Generating Happiness Within: Conscious Joy

Generating Happiness Within: Conscious Joy

HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE

 

Are you aware of the energy stream of joy that is constantly available and flowing through your life?  Conscious awareness of the joy that courses through your day and activities is the absolute best way to bring more of it into your life and start living your life as you are meant to, happy.  Let’s take cooking as an example.  There are really great gifts in treating yourself right by creating a good meal, but if you are thinking of cooking as drudgery or boring your focus obviously isn’t on the idea of treating yourself right; or if it is, you are negating the potential for happiness with your resistant feelings about cooking. Consider that you may have a habit of thinking that you can change.  The question to ask yourself is, “How can I shift my energy and focus to open up to positivity around cooking?” You may have to practice shifting from what you are feeling to exploring the idea of “Where is the joy in cooking for me?”.  Choose the energy you want to be in because you do have the power of choice about what you think and see in life.  In our cooking example you can start the process by telling yourself how much you appreciate caring for your body, mind and spirit and feeling that goodness inside of you. You can immediately recognize your connection with joy when you hit upon an idea of what feels good about enjoying a healthy meal. Think about how healthy it is to source fresh ingredients and how enjoyable it is to have good food and to honor what fuels you from the earth.  You are creating a new more expansive perspective of yourself as you choose to happy in the moment, and when you do something from a feeling of love; rather than it is a chore.

 

HAPPINESS COMES FROM WITHIN

 

While often we look for things or people to bring us happiness, the truth is that happiness comes from within every time.  Even when we receive the delight or surprise of happiness from an unexpected circumstance or relationship, we have already internally created a sense of appreciation for the experience by delighting in our perception of it as a possibility before it occurred. In other words, our sphere of influence includes enjoyment of happy experiences that we may not expect, but we may be receptive to receive.  The way this happens is using our emotions to guide us to what makes us feel happy (desires), and finding fulfillment in basking in the idea of those things before they come into manifestations.

Within you is the ability to let go of struggle by using your thoughts and emotions to come into balance with your essential (joyful) self.  You have done this many times in the past unconsciously.  To consciously know the truth that this is your creative (super)power – to intentionally bring more joy into your experiences and activities – allows fulfillment to grow stronger and more common in all areas of your life. In other words, the outer experience is a reflection of your inner state of well-being. As you free yourself from the grip of needless, unconscious, limited thinking around having to struggle in order to gain anything you have cleared the pathway for ease, grace, joy and happiness to shine through your days. It starts with choosing to feel happy within, first, and allowing yourself to appreciate those good feeling experiences around you every day.

 

HOW DO YOU BRING FORTH HAPPINESS?

 

How do you bring forth happiness within?  It’s about intention, quieting the mind, breathing into your consciousness and allowing yourself to connect to your joy.  You can activate the energy of joy and love in your heart by seeing what’s good in your life and focusing on the happy feelings of imagining more of the same.  Say to yourself, “I have an abundance of happiness in my life.  I see my happiness in … my home, my work, my friends, my family, my team, my community, etc.” Let your heart open to feel the connection to joy as you imagine those situations, events and people.  This is your path, your life and your happiness. Clear it to appreciate all the good and happiness that you are meant to have in your life every day.

This is the new consciousness that is awakening the world.  Be open to the possibilities that in everything, including the seeming mundane, is the joy of loving all you are and what you do in your day. Science has shown that if you are a happy person you are more likely to have success in life.

 

BRING FORTH MORE HAPPINESS

 

Harness your happiness by:

  • Self-Respect –Know have respect for your unique powers of intention, imagination, conscious choice and the right to be happy. We are all on this journey together but each of us has unique creative abilities and expression that make the journey more enjoyable, rich and fulfilling. Honor your gifts and creativity and how they complement the larger community.

 

  • Self-Care – Be sure to take time to rest, relax, and create on the inner plane before jumping into action.  You’ll find that inspired action is more efficient and enjoyable than slogging through something.  Take responsibility for your well-being and give yourself the satisfaction of taking care of what you need in the moment.

 

  • Empower your true self by finding inner fulfillment through knowing what has meaning for you, your values, the good you create and your power to manifest it.  Find ways to serve by sharing innate or cultivated gifts, wisdom and abilities. The word needs you!

