Secrets of Spiritual Happiness
Are You Already Happy?
By Sharon Janis
Play this chapter from the Audio Book:
Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
- Abraham Lincoln
Did you ever think that you might be happy and not know it? Maybe this is IT! Maybe you just need a diploma of happiness like the college diploma the Wizard of Oz gave to the scarecrow, or a happiness medal like the medal of honor that made the lion recognize his own true courage. Congratulations, you are now officially a happy person!
Being happy doesn't mean that you have to act like some carbon-copy cyborg of smileyness. You can be happy while enjoying whatever role you are playing - flowing and growing while being whoever you are, however you are, and wherever you are. Some people may even find happiness in being somewhat of a curmudgeon. In fact, quite a few journalists and media personalities have made fortunes from doing just that!
Just imagine - what would it feel like to simply accept and believe that you are already, always, automatically, deeply and profoundly happy, and to know that you will always inherently be happy, regardless of what does or doesn't happen in your life?
Sometimes happiness can boil down to whether we think we are happy, therefore, please don't confuse your happiness with things that may or may not be out of sorts in your life. Remember that every life will inevitably have ups and downs. With this awareness, let the waves of your life come and go, and seek to maintain a happy spirit through it all.
Don't be swept away by how others might interpret a challenging situation. Take the reins of your mind, and choose to affirm your natural state of happiness. Learn to enjoy all the twists and turns that come with being alive as you, on this planet, and at this time.
Start with the assumption that you are already happy, and you'll have taken an amazing and powerful step to being happy. By accepting that you're already happy, you'll be relieving yourself of a great burden - that of always seeking and desiring to find happiness in external people, places and things. You'll sigh with relief, while relaxing deeply into the arms of your own natural state of happiness.
After all, being too needy for happiness can have the same effect on your happiness that being needy about money can have on your finances - it can weaken your sense of self-empowerment. If you spend all your energy fervently seeking happiness, it may elude you. The very act of desperately seeking happiness may keep you from being happy; and the more you constantly ask yourself if you are happy, the less happy you may become.
This is one reason why those who think they're not feeling happy are often advised to focus their attention on observing someone who is happy, or on helping someone else to find greater happiness. While admiring or helping others, our focus is on appreciating and serving, instead of on monitoring our own personal, momentary experiences of happiness. Remember, a watched "happiness pot" never boils!
Put your efforts into helping others, and, voila! You just may slip into the ocean of happiness that exists beneath the part of your mind that had been so desperately seeking to grasp a mere mirage of momentary happiness.
On this journey of spiritual happiness, let's start by assuming that we are already, essentially, happy. Then our task is not so much to create something that isn't there, but to uncover and discover what already is.
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Secrets of Spiritual Happiness
Table of Contents
by Sharon Janis
Introduction
Preliminary notes to the reader
Section One: Exploring Happiness
Defining Happiness
The Science of Happiness
Why is Happiness So Elusive?
Happiness Comes From Within
Are You Already Happy?
Different Folks, Different Strokes (Quotes about Happiness)
Section Two: Introducing Spiritual Happiness
Coining the Term, Spiritual Happiness
The Difference Between Relative and Spiritual Happiness
Spiritual Happiness and the Happiness Hierarchy
What Spiritual Happiness Isn't
The Theories Behind Spiritual Happiness
Upgrading Your Spiritual Happiness Software
Spiritual Happiness in Action
Section Three: 39 Secrets of Spiritual Happiness
1. Relax!
2. Inspire Your Atmosphere
3. Know Thyself
4. Enjoy Being You
5. Remember Who You Really Are
6. Know Your Weakest and Strongest Links
7. Cultivate Dual Awareness
8. Happiness is a State of Mind
9. Learning to Smile
10. Play the Game of Life with Empowerment
11. Great Faith Brings Great Freedom
12. Count Your Blessings
13. There's Always Good News
14. Choose Happiness
15. If You're Going to Do Something, Do it Cheerfully
16. Be Aware of the Words You Use
17. Positive Communications Bring Greater Happiness
18. There's Always a Way to Create Happiness
19. Arrange Your Priorities
20. A Personal Sharing About Shifting Priorities
21. Don't let Others Tell You What Will Make you Happy
22. Be Careful About the Company You Keep
23. Don't Let Others Bring You Down
24. Don't Bring Others Down!
25. Think Well of Everyone
26. Too Many Expectations Lead to Disappointment
27. Be a Joyful Giver
28. Be a Blessing
29. Finding Grace in Challenges and Blessings From Tragedy
30. Always Deal With God
31. Let Go of "Punishment Mentality"
32. Things Don't Have to be So Hard
33. Open Yourself to Inner Guidance
34. Do what Your Heart Knows is Right
35. Uplift Your Motives
36. Trust the Perfection in Imperfection
37. See the Bigger Picture of Your Soul's Journey
38. Enjoy the Trip!
39. Be Optimistic
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