Category: Anxiety

Happiness is life’s most desired goal. But we can never achieve it while we continue to look outside of ourselves, as it is an inside job.

“Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude”.

Throughout our evolutionary journey we have tried every strategy imaginable and searched almost everywhere in our quest for true happiness. We have had some great experiences and learnt a lot along the way, but we have never found what we are searching for. Eventually, we grow tired of searching and turn our attention to the one place we haven’t looked so far; inside ourselves. True happiness is not something that can be sought and acquired; it is our soul’s natural state of being, and we can only connect with by going within.

Anything we do, it is simply our inner quality that we are going to spread. We cannot do anything of tremendous value for our planet until anything of accurate value occurs within us. Thus, if we want to be connected to the world, the first thing we must do is to transform ourselves right into a happy beings.

It doesn’t matter what we do in our life, whether it is business, studying or giving assistance to someone or some cause, we’re doing it because deep down, it gives us satisfaction. Each activity that every individual executes on this globe rises from a desire. We were not unhappy when we were a child, as joy and happiness is a source which resides within each one of us. So all we have to do, is to go for it and take charge of that joy which is residing in us.

Everything in universe is in order. The sun comes wonderfully well up in the sky. The flowers flourish beautifully, no stars falls along, and the galaxies are functioning perfectly. Today, the whole cosmos is occurring divinely well, but just a negative thought worming up on our brain enables us to believe that today is a poor day.

Suffering occurs basically when most human beings shed perception in regards of what this life is all about. Our emotional process become far larger than the existential procedure, or our petty creation become far more critical compared to GOD’s Creations, to place it bluntly. This is the way to obtain all suffering. We miss the complete sense of what this means to be alive here. An emotion within us or a thought within our mind establishes the nature of the experience right now. And our thought may have nothing to accomplish even with the restricted reality of our lifestyle. The entire creation is happening beautifully well but just one considered emotion can ruin everything.

Anything we consider as “our mind” isn’t ours basically. It is merely society’s empty talk. Everyone and anyone whom we encounter on a daily base put some idea or information in our head and we truly have no choice about whose idea we accept or don’t accept. These information are advantageous once we learn HOW TO process them and use them. This accumulation of opinions and information that we collect is simply useful for our survival on the planet. It is not something which is related to who we are.

First thing we need to do in the morning when we get up, is to smile. At whom? No one. Since just the fact that we have woke up is not a small matter. A lot of thousands of people who slept yesterday evening didn’t wake up today. Isn’t it great that we woke up? So look as you wake up, look around you, if there is someone, and then smile at them. Because this morning, for numerous people, someone precious to them didn’t get up. Then venture out, take a deep breath and look at the bushes. They didn’t die yesterday either.

You may think this is really funny, but you won’t know its reality until someone dear to you doesn’t wakeup. So don’t wait until you understand the value of it. Appreciate what you have, be happy that you are alive and everyone who matters to you is still around.

Of course, people who do not have food or the basic needs for living can feel physically miserable and their needs must be addressed. Our duty as a human being is to help and take care of such people when we encounter them. But most people are unhappy not as a result of what they don’t have. It is because they compare their life to others. You are driving on a motorbike, you see somebody in a Mercedes and you become unhappy. But for someone who is driving a bicycle, your motorbike seems like a limousine.

Life is about learning and appreciating what GOD has created for us on this plant. It is not about twisting and distorting it. When we rely on the external situation to make us joyful and content, we could never feel true happiness. The quality of our life doesn’t depend on what car we drive, how much money we have in a bank account, or how big our house is, but how content and happy we feel inside.

Although each one of us is unique, and what works for one may not for other, but there are simply areas that tend to make a big difference to people’s happiness in life; and crucially they are all areas that are within our control:

1 – Care for others genuinely: Caring genuinely for others around us is essential to our happiness. Being caring means wishing the best for others, and acknowledging in them the same wants, needs, aspirations, and even fears that we have too. It means providing a listening ear, noticing when someone needs help, and helping our community without asking for a reward. Being caring allows us to have empathy for others and to live a life based on affection, love, and compassion for the people around us.

2 – Connect with people: “Happiness is influenced not only by the people you know, but by the people they know”. This means that by surrounding ourselves with happier people we become happier, we make the people close to us happier, and make the people close to them happier. People with strong and vast social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationship with family and friends brings love, compassion, meaning and belonging into our lives and grow our sense of self-worth. “To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground” ~ Stephen Covey

3 – Notice the world around you: Taking Notice is about observing those things that we find beautiful and being mindful of them in our daily life. It can be easy to rush through life without stopping to notice much. Paying more attention to the present moment, to our own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around us; can improve our wellbeing. Becoming more aware of the present moment not only help us to enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better, but also recognize anew things that we have been taking for granted.

