Happiness vs. Unhappiness

There is something I'm noticing as I grow older and more aware:

Happy people are almost always people who are at peace with themselves. I'm not talking about being happy on the surface, but on a much deeper level. There is no resentment present, no deep seeded issues that haven't been dealt with... only compassion and acceptance of themselves, others, and what is.

 

Happy people don't need to put others down, to bring themselves up.

Happy people enjoy taking the time to make others feel happy and good about themselves. This is probably the biggest one. You can't cheer someone else up if you're not happy yourself. It also goes the other way, when you're cheering someone else up, you automatically are filled with happiness yourself.

Happy people don't tend to take life too seriously. Happy people are "light" on the inside, and that carries through to their external body - it shows. They radiate a warmth and loving energy that quite literally affects everyone around them.

Happy people are often naturally giving by nature, selfless, and compassionate. This stems naturally from a place of love - due to the fact that when one is at peace with themselves, there is nothing but light energy, an openness, and love. Love/light cannot thrive in darkness, or negative energy. It's impossible.

 
Then there are those that are unhappy. Obviously when one is unhappy there is no peace within. There are issues that haven't been dealt with, and ego is almost always involved. Unhappy people radiate a darker energy. Have you ever walked into a room with an unhappy person? You can feel it with all of your being. You can feel the negative energy without anyone saying anything at all.

Unhappy people are always unhappy with themselves first. You cannot be happy with yourself, and negative towards other people. Again, light vs darkness. Not possible.

Unhappy people are often fixated on little things that are turned into big things. It takes on a snowball effect where they dwell on things until they can no longer bear to be around themselves, and are forced to make a change or fix the situation.

Unhappy people are often selfish (ie: too focused on themselves in that moment to be able to have compassion and sensitivity for another, or better yet, even compassion for themselves), so in summary they are blinded by Ego. Ego is mind-identification. Identify yourself by your mind and you're asking for trouble. It's a facade. It's covering up your natural state of being which is happiness; light; love.

There is a wonderful quote by the Dalai Lama - "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

A HAPPY person is compassionate with themselves & others, and forgiving of themselves and others. This automatically leads to happiness and joy.

Meditation Flash Mob Round #2!

If you're in Sydney on Saturday December 10th, please drop by Hyde Park and participate in the second round of Medmob!

It will be held at 11am (please arrive earlier to settle in) and the meditation will be for one hour. Afterwards, stay for the 10 minute sound bath and if you wish, connect with others!

Last week the first meditation extravaganza in Sydney (Circular Quay) was a huge success, starting off with around 150 people and almost doubled at the end to almost 300!

For more info please go to Medmob Wordpress Blog

Or "attend" the event on Facebook

Hope to see you there :)

Love Yourself

More often than not people in life are over critical of others and over critical of themselves. When people think of "loving them-self", we often tend to link that directly to being vain and brush it off without another thought. However it's so important that we are KIND to ourselves, and accept ourself for all that we are. If we do not love ourselves, we cannot love others.   Self love is at the very core of wellbeing, joy, self-empowerment, and your ability to create and enjoy the kind of life you want. The best thing is that loving yourself can start today! Accept all of your shortcomings, and recognise your positive attributes. When you love yourself and exude (modest) confidence, you attract wonderful things into your life.

What can you do?

♥ Write a list of all your positive traits and all the positive things you have to offer. They can be the smallest things - write it down!
♥ Remember all of your accomplishments - write down all the things you're proud of. Don't compare yourself to others, you are unique and there is no other person out there quite like you.
♥ Accept yourself - We all make mistakes, they are part of life, growing and learning. Be gentle with yourself.
♥ Mantras - Use mantras daily to uplift your spirit! When you're feeling down - try saying "I love myself unconditionally and recognize the extraordinary person that I am!" in your mind. Repeat it again and again until your mind finally gives in and believes it. Think of any mantra that resonates and feels right to you.  If it feels strange to say “I love myself,” then start of with something you believe to be true like, “I care about my wellbeing” or “I’m worthy of love.” Once your subconscious mind believes that you’re worthy of love, you’ll begin to accept it into your life.

Most importantly - Stay true to yourself!

♥ Don't try to be someone you're not. Be comfortable with who you are as a person. There is a wonderful quote I once heard that's stuck with me, and describes this perfectly -

"Become aware of what's beautiful within you and cultivate it."

- Be aware of what makes you special and beautiful, and utilize it. Make it all encompassing, let it grow and grow within you until you're physically glowing.
♥ Surround yourself with things that you love, and take part in activities that lift you up and help you feel peaceful. If you thrive on singing, sing! If you love nature, go outside and spend lots of time outdoors.  If you have a special talent for something, make sure you use it and love what you do. If you can use it to help others or inspire others, even better.

