Happiness

Today I want to write about happiness.
What if you discovered that happiness is both a state (of being and mind), as well as a choice?
Believe it or not, we can choose to be happy.
The Dalai Lama talks of it in his wonderful book, The Art of Happiness.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Happiness-Handbook-Living/dp/0340750154/sr=8-1/qid=1171794256/ref=pd_ka_1/203-3634280-8712741?ie=UTF8&s=books

Remember: there is always going to be times when it is not possible or authentic to be happy.
So, how can one choose to be happy? Here are a few ideas to consider...

1. Be grateful for what you have (write a list in your gratitude diary)
2. Realise that this too will pass
3. Gain perspective on the bigger picture - why get caught up in something transient when you will be here, in this spirit form, for milenia either past, present or future? This moment is really a drop in the ocean
4. You have been given life, which is a great blessing. As long as you are breathing, you have a choice. Not about what happens to you so much as how you react to it and what you do with your current circumstances
5. Don't put yourself under pressure to be something or someone you are not
6. Pray for peace and see how little time it takes for that warmth to wash over you. Archangel Michael is a good one for happiness
7. Recognise that what others do or so to you does not have to effect how you feel. It may do, it can do and it often does, but it doesn't have to
8. Listen to a beautiful piece of music, sing a song you enjoy, paint or draw, write a poem, go outside for a walk, wonder at a piece of art, look at old photos you enjoy, make some hearty soup, take a long bath, watch an inspiring film, read an inspiring book... self nurture provides a playground for happiness to blossom.

So, to your happiness and those of all beings.

Love Beth xx