4 – Have something to look forward to: Happiness in anticipation is the key here. By having something to look forward to, no matter how our situations, bring happiness into our life, well before the circumstance happen. If your life is series of undesirable duties, commitments, and unpleasant tasks, take some time to find out something that YOU would find enjoyable. And make time to do it. “Happiness is the anticipation and the realization of the fulfilment of a dream”.

5 – Avoid false beliefs and expectations: “Our authentic happiness is blocked by our false belief that life should be how we want it to be. The expectation that accompanies this false belief sets us up for disappointment, frustration, anger and unhappiness”. Our expectations create our reality and they change our lives emotionally and physically. Unreasonable expectations can make life extremely hard and unhappy. These expectations are actually designed by our ego, as nothing give our ego a stronger sense of self-identity as an experience that supports our sad life-story. “In other words, we unconsciously create expectations so we can feel sad and disappointed when they are not met. Our ego is addicted to sadness and painful emotions”. Master to drop all expectations and open your heart, begin to love yourself, and move beyond your ego. Embrace freedom from your ego.

6 – Be comfortable with who you are: Finding ourselves, our authenticity will help us to feel our beauty. When we endeavour to be who we are, to be true to ourselves, and accept ourselves with all our flaws and imperfections, we will automatically feel attractive and unique. Beauty is never dependent upon the approval of others. Quite the contrary, beauty is very much self-defined and self-created. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh. By accepting ourselves and becoming kinder to ourselves we will be able to see our shortcomings as opportunities to learn and grow.

7 – Find a purpose in life: We all have intact potential, perhaps even areas of intelligence, to become something entirely different, or somehow more than what we appear to be right now. People who find meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They become less stressed, anxious, or depressed. But how do we find meaning and purpose in life? We’re all wired differently. Some of us feel more connected to nature, others find meaning by employing in nurturing. The key is to know what works for us. Learning to live our purpose is essentially a spiritual exercise, and an inside job. Search how and what give you that sense of fulfilment and deep connection; and then peruse it in all that you do.

8 – Train yourself to be more positive: There is the positive aspect in everything, in every person, in every situation. Sometimes it’s not obvious and we have to look hard. Even when we are faced with a difficult situation we can think to ourselves “What is good about this?” No matter how unpleasant the circumstance might look, we always can find something good if we take the time to think about it. Everything, good or bad is a learning experience. And there is always lesson to be gained from every bad experience. “There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there” ~ Paulo Coelho

9 – Live Mindfully: “Life is not what it’s supposed to be. It’s what it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference” ~ Virginia Satir. Life is full of challenges. The way we manage them, can make a difference between whether we let them to control our lives, or we find a way to embrace every challenge as it arises. By practicing mindfulness we can find a more empowering way to react to the challenges life brings us. It also helps us to train our mind, manage our thoughts and feelings, and reduce stress and anxiety.

10 – Take care of your body: “Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha. There is a powerful mind-body connection through which emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and behavioural factors can directly affect our health. Being active makes us happier as well as healthier. By spending time outdoors, eating healthy foods, and getting enough sleep, we can improve our wellbeing. A serene mind really is nothing without a healthy body to carry it, so show your body the same compassion that you show everyone, by taking care of it.

It is positively time now that we look inside of ourselves and see HOW TO produce personal wellbeing. From our own experience of life we can clearly observe that wellbeing will come to us when we change our perception on life. We need to realize, if we are determined to create our happiness and wellbeing by the outside factors it will never happens. As nothing will be %100 the way we want them to be. When we accept this fact, then we will be able to work on ourselves as an individual to become the person we want to be. And happiness will be our only choice which has been our authentic nature by creation in the first place. “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” ~ Greg Anderson

Happiness is life’s most desired goal. But we can never achieve it while we continue to look outside of ourselves, as it is an inside job.

“Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude”.

Throughout our evolutionary journey we have tried every strategy imaginable and searched almost everywhere in our quest for true happiness. We have had some great experiences and learnt a lot along the way, but we have never found what we are searching for. Eventually, we grow tired of searching and turn our attention to the one place we haven’t looked so far; inside ourselves. True happiness is not something that can be sought and acquired; it is our soul’s natural state of being, and we can only connect with by going within.

Anything we do, it is simply our inner quality that we are going to spread. We cannot do anything of tremendous value for our planet until anything of accurate value occurs within us. Thus, if we want to be connected to the world, the first thing we must do is to transform ourselves right into a happy beings.

It doesn’t matter what we do in our life, whether it is business, studying or giving assistance to someone or some cause, we’re doing it because deep down, it gives us satisfaction. Each activity that every individual executes on this globe rises from a desire. We were not unhappy when we were a child, as joy and happiness is a source which resides within each one of us. So all we have to do, is to go for it and take charge of that joy which is residing in us.

