Learn to Be Happy
Ho’oponopono is a powerful prayer that heals and transmutes karma from this lifetime and previous existences. As a result, it helps us to solve our problems and achieve our goals. It is an ancient Hawaiian healing technique.
The Bless It or Release It prayer is a great tool for decision making. I use it for making both big and small decisions from whether to attend an event to whether to take a job. Continue reading “Bless It or Release It prayer”
“And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation – some fact of my life unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and my attitudes.” – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
I first heard about the bliss menu technique from Kate Northrup a few years ago. A bliss menu is a list of things we love to do. It can be a great tool to use to change our mood when we’re having a bad day. Is there something on our bliss menu we can do to lift our spirits? If not, can we plan something? Sometimes even just thinking about those things can have a positive impact, especially when it evokes uplifting memories.
Some of the things on my list can easily be achieved by taking just five minutes out of your day. While you might feel overwhelmed and that you don’t even have five minutes, I bet you’ll feel better for taking the time, and you’ll probably be more productive!
Understanding the Mind-Body-Spirit Connection is vitally important when we are trying to take care of our general wellbeing. Our mind deals with thoughts, feelings and beliefs and what goes on in our mind can affect how our body feels. How we treat our body, such as our eating habits, exercise, and sleep, can impact our mental and spiritual states. And our spirit is like our inner essence, linked to our consciousness. Taking care of our health means building a strong mind-body-spirit connection and to do that, means nurturing all three parts.
Understanding that these three things are connected, enables us to look at our health in a complete or holistic way, deepening our understanding of ourselves and our needs. Instead of concentrating on just one aspect, we are able to consider how our mind and spirit can affect our body and vice versa. For example, I know that when I take the dog out for a walk in the woods or by the sea, I’m doing for his health and happiness of course, but mine too. And I’m doing it as much as for my body as my mind.
I also know that from time to time, I get a soreness in my neck, and it almost always coincides with when I’m stressed or when I have things on my mind. I also know that when I am feeling relaxed and at ease, its much easier for me to be compassionate, understanding and more grateful.
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” – Mahatma Gandhi
How can we be the change? With everything that is going on in the world, from wars to the cost of living crisis, it can be easy to lose hope and wonder what we can do to make a difference. It doesn’t help that the world is so divided and there’s so much disinformation. It’s difficult to know what to believe or think. I firmly believe however that there are two small actions we can take that can have powerful consequences.
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of the employees, they will take care of the clients.” – Richard Branson
An independent study on the cost of mental health to employers, commissioned from Deloitte found that the annual cost to employers is between £33 billion and £42 billion. The study also found that investing in employees mental health could see a return on investment of nearly £10 for each £1 spent. The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers, Thriving at Work.
Happiness at work has never been more important. World affairs are all taking their toll on people’s mental health. It can be challenging for anyone stay positive under such circumstances.
In recent years, employers have started to wake up to the importance of looking after their employee’s mental health. I’ve heard a number of very sad stories where firms have lost employees to suicide. Although many firms are starting to take their employees mental health more seriously, it is still often merely a tick box exercise.
Happy employees will be more productive and engaged. They will take less time off sick, and they are less likely to look for another job.
As part of my daily prayers and rituals I set an intention to remember I’m a Freakin’ Goddess. Throughout the day I visualise myself stepping into my power and imagine my guides, guardians and angels surrounding me; protecting me and guiding me in all that I do. It is an incredible feeling. I set an alarm on my phone that says, “Remember you’re a freaking Goddess!” as an extra reminder. Sometimes I even sing, “Remember You’re a Goddess” to the tune of ‘Remember You’re a Womble”, which my partner Andy, aka Mr Sexy Pants (MSP), seems to find amusing. Continue reading “Invoke your Freakin’ Goddess”
“Working with the morning pages, we begin to sort through the differences between our real feelings, which are often secret, and our official feelings, those on the record for public display.”
– Julia Cameron
Journalling is great for problem-solving and decision-making. I find it particularly helpful if I’m stressed about something or if I’ve got lots of thoughts chasing around my head. There’s something quite cathartic about journalling. I think of it as a tool similar to Dumbledore’s pensieve. Putting my thoughts down on paper gets them out of my head. It creates room in there and gives it a chance to breathe. It’s almost a kind of meditation. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, created the practice of “morning pages” or journalling first thing in the morning before meditating. This practice helps to clear our heads so that it’s easier to meditate.
“Is the route to Happiness Sam, to get a man?” asked my friend Mike, in our group WhatsApp chat. “Do you think? In your experience?”
Hmmm. Good question.
When I recovered from the audacity, absurdity, and arrogance of the question, I could see that it was indeed a good question. The short answer is no, of course the route to Happiness is not to get a man! In reality, it’s not as simple as that. Many women, although they may not admit it, do they think they will be happy when they’ve found a man. (Boy are they in for a shock!) For many years, I was one of those women!