The Path of Happiness
“There is no path to happiness; happiness is the path itself.”
Buddha
For many, happiness , although desired, seems to be very elusive. For some even to the point that they give up on the possibility to ever experience happiness.
I found myself in such a place where I lost hope that I would ever be happy, and that depression and pain was all that would be for the rest of my life. Eventually I did find my way and I will share my perspective on that later. But I can tell you I tend to look at the structure of things and how the structure works. That was my approach to get on my path of happiness.
There are many seminars, teachers, self help books, and more on, what I call, methods or processes to find your happiness. For example there are the seven keys to happiness by Thilini Silva:
1 — Gratitude.
2 — Be Present.
3 — Manage Time Effectively.
4 — Set SMARTER Goals.
5 — Embody an Empowering Morning Routine.
6 — Tackle the MITs.
7 — Focus on Health and Wellbeing.
Or perhaps the ten-step path to happiness by People Tweaker:
1—Be authentic.
2—Learn the power of now.
3—Be realistic.
4—Know your priorities.
5—Learn to let it go.
6—Control your options.
7—Be grateful.
8—Celebrate along the way.
9—Give to others.
10—Invest in “you.”
And so many more that are easily researched and found on the internet and, if these seem to be of interest to you, please do check them out and see how well they work for you.
In the beginning of my search, I researched and tried many things. I explored different faiths, religions, and even the metaphysical realm. I tried visualization techniques taught by Shakti Gawain.
At one point in my exploration of religions such as Buddhism, Jewish, Islam, I stumbled upon a saying taught in the Church of Latter Day Saints that I found especially useful. It was: Your happiness depends more on the principles you choose you follow than the external circumstances of your life
The author of that, Bishop Gérald Caussé, goes on to say:
The Path of Happiness
There is a different path than the paths of fear or doubt or self-indulgence—a path that brings peace, confidence, and serenity in life. You can’t control all the circumstances of your life, but you have control of your happiness. You are the architect of it.
Your happiness is more the result of your spiritual vision and the principles upon which you base your life than of anything else. These principles will bring you happiness regardless of unexpected challenges and surprises.
When I read the word architect, that caused me to relook at his writing from the way an architect would—structural. By then, although I did not know it at the time, my path to happiness had already begun.
So, I did and will share what I discovered and some useful principles that can’t be proven but work for me.
The first step was a commitment to discover how to be happy. This is a 110% commitment to yourself that you will be relentless in your search. A decision that there is no other choice but this discovery, and if I fail to stay committed, I will be forever living a life of extreme pain and, most likely, my death.
Make a promise to myself, I will find my happiness. Period!
The next step took much longer to even begin to achieve and that is to love yourself unconditionally. For many, there is much we say we do not like about ourselves or don’t want to experience anymore. So one thing I learned to start transforming is this is not to make life about good and bad, or like and dislike. It is better to begin to notice what is working in your life, and what you would like to work even better. It may be helpful to realize that all behavior and capabilities are useful when applied in the right context.
Life is about what is working and what can work better.
We are called human beings for a good reason, and what follows – though I cannot prove – if they are held as true, are very helpful. We are both a spiritual being and human animal that are coexisting in this world. The being is about love and joy and it’s ultimate desire. The human is driven by the need to survive. The fact that you are reading this today indicates that the human in you did a good job to ensure your survival.
To make life work even better for you, you must stop resisting yourself. Eventually it is useful to get to the point where you can say OK to all of your past, present, and future experiences. It is impossible to change the facts of what happened to you but you can change your relationship to it and include it in you. Again the question to ask, in how the human learned to survive what is currently working well and what would I like to work even better.
Resistance is futile, so stop it.
The most important thing to study and learn about is yourself. Become a master in studying your experiences. I find it is helpful to develop the ability to go meta to yourself. Learn to observe yourself and those around you from a place where your attention is held on noticing the body in action or thought and have your spirit observe it. Begin to notice patterns, behaviors, capabilities and you will start to see more clearly what is working, and where you would like different choices and change the patterns
Become a student of self on the path of allowing life to work better and better for you.
What happens when we transform the resistance between spirit and body? Then we live in a state of joy, acceptance, and realize that we have always been on the path of happiness. For some reason, you just did not allow yourself to realize it until you were ready.
Are you ready to realize your happiness?
May you find peace, love, and joy in your life and wake up to the happiness that has always been there for you, just waiting for you to say OK.
I proclaim I am OK with all of it.
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