Everything in universe is in order. The sun comes wonderfully well up in the sky. The flowers flourish beautifully, no stars falls along, and the galaxies are functioning perfectly. Today, the whole cosmos is occurring divinely well, but just a negative thought worming up on our brain enables us to believe that today is a poor day.

Suffering occurs basically when most human beings shed perception in regards of what this life is all about. Our emotional process become far larger than the existential procedure, or our petty creation become far more critical compared to GOD’s Creations, to place it bluntly. This is the way to obtain all suffering. We miss the complete sense of what this means to be alive here. An emotion within us or a thought within our mind establishes the nature of the experience right now. And our thought may have nothing to accomplish even with the restricted reality of our lifestyle. The entire creation is happening beautifully well but just one considered emotion can ruin everything.

Anything we consider as “our mind” isn’t ours basically. It is merely society’s empty talk. Everyone and anyone whom we encounter on a daily base put some idea or information in our head and we truly have no choice about whose idea we accept or don’t accept. These information are advantageous once we learn HOW TO process them and use them. This accumulation of opinions and information that we collect is simply useful for our survival on the planet. It is not something which is related to who we are.

First thing we need to do in the morning when we get up, is to smile. At whom? No one. Since just the fact that we have woke up is not a small matter. A lot of thousands of people who slept yesterday evening didn’t wake up today. Isn’t it great that we woke up? So look as you wake up, look around you, if there is someone, and then smile at them. Because this morning, for numerous people, someone precious to them didn’t get up. Then venture out, take a deep breath and look at the bushes. They didn’t die yesterday either.

You may think this is really funny, but you won’t know its reality until someone dear to you doesn’t wakeup. So don’t wait until you understand the value of it. Appreciate what you have, be happy that you are alive and everyone who matters to you is still around.

Of course, people who do not have food or the basic needs for living can feel physically miserable and their needs must be addressed. Our duty as a human being is to help and take care of such people when we encounter them. But most people are unhappy not as a result of what they don’t have. It is because they compare their life to others. You are driving on a motorbike, you see somebody in a Mercedes and you become unhappy. But for someone who is driving a bicycle, your motorbike seems like a limousine.

Life is about learning and appreciating what GOD has created for us on this plant. It is not about twisting and distorting it. When we rely on the external situation to make us joyful and content, we could never feel true happiness. The quality of our life doesn’t depend on what car we drive, how much money we have in a bank account, or how big our house is, but how content and happy we feel inside.

Although each one of us is unique, and what works for one may not for other, but there are simply areas that tend to make a big difference to people’s happiness in life; and crucially they are all areas that are within our control:

1 – Care for others genuinely: Caring genuinely for others around us is essential to our happiness. Being caring means wishing the best for others, and acknowledging in them the same wants, needs, aspirations, and even fears that we have too. It means providing a listening ear, noticing when someone needs help, and helping our community without asking for a reward. Being caring allows us to have empathy for others and to live a life based on affection, love, and compassion for the people around us.

2 – Connect with people: “Happiness is influenced not only by the people you know, but by the people they know”. This means that by surrounding ourselves with happier people we become happier, we make the people close to us happier, and make the people close to them happier. People with strong and vast social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationship with family and friends brings love, compassion, meaning and belonging into our lives and grow our sense of self-worth. “To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground” ~ Stephen Covey

3 – Notice the world around you: Taking Notice is about observing those things that we find beautiful and being mindful of them in our daily life. It can be easy to rush through life without stopping to notice much. Paying more attention to the present moment, to our own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around us; can improve our wellbeing. Becoming more aware of the present moment not only help us to enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better, but also recognize anew things that we have been taking for granted.

4 – Have something to look forward to: Happiness in anticipation is the key here. By having something to look forward to, no matter how our situations, bring happiness into our life, well before the circumstance happen. If your life is series of undesirable duties, commitments, and unpleasant tasks, take some time to find out something that YOU would find enjoyable. And make time to do it. “Happiness is the anticipation and the realization of the fulfilment of a dream”.

5 – Avoid false beliefs and expectations: “Our authentic happiness is blocked by our false belief that life should be how we want it to be. The expectation that accompanies this false belief sets us up for disappointment, frustration, anger and unhappiness”. Our expectations create our reality and they change our lives emotionally and physically. Unreasonable expectations can make life extremely hard and unhappy. These expectations are actually designed by our ego, as nothing give our ego a stronger sense of self-identity as an experience that supports our sad life-story. “In other words, we unconsciously create expectations so we can feel sad and disappointed when they are not met. Our ego is addicted to sadness and painful emotions”. Master to drop all expectations and open your heart, begin to love yourself, and move beyond your ego. Embrace freedom from your ego.