Meditation

I've personally just had the pleasure of completing Reiki 1, and during this course I've come to realise just how important and beneficial meditation is. Meditation has been linked to changes in metabolism, blood pressure, brain activation, and other bodily processes. It can also greatly reduce stress and pain.

Here are some tips on achieving a state of meditation:

1. Posture

Whether you sit on the floor with your legs crossed, or lay down, make sure your spine is straight and your body relaxed. If you tend to fall asleep easily, sitting up is probably best.

2. Eyes

You may have your eyes open or closed, whatever works best for you. However I find closing the eyes as a more effective way or settling the mind, as there are no visual distractions.

3. Focus

A good focus for meditation is your breath. Slowly inhale and exhale, and be aware of your belly as it rises and falls. You can also imagine a beam of all encompassing light entering through your crown and slowly making it's way through your body, through your arms and legs and down to your feet, then imagine it penetrating the core of the earth. Focusing on your breath is a great way to be present.

4. Thoughts

When you notice thoughts making it's way into your mind, gently let them go by returning yous focus to the breath.  Don't be hard on yourself or judge your thoughts, simply be the observer and move back to feeling your body, and the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe.

5. Emotions

It’s difficult to settle into meditation if you are struggling with strong emotions. The way to deal with strong emotions in meditation is to focus on the body feelings that accompany the emotion. For example, this could be the tight band of fear around the chest or the hot roiling of anger in the belly. Let go of the stories and refocus on your body.  Feeling, feeling feeling. Dis-identify from thought.

6. Silence

Make sure you're in a place of silence. Silence is healing and calming and helps you become more peaceful. I know that there are is a lot of ‘meditation music’ around, but nothing beats simple silence. Otherwise the music or sounds just drown out the chatter in your mind.

7. Length

if you're just starting out, sitting for 10 mins or so in stillness is enough. Otherwise however long it takes to settle your mind. When you've had more practice, extend the time spent in meditation. Whether it's 10 minutes or 2 hours - it's up to you! I find the longer I am in meditation for the more beneficial it is and the more I  'experience'.

Experiences:

During deep meditation, a  person may see colours, points of light, patterns, visions, or hear sounds or voices. The more common colours seen are blue, purple, green and yellow, and Geometric patterns are common as well. This is completely normal and should not be something to fear.   You are raising your consciousness and expanding your awareness. It is your path to the realm of light and spirit!
Accompanying these visions and sounds, you may feel strong emotions when wakening and returning to your normal environment.  You may experience overwhelming emotions of awe, wonder, deep peace, gratefulness, connection, love, or that you're part of something "greater" or bigger than your body.
You may even feel like you've been "home", which can be a very emotional but wonderful experience.

There is something beautiful about sitting in stillness and silence, and with practice it becomes easier to achieve a state of meditation.

The Divine Truth

1. Your point of power exists in the moment.
2. You were born with the power to create your own reality and determine the course of your own destiny. You either consciously create your reality, or subconsciously allow events to take place in your world.
3. What you create in your physical world is a reflection of your own beliefs.
4. To experience love and freedom, you have to be willing to give up control.
5. You have free will.
6. You are whole and complete - there is nothing missing inside of you.
7. You live in a world filled with love, abundance and joy. The way you perceive the world determines your experience.
8. What you receive is based on what you are willing to have and not on what you deserve.
9. Life is a gift from God/Goddess/All That Is and you are here to learn to receive.
10. The physical world is an illusion, and you can have as much of the illusion as you like.
11. You are a part of the process of evolution - you are who you are becoming and not just who you have been.
12. You can be anyone, have anything and do anything you choose, with harm to none.

- The Map of The Soul, Tricia Brennan.

Carry On

When the going gets tough, who does one turn to? Do you turn to someone else, or do you turn to yourself?
What gets you by when you're feeling hopeless, downtrodden, and completely rid of any energy?

When you experience a time like this, it's hard to keep perspective. It's hard to keep that smile on your face, your head held high and work through it. However it's important that you do. People go through hard times so that they can grow. You yourself might have something to realise or learn, someone else may have to learn from you, or you may have to experience something before other doors can open so that you can move onto another phase of your life.  More importantly - you may just need to let go of whatever it is that is causing you hardship, pain and struggle.

The best person to turn to in all of this is yourself. Your Higher Self. Listen to your intuition, and don't doubt for a second anything that little voice tells you, because it will never let you down. Your higher self is the real you. The part of you that rings true, the part of you that lifts you and lights you up. It's the wise voice inside that reminds you what to do or not to do, which you may sometimes brush off and regret later.

