Soul Food-The Happiness Presciption & What We Can Do

Secrets of Happiness

I watched a talk given by Deepak Chopra last night and this is what I learned, which I will share with you. There’s something called molecules of emotion, wherever a thought goes a molecule follows and it effects our biology. The ultimate goal of all goals is a Spiritual goal, which include such things as love, peace, harmony, and joy.

Happiness is  subjective sate of well-being. When we are in tune with the elements and forces of the Universe, we then an expression of Universal consciousness. People think they want or need: (the below list) to be happy.

• a relationship
• success
• a nice hoe
• money

When in reality it is the reverse, when we are happy, then and only then the aforementioned will follow! As it states in the Bible (and other spiritual sources) seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, which literally means go within, go inside yourself, discover your Soul, the essence of who you are.

Studies have shown a strange mix of what makes people happy, but the research does  indicate the happiest people on the globe are in Mexico and Puerto Rico, the United States didn’t fare too well on that. Well-being is the number one sought after things in the world.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”― Mahatma Gandhi

This is what research has determined about happiness:

• Biological setpoint in the brain: which affects how we look at a situation. We are either looking at a situation as a problem or an opportunity. We need to examine our behaviors and perceptions and question our perceptions to alter how we see the world, which then alters the molecules of emotion.
• Meditation: alters the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which activates the neurotransmitters to orchestrate the dance of your Soul.
• Cognitive Therapy: helps you get rid of an idea that you hold to be true (a false belief), helping you change your perception of who you are, or your reality of who you think you are.
• Life Situations: is not a major determent of our happiness, only 8-15% of life situations account for our happiness. Research shows we always go back to the state of mind before the life situation occurred, (such as winning the lotto).
• Voluntary Actions: the choices we make, pleasure seeking, such as sex, eating ice cream, etc. Immediate gratification, in other words, and these are transitory.
• Fulfillment: Sense of accomplishment, Making a difference, Expressing our Creativity, Inspiration & Imagination, When you make other people happy

Then there’s the Golden Rule:

• If you want success – make someone else successful
• If you want happiness – make others happy
• If you want respect – respect others
• If you want admiration – admire traits in others
• If you want money – tithe where you are spiritually fed
• If you want love – love everyone

Life contains suffering, and the causes for our suffering, not knowing the true nature of ourselves or reality. It’s the conscious sentient beings who are aware. It’s the shift in our perceptions of who we are, then everything changes. Consciousness is a Universal field; our consciousness influences the field. The consciousness inside of us is the basis of all reality.

The Eight-Fold Path of Enlightenment:

1. Right View: Change our perceptions, be non-judgmental, give up being right all the time, we’re all connected, there’s no such thing as separation (this I personally see as the #1 thing that separates this country)
2. Correct Thinking: Question your thinking, we’re either coming from fear & separation, or love & unity, pay attention to what kind of thoughts you are participating in
3. Right Speech: Holistic speech, listening, actually observing ourselves speaking consciously, then make correct choices
4. Right Action: Karmically correct choices, when you know your choices come from the Divine, when you’re impeccable with your choices
5. Right Livelihood: Nurture the Ecosystem
6. Diligence
7. Meditation: Ask what’s my purpose? What’s my contribution to the world?
8. Mindfulness: Witnessing, the highest form of human intelligence is the ability to observe yourself without judgment, and in that comes a transformation

The Buddha once he set out on his path to enlightenment, he came to understand that the breath, thoughts, emotions,  all arise, then subside. There’s a Law of Impermanence of Life, which leads to the insight that suffering comes from an attachment to a field of impermanence. We are not a separate self.  We are a reflection of all selves. We are a part of everything that exists. There’s a deeper consciousness in which thoughts arise and subside. The consciousness behind thoughts is the same consciousness behind all the intelligent activity of the total Universe.

We fear death because we are attached to the idea of a personal self that is permanent. We are transient manifestations, we change from a baby, a teenager and on up. However, we cling, suffer and become unhappy. We must step back and see ourselves as a transpersonal self.

TEN KEYS TO HAPPINESS:

1. Listen to your body’s wisdom, it’s a cosmic computer, eavesdrop on the mind of the Universe
2. Live in the present, awareness, being the observer
3. Embrace silence, meditation, leaps of creativity
4. Relinquish your need for external approval, remember Teri-Cole Whitaker “What you think of me is none of my business”
5. Relinquish your anger or oppositions, be self-actualized
6. Total self-knowledge, we are seeing ourselves as the world
7. Don’t judge others or yourself, love yourself, go back to the Louise Hay mirror work
8. Eliminate toxins from your body, toxic relationships, food, habits, work, substances
9. Replace fear with love, read Gerald Jampolsky Love is letting go of fear
10. Cultivate witnessing awareness, comes with meditation, be an alert witness, I’m not my body or mind

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience”. ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

PS Anything in my blogs that is BLUE, bold, & underlined is a link! I’ve left you three links, for the books I’ve mentioned, check them out.

Be safe during these times, don’t isolate your love for humanity, be kind, and be generous, I love you…

 

Eva Starr