6 – Be comfortable with who you are: Finding ourselves, our authenticity will help us to feel our beauty. When we endeavour to be who we are, to be true to ourselves, and accept ourselves with all our flaws and imperfections, we will automatically feel attractive and unique. Beauty is never dependent upon the approval of others. Quite the contrary, beauty is very much self-defined and self-created. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh. By accepting ourselves and becoming kinder to ourselves we will be able to see our shortcomings as opportunities to learn and grow.

7 – Find a purpose in life: We all have intact potential, perhaps even areas of intelligence, to become something entirely different, or somehow more than what we appear to be right now. People who find meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They become less stressed, anxious, or depressed. But how do we find meaning and purpose in life? We’re all wired differently. Some of us feel more connected to nature, others find meaning by employing in nurturing. The key is to know what works for us. Learning to live our purpose is essentially a spiritual exercise, and an inside job. Search how and what give you that sense of fulfilment and deep connection; and then peruse it in all that you do.

8 – Train yourself to be more positive: There is the positive aspect in everything, in every person, in every situation. Sometimes it’s not obvious and we have to look hard. Even when we are faced with a difficult situation we can think to ourselves “What is good about this?” No matter how unpleasant the circumstance might look, we always can find something good if we take the time to think about it. Everything, good or bad is a learning experience. And there is always lesson to be gained from every bad experience. “There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there” ~ Paulo Coelho

9 – Live Mindfully: “Life is not what it’s supposed to be. It’s what it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference” ~ Virginia Satir. Life is full of challenges. The way we manage them, can make a difference between whether we let them to control our lives, or we find a way to embrace every challenge as it arises. By practicing mindfulness we can find a more empowering way to react to the challenges life brings us. It also helps us to train our mind, manage our thoughts and feelings, and reduce stress and anxiety.

10 – Take care of your body: “Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha. There is a powerful mind-body connection through which emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and behavioural factors can directly affect our health. Being active makes us happier as well as healthier. By spending time outdoors, eating healthy foods, and getting enough sleep, we can improve our wellbeing. A serene mind really is nothing without a healthy body to carry it, so show your body the same compassion that you show everyone, by taking care of it.

It is positively time now that we look inside of ourselves and see HOW TO produce personal wellbeing. From our own experience of life we can clearly observe that wellbeing will come to us when we change our perception on life. We need to realize, if we are determined to create our happiness and wellbeing by the outside factors it will never happens. As nothing will be %100 the way we want them to be. When we accept this fact, then we will be able to work on ourselves as an individual to become the person we want to be. And happiness will be our only choice which has been our authentic nature by creation in the first place. “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” ~ Greg Anderson

Folding clothes is not the sort of thing people write poems about. I’m not aware of the subject being pondered by philosophers. I can’t think of a work by Rembrandt, Picasso, Bach, Beethoven, James Joyce, Thomas Mann, Walt Whitman or Robert Frost which even hints at the issue. Even so, while meandering around the web I was attracted to a video about that very activity: folding clothes. It featured a woman who gave slow and careful instructions as she demonstrated her method of folding.

She said that, first you must express your affection for the clothing. Well, I thought, that is just some Zen thing, okay, get on with the demonstration. But her suggestion stuck in my mind and as I began to fold clothes following her instructions, I took a moment first to think about my feelings toward the clothing. I felt foolish at the moment but that small gesture made a profound difference in my experience with what had before been, at best, a tedious chore.

Now, with my new attitude, I began to look forward to folding my clothes. I not only appreciate them before I fold them, I find myself enjoying them more every day as I put them on. They not only serve to protect me from the cold and abrasion, which would be enough, but they are marvels of design, of weaving and sewing, dyeing, shaping, and buttoning. I notice, too, that as I find new satisfaction in my apparel I feel more relaxed and calm.

I soon realized that I can apply this same principle to any job that I find tedious or unwelcome. Washing dishes, vacuuming, making phone calls to bureaucracies, practicing my ukulele. Now when I sit down to practice, I first look at my beautiful ukulele and wonder at its construction, the wood, the shapes, the strings and I think of the people who made this instrument and how, at the end of the day, they can go home knowing they have brought music and beauty into the world. Then as I practice, I have a rich, satisfying experience instead of just wading through a set of boring exercises.

As we come to appreciate our activities more, it can lead us to consider how to repair other negative areas of our lives. We can hardly calculate the destruction that grudge-holding has brought upon humanity. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet deals with the immensity of these tragic behaviors. We are inclined to hang on to resentments toward people who have said no to us, especially when we were children and unable to understand how those refusals may have been necessary and for our own good. Forgiveness takes time and energy and goes on pretty much forever. Some person or institution will surely aggravate us and treat us unfairly in the future. We will need to be ready to forgive recent insults as well as old ones. Our stomachs, heads and everything else that can hurt will feel better as we reduce the anxiety and agitation that come with anger and resentment.