 

  • Be appreciative of the people and experiences that have brought you to the threshold of who you are now. There is plenty more where that came from, and fortunately for you, now you are ready to harness your inner happiness to bring more abundant joy into your future experiences.

Learn how emotional transformation can transform your life in my new e-book- “Transform Your Emotions, Transform Your Life”

When Expectations Get In The Way of Happiness

When Expectations Get In The Way of Happiness

WHAT DETERMINES HAPPINESS?

 

One hundred people will probably have one hundred different, unique sets of expectations about what constitutes happiness. When it comes to happiness the objective of an expectation is to line up what you think with what you want to happen; or what you intend to create in your life with your activity, action or behavior.  Life experience teaches you to expect different consequences from positive and negative behavior, so it makes sense that when you focus on what you believe to be positive actions you expect positive outcomes along with the feeling of happiness that ensues. The all- important question to ask about your expectations for happiness is where are they coming from?  Do you call on others to show you the way to happiness by their achievements or by what they think is right for you? Are you trying to make others proud of you? Do you derive expectations of happiness based on a reaction to what might make you happy? Or, do your expectations of being happy come from within?

 

DELIBERATE HAPPINESS

 

What happens when your expectations are not met or when you have done everything you feel is right and the outcomes do not match your desires?  You put time, energy and focus into an expected happy outcome and got disappointment instead. The emotional weight of your dissatisfaction creates a huge imbalance in your life, and leaves you with a sense that you have let yourself (and perhaps others) down.  A good way to regain your emotional balance is to look within and find happiness with who you are and where you are; to open up space to examine your personal dreams and let your happiness deliberately start from connection your inner feeling of love and joy. It’s not that you shouldn’t try for that high-flying career or family, relationship or any of those things you dream about, but happiness need not revolve around doing or being what others or society thinks we should be doing.  When that unwelcome feeling of disappointment shows up it is prodding you to regain your balance, and to pay attention to the inner-side of the equation.  As a unique person you have the power and right to define what matches your inner happy.

 

FUEL EXPECTATIONS WITH EMOTION

 

Life is an ongoing journey of change, refresh, create and refine.  Contentment and happiness shift, twist, turn and show up in unexpected, delightful ways.  Spending your mental currency – your thinking energy on trying to figure out all the right moves can lead to burn out, disappointment and ill-health. For expectations to match desired outcomes thinking and emotions need to be aligned with what you want.   How do you shift your thinking to match your dreams for happiness? Focus on what you truly want. What are you passionate about? What is calling you to your greatest joy?  Relax more and get in touch with the dreams that bring smiles to your face, and give yourself permission to spend more time imagining you are enjoying those things in your life now. The power of your mind and heart joined in envisioning your happiness in this moment puts creative expression into motion.  When you start expressing the energy of happiness now you are not just going through the motions, you are riding the wave of aligned thinking and actually grows and attracts your dream into reality.

So what are your expectations for happiness?  In daily existence there are routines, habits, relationships and meeting the needs of yourself and others (family, work, etc.) Yet there are also the dreams and hopes for a deeply satisfying experience where you live in the greatness you imagine yourself to be – happy, fulfilled and in balance.   Being mindful of the things that are important to you and setting goals that are lined up with your authentic, heart-and-soul desires will help you to set targets to put e-motion toward things that really matter to you. That way you will retain a foundation of true purpose, passion and inspiration and keep your balance while engaging in the bigger picture of daily life.

 

HOW DO YOU EXPERIENCE HAPPINESS?

 

Raise your expectations for happiness by doing these simple things:

  • Surrender the opinions and expectations of others and spend more time listening to the dreams calling you from your heart.  Use reflection to connect with what moves you from inner joy.
  • Recognize that if you want to be happy, it can also come in small and everyday ways.  Appreciate that what you are experiencing in this day is an opportunity to feel happy.
  • Be open to receiving happiness in unexpected ways and through new experiences. Fi you are flexible, curious and expand your definition of happiness you may enhance your sense of potential and opportunity in life.
  • Be compassionate with yourself, accept your strengths and release the inner critic when it shows up.
  • Do what makes a difference and has purpose or meaning for you.  Fulfilling a noble purpose (practicing acts of kindness, volunteer work or participating in charitable projects) gives your life mean.
Marilyn Decalo Logo, Phoenix

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