of the healing process. "Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future." -- Paul Boese "God has a big eraser." -- Billy Zeoli As we are spiritual beings, the root of all of our life challenges lies in the spiritual realm. Get in touch with your spiritual nature...

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The 4 D's of spiritual growth

"Strive to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To be too wise for worry, too tolerant for hate, and too courageous to be fearful. In short, to be happy."

-- Unknown Source

Reflect on this pathway for meaningful growth:

DISCIPLINE - To create change in our lives, we need to consistently focus on what we want.

DETACHMENT - Practice the art of detached observation. Let go of automatic defenses and patterns.

DISCERNMENT - Seek to discern the lower from the higher. What is self-serving and what is soul-inspired? Discernment carries no judgment. There are no goods and bads. Remain as a detached witness.

DHARMA - This is an East Indian word meaning "living your unique purpose." How do you find meaning and fulfillment in ways that are natural to you? How do you best serve and contribute to the world?

"If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears."

-- Glenn Clark

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All is mind

"I want to know the thoughts of God; the rest are details."

-- Albert Einstein

Everything -- absolutely everything -- that happens in our lives has a spiritual cause. Events on all other levels -- mental, emotional and physical -- are only effects.

When we are struggling with any challenge, whether it be ill health, a lack of money, a lost job, relationships, an accident, whatever -- we need to look for the spiritual learning. We can ask ourselves, "What quality does my soul want me to live more fully?"

"If you start to think the problem is ‘out there,’ stop yourself. That thought is the problem."

-- Stephen Covey

We don’t change overnight. Personal growth requires persistence...

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Time to blossom

"The voice of our original self is often muffled, overwhelmed, even strangled, by the voices of other people’s expectations."

-- Julie Cameron

Many of us unconsciously believe that we’re unworthy or defective. We adopted this belief very early in our lives when the people we looked up to disapproved of our demands, wishes and behaviours. We concluded that we had to learn to be good.

Unfortunately, ‘being good’ usually meant giving up our own differences or uniqueness. We learned that we might get the love we wanted if we acted and felt like others wanted us to.

If we seek true joy and connection with life, we now need to remove these artificial masks and express our deep authentic nature.

"For all those years you’ve protected the seed. It’s time to become the beautiful flower."

-- Stephen C. Paul

Journey through the traps of ego into a life of meaning, purpose, joy and service. Embark on your own soul journey... 

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How do you show you care?

"Love is not only something you feel. It is something you do." -- David Wilkerson In her book, ‘No Less Than Greatness,’ Mary Manin Morrissey speaks of a research study that explored how family members communicate with each other. Apparently, the most frequently spoken words between husbands, wives, sisters and brothers were "What’s on?" and "Move." She goes on to say, "We all desire great relationships but often settle for just getting by. Many of us have stopped questioning the fact that we may know fictitious TV families more intimately than we do our own." The most powerful force in our lives is our ability to love. Indeed, it’s the most basic essence of who we are. How do you experience and express your love for the people in your life? "The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the other.... The whole purpose of life is to live by love." -- Thomas Merton Why are you here? Open to more meaning and fulfillment by exploring your life purpose...

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Believe in your unlimited potential

"You cannot see anything that you do not first contemplate as a reality." -- Ramtha How do you typically define yourself? Do you tell yourself and others that you are slow and methodical, that you have two left feet, that you are lazy, or unimaginative or that you can’t hang on to money? In our unconscious self talk, most of us rarely say positive things about ourselves. List the positive and the negative ways you describe yourself. Then look over your list and contemplate how those definitions limit your ability to be cosmic in your outlook and performance. "Belief has the word ‘lie’ in it... and that pretty much sums up what the world has us believing about ourselves." -- Doug Firebaugh "We are what we believe we are." -- Benjamin N. Cardozo As we are spiritual beings, the root of all of our life challenges lies in the spiritual realm...