As those emotions subside it leaves room for focusing on being kind and considerate toward others. You can try these things out for yourself. Fold away your worries, forgive everyone, pay close attention to loved ones and set yourself free. You might also get a ukulele. It couldn’t hurt.

Folding clothes is not the sort of thing people write poems about. I’m not aware of the subject being pondered by philosophers. I can’t think of a work by Rembrandt, Picasso, Bach, Beethoven, James Joyce, Thomas Mann, Walt Whitman or Robert Frost which even hints at the issue. Even so, while meandering around the web I was attracted to a video about that very activity: folding clothes. It featured a woman who gave slow and careful instructions as she demonstrated her method of folding.

She said that, first you must express your affection for the clothing. Well, I thought, that is just some Zen thing, okay, get on with the demonstration. But her suggestion stuck in my mind and as I began to fold clothes following her instructions, I took a moment first to think about my feelings toward the clothing. I felt foolish at the moment but that small gesture made a profound difference in my experience with what had before been, at best, a tedious chore.

Now, with my new attitude, I began to look forward to folding my clothes. I not only appreciate them before I fold them, I find myself enjoying them more every day as I put them on. They not only serve to protect me from the cold and abrasion, which would be enough, but they are marvels of design, of weaving and sewing, dyeing, shaping, and buttoning. I notice, too, that as I find new satisfaction in my apparel I feel more relaxed and calm.

I soon realized that I can apply this same principle to any job that I find tedious or unwelcome. Washing dishes, vacuuming, making phone calls to bureaucracies, practicing my ukulele. Now when I sit down to practice, I first look at my beautiful ukulele and wonder at its construction, the wood, the shapes, the strings and I think of the people who made this instrument and how, at the end of the day, they can go home knowing they have brought music and beauty into the world. Then as I practice, I have a rich, satisfying experience instead of just wading through a set of boring exercises.

As we come to appreciate our activities more, it can lead us to consider how to repair other negative areas of our lives. We can hardly calculate the destruction that grudge-holding has brought upon humanity. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet deals with the immensity of these tragic behaviors. We are inclined to hang on to resentments toward people who have said no to us, especially when we were children and unable to understand how those refusals may have been necessary and for our own good. Forgiveness takes time and energy and goes on pretty much forever. Some person or institution will surely aggravate us and treat us unfairly in the future. We will need to be ready to forgive recent insults as well as old ones. Our stomachs, heads and everything else that can hurt will feel better as we reduce the anxiety and agitation that come with anger and resentment.

As those emotions subside it leaves room for focusing on being kind and considerate toward others. You can try these things out for yourself. Fold away your worries, forgive everyone, pay close attention to loved ones and set yourself free. You might also get a ukulele. It couldn’t hurt.

There are things in life you have control over and there are things in life you don’t have control over. You don’t have control over changing other people or how they think, feel, act, or react. You can, however, learn to change your own thinking, which in turn changes how you feel, act, and react. By changing how you react to others, there may be a bonus domino effect so that those around you then change how they react to you.

There are things in our environments we cannot control (events like the weather), and things in our environments that influence us (learned behaviors from parents or others, growing up in poverty, traumas, grief and loss, oppression in relationships or in our culture or society). But even within these constraints, there may be choices and options that could possibly lead us down a different path.

Our intentions, attitudes, perceptions, views, subjective interpretations, and beliefs all influence our thought patterns and how we see ourselves, others, the world, and the future. For example, if my self-talk is negative (ex: I am inadequate) and irrational (ex: I must please everyone all the time in order to be loved and have worth), then how will I interact with others? How will they view me and treat me? Who will I attract in my life? How does this influence then how I think, feel, and behave? What kind of energy do I want to put out and get back? Will I create my life the way I want it to be and help make things happen, even if there are limits, or will it just happen to me as if life is just floating by?

Our thoughts do in part help determine how our lives turn out and how we view our lives. You have to first be aware of your thinking (not everyone is). Then you have to determine which thoughts need changing in order to bring you more happiness and peace (money and medication alone do not lead to bliss). You CAN learn to decrease depression and anxiety. You CAN learn to manage stress and have more connected relationships. You CAN make real and lasting changes. Let me show you how… There is no need to suffer any longer. Relief is only one phone call away.

Do you feel depressed, sad, anxious, nervous, worried, angry, frustrated, irritable, tense, or stressed out?

Do you have distance or conflicts in any relationships that you would like to change?

Do you feel overwhelmed trying to juggle all of your roles and responsibilities?

Do you find it difficult to find time to relax and take care of yourself?

Do you often wonder if there’s a better way to balance your life?

Would you find it helpful to learn new coping skills in order to enjoy your life more?

Would you like to know how to change your thinking so you will feel better and function better?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then you are ready to move forward and reach your goals!

