Happy place? I can already hear you rolling your eyes. Life is hard! How am I suppose to go about finding my happy place? Your just going to talk woo woo nonsense and I’m not having any of it. WAIT! Don’t go. Not just yet anyway.
Happy place? I can hear you rolling your eyes. I know you’re thinking, “Really? Life is hard! Your just talking woo woo nonsense, and I’m not having any of it.” WAIT! Don’t go. Stay with me a little longer.
First, hear this. I’m the queen of sad, depressed, anxious, worry. I’ve studied enough for at at least fourteen advanced degrees trying to figure out how not to be these things. The focus of my life has been on overcoming each and every aspect of misery I felt. If you’ve read any of my blogs over the last fifteen years, I’m sure you’ve felt the undercurrent of angst woven into my words. If not, by some small chance, if instead you heard a hopeful, positive vibe instead, listen to what I have to say.
THE THREADS WE WEAVE
We all have both of these threads within us and in our lives. Each and every one of us has a strand of misery that has run through our lives; fear, anxiety, enormous concerns about our health, our children, our world. We’ve struggled with sleep, our weight, our marriage, addiction, loneliness, and for many these miseries only seem to intensify with age. And, we’re often tired, frustrated, and perplexed.
But, there also exists a place inside of us that longs to be happy, that craves peace of mind, and searches for answers to all the questions we asking whoever is listening. It’s who we are as human beings. It is the nature of the world: contrast. Some call it choice. We know what we want and we know what we don’t want in any given situation. Right? You with me?
Here’s where things are a little different than most of us have thought and believed. How we typically handle this contrast, our choices has not been particularly helpful. Our thinking has been skewed by the limitations of our perspective and a cultural viewpoint that does it’s part to encourage us to hold on to our misery. Our “advanced” culture thrives on keeping us unhappy because when we are aware of our misery, our deficiencies, our discomfort, they know we are more likely to buy their product to fix it!
CHOOSING YOUR REALITY
But, there’s a different perspective, a reality in which we can choose which of the two viewpoints will play the bigger role in our every day lives. The process is simple. You can begin today to change your life and find your happy place. I won’t kid you, for most it takes time and practice to shift courses. Like anything worth doing, like breaking any bad habit, first you take a baby step and then another until you really feel things begin to shift. The steps are simple:
- Go somewhere quiet where you won’t be interrupted. Take a notebook and pen with you because you’ll want to remember what you think about. Close your eyes and sit quietly. Then fire up your imagination on any subject that lifts you up. Dream. Dream big. Think of anything, the sky is the limit, that you’d like in your life that you think will make you happy, bring you peace, allow joy to bloom. Pay attention to the feelings each brings. Hang onto the best feelings you can uncover and expand on them with more details.
- Open your eyes and make a list of these things. Don’t think about or concern yourself with the how, just enjoy the positive feelings your dreams are bringing. Stir the pot. Let it flow.
- Now let go. When you’re finished relishing your dreams, close your notebook and get on with your day. Let the good feelings from these dreams settle in. Hold onto them. Enjoy the feeling of them. If you find yourself diving into making them happen, stop. Turn your attention to something else. Right now, the only thing that is important is your good feelings.
- Expect some version, some sign, some small sample of these dreams to show up in your life. Look for any signs. Pay attention while continuing to stir the pot of the dreams you are cooking. When something does appear, and it will, write it down in your notebook as a reminder that there is a connection between your dreams and reality. And, you don’t have to do a thing to make them happen except dream.
- REPEAT this exercise. Often. Every day if you can.
CHOOSE WISELY
The real truth is, no matter what our circumstances, we can choose to feel good. We can be more happy than not. We just have to stop trying to solve our problems, stop beating the drum of our misery and bask in the joy of our dreams and beat the drum of the good feelings they bring and the evidence as it occurs.
The Vortex: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships – by Esther and Jerry Hicks. The audio version of this book contains a collection of meditations that I just love. They are a perfect addition to the process described above. The book is excellent too!