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Stretch yourself

"People are defeated by easy, victorious and cheap successes more than by adversity." -- Benjamin Disraeli Today’s social standard is one of mediocrity. The status quo rarely challenges our individual creative power. Create a brand new world for yourself, one that meets your deepest needs. By doing so, you will help raise the quality of consciousness of the entire world. Use your imagination! Sing your own song! "Success means fulfilling your own dreams, singing your own song, dancing your own dance, creating from your heart and enjoying the journey, trusting that whatever happens, it will be OK. Creating your own adventure!" -- Elana Lindquist Be supported every week for one full year to have clear goals and stay on track. Make your next year much better than the last year.

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What are you procrastinating?

"The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started."

-- Dawson Trotman

Procrastination seriously drains our energy and our morale. What remains undone nags at us.

What are you avoiding? Make a list of items and then review each one. Does it really need to be done? After you've reviewed your list, prioritize it and start one task today.

Please do not procrastinate taking one minute to write down your answer to this question. Capture it on paper and this will help build awareness, commitment and discipline.

"How soon not now, becomes never."

-- Martin Luther

"Talk does not cook rice."

-- Chinese proverb

"Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing!"

-- Donald Gardner

Never have time for what you really want in life? Take control of the time of your life by changing your mind. Understand time from a higher perspective...

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Why are you doing that?

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for." -- Sir John Lubbock Throughout the day, continually ask yourself about your underlying motivation. Why are you doing what you are doing? Is it for selfish, manipulative or fearful reasons? Is it for honest service with integrity? Maybe you’ll discover you don’t know. Perhaps you will see that much of your activity lacks purpose. This is a great way to become more conscious. Your intention and motives are fundamental to the results you will receive. Set high intentions and your life will blossom. "The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes Access your own inner wisdom by tapping into your subconscious and intuition. Release stress, blocks and negative emotions, and spark imagination and greater vision...

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Use your breath to relax your body

"Breath is the link between the inner and outer worlds."

-- Alice Christensen

We live in very demanding times, and our health depends on our being able to relieve our bodies and minds from constant stress. Breathing with awareness can focus and concentrate our attention inside. This slows down our pace and eases the pressure, anxiety, anticipation and excitement that are common stress reactions.

At any time, you can consciously experience your breathing to help you concentrate your mind and relax your body. Compare how you feel after your session with how you felt before. Write about your experience in your journal.

"Controlled deep breathing helps the body to transform the air we breathe into energy. The stream of energized air produced by properly executed and controlled deep breathing produces a current of inner energy which radiates throughout the entire body and can be channeled to the body areas that need it the most, on demand."

-- Nancy Zi

Awareness is the key to all change. Begin to trust yourself more deeply as you uncover new dimensions of who you are. Go on a journey of self-discovery...

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Live in relaxation

"It would be glorious to see mankind at leisure for once. It is nothing but work, work, work." -- Henry David Thoreau Is relaxation possible only when we’re not working? No. With awareness and practice, we can be relaxed no matter what we are doing. In fact, when we work in a relaxed state, our productivity increases as our effort decreases. For true relaxation, we need to connect with our bodies -- to consciously and intentionally become aware of tension and release it. "Anxiety breaks a man’s backbone." -- Hebrew proverb "Don't hurry, don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So be sure to stop and smell the flowers." -- Walter Hagen Step by step, progressively learn basic meditation methods to relax, concentrate, focus, reflect, contemplate and illuminate...

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Live in relaxation

"It would be glorious to see mankind at leisure for once. It is nothing but work, work, work." -- Henry David Thoreau Is relaxation possible only when we’re not working? No. With awareness and practice, we can be relaxed no matter what we are doing. In fact, when we work in a relaxed state, our productivity increases as our effort decreases. For true relaxation, we need to connect with our bodies -- to consciously and intentionally become aware of tension and release it. "Anxiety breaks a man’s backbone." -- Hebrew proverb "Don't hurry, don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So be sure to stop and smell the flowers." -- Walter Hagen Step by step, progressively learn basic meditation methods to relax, concentrate, focus, reflect, contemplate and illuminate...

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