There are things in life you have control over and there are things in life you don’t have control over. You don’t have control over changing other people or how they think, feel, act, or react. You can, however, learn to change your own thinking, which in turn changes how you feel, act, and react. By changing how you react to others, there may be a bonus domino effect so that those around you then change how they react to you.

There are things in our environments we cannot control (events like the weather), and things in our environments that influence us (learned behaviors from parents or others, growing up in poverty, traumas, grief and loss, oppression in relationships or in our culture or society). But even within these constraints, there may be choices and options that could possibly lead us down a different path.

Our intentions, attitudes, perceptions, views, subjective interpretations, and beliefs all influence our thought patterns and how we see ourselves, others, the world, and the future. For example, if my self-talk is negative (ex: I am inadequate) and irrational (ex: I must please everyone all the time in order to be loved and have worth), then how will I interact with others? How will they view me and treat me? Who will I attract in my life? How does this influence then how I think, feel, and behave? What kind of energy do I want to put out and get back? Will I create my life the way I want it to be and help make things happen, even if there are limits, or will it just happen to me as if life is just floating by?

Our thoughts do in part help determine how our lives turn out and how we view our lives. You have to first be aware of your thinking (not everyone is). Then you have to determine which thoughts need changing in order to bring you more happiness and peace (money and medication alone do not lead to bliss). You CAN learn to decrease depression and anxiety. You CAN learn to manage stress and have more connected relationships. You CAN make real and lasting changes. Let me show you how… There is no need to suffer any longer. Relief is only one phone call away.

Do you feel depressed, sad, anxious, nervous, worried, angry, frustrated, irritable, tense, or stressed out?

Do you have distance or conflicts in any relationships that you would like to change?

Do you feel overwhelmed trying to juggle all of your roles and responsibilities?

Do you find it difficult to find time to relax and take care of yourself?

Do you often wonder if there’s a better way to balance your life?

Would you find it helpful to learn new coping skills in order to enjoy your life more?

Would you like to know how to change your thinking so you will feel better and function better?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then you are ready to move forward and reach your goals!

More times than I care to recall, I’ve been met with rolling eyeballs when I talk about my spiritual practices. Wasting time, sitting still, doing nothing, in meditation; striking those odd poses in T’ai Chi; and healing with my hands is quite “out there” for some folks-it all seems a bit funny at best.

In this article, we’ll roll with that funniness and explore why amusement is a potent spiritual force. Being silly is an antidote to the ego’s over-seriousness. And, practicing light-heartedness instantly releases fear, anger, and worry. While it may be funny to be spiritual-it’s also spiritual to be funny.

A Serious Lack of Amusement

As we witnessed in our recent U.S. election cycle, when we take ourselves too seriously, it’s no fun for anyone. When we vehemently defend our points of view, we create tension, fear, anxiety, stress, anger, and conflict.

That’s not to say that the issues we are so passionate about are not important. In the context of the quality of human life here on earth, they are significant. However, it’s the way we hold onto our points of view that makes all the difference.

When we think that “our way is the only way,” we not only miss out on the full truth, we also ensure suffering and conflict-for ourselves and others.

It’s A Matter of Perspective

The truth is that every point of view is partial. It’s a slice of reality. It’s a perspective that highlights certain details and neglects others. You can look at any situation from infinite viewpoints and arrive at infinitely different conclusions depending upon where you stand.

No point of view expresses the full truth. Each perspective shows us something and ignores other things.

This point came crystal clear in this latest U.S. election. Those who supported “The Donald” chose to highlight things he represented that reflected their own feelings, values, and experiences, while ignoring some obvious shortcomings. Those who supported Hillary did the same. That’s what we do in elections. We choose those who reflect our dominant viewpoints.

Yet, the primary mistake we make is when we think that our viewpoint is the “right one” instead of just the one we prefer-and we hold on so tightly that we can’t even listen to other perspectives. This is what leads to ugly wars of insults and an inability to work together. Because this was the way we approached our election, it escalated everyone’s fear, anger, and worry.

Once again, we have to remind ourselves of a simple truth–viewpoints are neither right nor wrong. They just highlight certain aspects of reality, while hiding others.

Now, what makes this truth so challenging to remember is that we are so embedded in our points of view that we can’t see them as such. We just think that “the way we see things is the way they are.” We forget that reality always exceeds our perceptions of it.

Reality offers an infinite number of points to focus on. And, what we focus on determines our experiences. Which brings us to the spiritual focus of this article-light-hearted amusement.

Lighthearted amusement is important because it frees us from hanging onto our perspectives so tightly. It frees us to take ourselves less seriously. It lifts us out of being so absorbed in our perspectives that we can’t see any other way. It opens us to other possibilities-to be more creative, cooperative, and innovative.

Light-hearted amusement elevates us to see life from a higher perspective-with more playfulness. In that spirit of levity, we see beyond our own little points of view to notice opportunities to work and play together to heal our world.

Amusement Heals

It’s well-documented that laughter is healing. One of the first to discover this was author Norman Cousins who described in “Anatomy of an Illness” how he cured himself of an extremely painful, rare, and life-threatening disease called “ankylosing spondylitis”-by watching funny movies!

How could that be?

It could be that laughter and amusement stimulate a healing response.

It appears that light-hearted amusement activates specific DNA potentials that heal, while fear, anger, and worry activate genes that make us more susceptible to disease. When we are lighthearted, we think positively, feel positively, act positively-and our cells respond by opening up and working well together.

When we let go and laugh, the body does what it is designed to do, which is heal itself. And, as we heal ourselves, we become more able to heal our relationships with others.

So, how can you use this insight to cure your own fear, anger, and worries? How can you include more light-hearted amusement in your life?

At our house, we like to watch Steve Harvey on Family Feud, Conan, and Fallon. We love comedy videos of Ellen, Jim Gaffigan, and Robin Williams. At family gatherings, we play games like charades and go bowling-which none of us have any great skill at.

All these activities break us out of our normal routines and help us feel a bit goofy. In these amusements, we experience the lighter sides of ourselves and let go of perspectives that keep us apart. We expand and refresh our minds, let go of our worries, and realize there’s so much more to life than being right.

Amusement heals.

Enjoy your practice!

More times than I care to recall, I’ve been met with rolling eyeballs when I talk about my spiritual practices. Wasting time, sitting still, doing nothing, in meditation; striking those odd poses in T’ai Chi; and healing with my hands is quite “out there” for some folks-it all seems a bit funny at best.

In this article, we’ll roll with that funniness and explore why amusement is a potent spiritual force. Being silly is an antidote to the ego’s over-seriousness. And, practicing light-heartedness instantly releases fear, anger, and worry. While it may be funny to be spiritual-it’s also spiritual to be funny.

A Serious Lack of Amusement

As we witnessed in our recent U.S. election cycle, when we take ourselves too seriously, it’s no fun for anyone. When we vehemently defend our points of view, we create tension, fear, anxiety, stress, anger, and conflict.

That’s not to say that the issues we are so passionate about are not important. In the context of the quality of human life here on earth, they are significant. However, it’s the way we hold onto our points of view that makes all the difference.

When we think that “our way is the only way,” we not only miss out on the full truth, we also ensure suffering and conflict-for ourselves and others.

It’s A Matter of Perspective

The truth is that every point of view is partial. It’s a slice of reality. It’s a perspective that highlights certain details and neglects others. You can look at any situation from infinite viewpoints and arrive at infinitely different conclusions depending upon where you stand.

No point of view expresses the full truth. Each perspective shows us something and ignores other things.

This point came crystal clear in this latest U.S. election. Those who supported “The Donald” chose to highlight things he represented that reflected their own feelings, values, and experiences, while ignoring some obvious shortcomings. Those who supported Hillary did the same. That’s what we do in elections. We choose those who reflect our dominant viewpoints.

Yet, the primary mistake we make is when we think that our viewpoint is the “right one” instead of just the one we prefer-and we hold on so tightly that we can’t even listen to other perspectives. This is what leads to ugly wars of insults and an inability to work together. Because this was the way we approached our election, it escalated everyone’s fear, anger, and worry.

Once again, we have to remind ourselves of a simple truth–viewpoints are neither right nor wrong. They just highlight certain aspects of reality, while hiding others.

Now, what makes this truth so challenging to remember is that we are so embedded in our points of view that we can’t see them as such. We just think that “the way we see things is the way they are.” We forget that reality always exceeds our perceptions of it.

Reality offers an infinite number of points to focus on. And, what we focus on determines our experiences. Which brings us to the spiritual focus of this article-light-hearted amusement.

Lighthearted amusement is important because it frees us from hanging onto our perspectives so tightly. It frees us to take ourselves less seriously. It lifts us out of being so absorbed in our perspectives that we can’t see any other way. It opens us to other possibilities-to be more creative, cooperative, and innovative.

Light-hearted amusement elevates us to see life from a higher perspective-with more playfulness. In that spirit of levity, we see beyond our own little points of view to notice opportunities to work and play together to heal our world.

Amusement Heals

It’s well-documented that laughter is healing. One of the first to discover this was author Norman Cousins who described in “Anatomy of an Illness” how he cured himself of an extremely painful, rare, and life-threatening disease called “ankylosing spondylitis”-by watching funny movies!

How could that be?

It could be that laughter and amusement stimulate a healing response.

It appears that light-hearted amusement activates specific DNA potentials that heal, while fear, anger, and worry activate genes that make us more susceptible to disease. When we are lighthearted, we think positively, feel positively, act positively-and our cells respond by opening up and working well together.

When we let go and laugh, the body does what it is designed to do, which is heal itself. And, as we heal ourselves, we become more able to heal our relationships with others.

So, how can you use this insight to cure your own fear, anger, and worries? How can you include more light-hearted amusement in your life?

At our house, we like to watch Steve Harvey on Family Feud, Conan, and Fallon. We love comedy videos of Ellen, Jim Gaffigan, and Robin Williams. At family gatherings, we play games like charades and go bowling-which none of us have any great skill at.

All these activities break us out of our normal routines and help us feel a bit goofy. In these amusements, we experience the lighter sides of ourselves and let go of perspectives that keep us apart. We expand and refresh our minds, let go of our worries, and realize there’s so much more to life than being right.

Amusement heals.

Enjoy your practice!

We all want to live our lives in every way possible. We want to make the most life has to offer. But then again, there are just so many things that are impeding us from getting the life we deserve.

There is work, money, time, other people and OURSELVES! Yes, may be the reason why you are not living the life you ought to live is because you are not letting yourself be in that kind of life. You are so focused on what should you be rather than what you want to be. It is like not being able to differentiate your wants from your needs. You don’t have to have what famous people have to say that you are living a life.

It is not about the things that you don’t have that make a wonderful life, rather it is the things that are already in your possession and how you utilize them. Take note, the bests in life come with no price tag.

Be positive. All the time!

Negativity is just around the corner waiting to consume you. Try seeing the positive side of everything because that is only when you have quality thoughts and happiness. Positivity is a choice.

Believe in yourself!

Happiness is when you do something you wanted to do so badly but the thought of failing is making you take a step backward. The first critic of your actions is yourself. You cannot make people see your worth if you don’t see it yourself. Remember that you are winner that is why you are here (and not those other sperm cells.)

Be courageous. Take risks!

Big opportunities only knock once so when they do, open your doors. Everything is a gamble because you cannot foresee tomorrow. Don’t be afraid to fail because without it, you cannot value the moment when you’ve finally succeeded. Your what if’s will be your greatest midnight hunters.

Be crazy. Violate rules!

Obedience is awesome but rules, like promises, are meant to be broken. Violating rules once in a while is fun, even a simple crossing on the road when the light turns red with the presence of traffic officers will be fun. Just don’t get caught and run as fast as you can. The moment you will be in that place again, I am sure as hell that you are going to laugh at yourself.

Be yourself!

You can idolize someone but don’t try to be completely like them. You are your own unique self and you don’t have to be like someone else to be part of the group. Honesty is the best policy and be honest of your own self. It is so much better to be hated for who you are rather than be loved for what you’re not.

How you handle what life throws at you is the secret on how to be successful and how to make your life worth living. Happiness is a choice. As Leo Tolstoy would say, if you want to be happy, be.

We all want to live our lives in every way possible. We want to make the most life has to offer. But then again, there are just so many things that are impeding us from getting the life we deserve.

There is work, money, time, other people and OURSELVES! Yes, may be the reason why you are not living the life you ought to live is because you are not letting yourself be in that kind of life. You are so focused on what should you be rather than what you want to be. It is like not being able to differentiate your wants from your needs. You don’t have to have what famous people have to say that you are living a life.

It is not about the things that you don’t have that make a wonderful life, rather it is the things that are already in your possession and how you utilize them. Take note, the bests in life come with no price tag.

Be positive. All the time!

Negativity is just around the corner waiting to consume you. Try seeing the positive side of everything because that is only when you have quality thoughts and happiness. Positivity is a choice.

Believe in yourself!

Happiness is when you do something you wanted to do so badly but the thought of failing is making you take a step backward. The first critic of your actions is yourself. You cannot make people see your worth if you don’t see it yourself. Remember that you are winner that is why you are here (and not those other sperm cells.)

Be courageous. Take risks!

Big opportunities only knock once so when they do, open your doors. Everything is a gamble because you cannot foresee tomorrow. Don’t be afraid to fail because without it, you cannot value the moment when you’ve finally succeeded. Your what if’s will be your greatest midnight hunters.

Be crazy. Violate rules!

Obedience is awesome but rules, like promises, are meant to be broken. Violating rules once in a while is fun, even a simple crossing on the road when the light turns red with the presence of traffic officers will be fun. Just don’t get caught and run as fast as you can. The moment you will be in that place again, I am sure as hell that you are going to laugh at yourself.

Be yourself!

You can idolize someone but don’t try to be completely like them. You are your own unique self and you don’t have to be like someone else to be part of the group. Honesty is the best policy and be honest of your own self. It is so much better to be hated for who you are rather than be loved for what you’re not.

How you handle what life throws at you is the secret on how to be successful and how to make your life worth living. Happiness is a choice. As Leo Tolstoy would say, if you want to be happy, be.