Never forget to stay true to yourself. You are responsible for your own happiness, no one else is. You are always free to make choices (better choices), and don't believe for a second that you aren't capable. You are! Learn to say no to others if something doesn't resonate with you, and learn to say yes to yourself.

There is always something positive out there waiting for you. You just need to listen to your inner self, and be prepared to look deeper.

Your Identity

I picked up a great book today - a book called "The 7 AHA!'s of Highly Enlightened Souls" by Mike George (You can downloaded a copy of his book here). I'll share a part that resonated with me most:

"What you see in the bathroom mirror in the morning is not you - it's only your body. The moment you think (believe) you are your body, you automatically think (believe) you will grow old and ugly and die. Though your body will, YOU don't. But if you believe that YOU do, you will think according to that belief, and youwill give birth to fear. And, as we saw earlier, all forms of stress have their roots in fear. All fear has it's roots in the fear of death, fear of loss or fear of the ending of comfort. They are all forms of death and this is why 99.99 per cent of all people experience some stress (fear) everyy day: because we have all been taught to believe we are only physical entities. However, belief is seldom truth and, in this case, we need the truth to set us free of false belief! In this case, the truth will set you free of fear, and therefore stress.
The truth is that you are not that body you see reflected in the mirror, you are a soul, you are spirit. It is not that you have a soul or spirit somewhere in your body, you ARE a soul. You are it! You, the soul, are conscious and self-aware. Soul, self, spirit and consciousness are synonymous. You are  not your body you occupy. The body is the dwelling and you are the dweller. You animate the body. It is your car, your temple. You cannot be cut, burned, drowned, or set on fire. Your body can, but YOU cannot.

Scientists have nothing to say about soul, because soul cannot be captured in a test tube. That's why you must not believe a word of what you read or hear (including here!) - you must put it to the test. Only when you test this insight, and experience it to be reality, will it be true for you. Belief is not truth and the greatest trth is your own experience. Or in this case, 'insperience' because, in order to 'insperience' as you truly are, you must withdraw your attention from the world 'out there' and transfer it to the world within. Do this only for a few minutes to begin with, until you are accustomed to the method. The following is the method.

Think of yourself as a conscious, self aware, point of spiritual light sitting inside your head, just above and behind the eyes. Your body is simply your car, your temple, your costume. Meditate on this insight and gradually it will become a direct 'insperience'. You will begin to go beyond your own thoughts (you are not your thoughts) and into the direct experience of your silent self. You will begin to realise and experience yourself as non-physical, therefore not subject to death, and therefore eternal, and therefore without the need to fear anything. As this truth becomes mroe real in everyday situations, you will begin to feel less fearful, less unsure, less anxious, less helpless, less dependent and less powerless. Slowly but surely, in every area of your life, you will begin to feel calmer, more relaxed and more confident in your power and ability to handle the challenges which you encounter in everyday life.

You are not your name, position, nationality, or belief system. They are labels and roles, but they are not you. You are not even male or female. You are the being aspect of the human, the mind not the matter, the soul not the body. You are not even your thoughts and feelings. When you realise this, then change will come easily, all your problems will begin to dissolve, and a natural happiness and a deep inner peace will return."

The Power of Being.

I was sitting in the garden today reading Eckhart Tolle's "Power of Now" book, when an overwhelming feeling of understanding and stillness washed over me. I suddenly learnt how important it is to live in the present moment at all times. There is no such thing as past or future, all we have is now.
When a person is still within themselves, present, and aware... you suddenly catch a glimpse of your deepest self, your higher self - who you really are. There is no ego, there is no stream of insistent thoughts, there is no negativity... all there is is simply contentment and peace.

I'm learning to disidentify from my mind. When I do that, my mind is no longer in control. There is space of consciousness. Therefore I am at peace, quiet and still. I am. The mind was meant as a tool. It was not meant to control us.

So every now and then whilst I was reading, I would stop for a while, and experience moments of contentment and peace. It was in one of these moments that suddenly out of "nowhere" (also known as the unconscious self) bursts of creativity shot out - I created two quotes, based on what I had learnt and felt.

"Observe your thoughts and your emotions. You will learn a great deal about your conscious self".

"As I sit peacefully with myself, suddenly I am able to see the world as beautifully as intended."

It's lovely having had such an experience. And now that I know how to achieve that genuine feeling of peace, love, contentment and joy (by living in the present moment, and practicing awareness by watching my thoughts and emotions)... I can live it again and again.

Note: Do not confuse joy with the 'fake' joy that is derived from something external, something outside you. It is the joy that arises from within. The joy that arises from beyond the mind. Now that is something beautiful.

Join us - Meditation Flash Mob!

If you're keen on sending some positive intentions out to the world and encouraging others to live a life of peace and harmony, please join your local MedMob group for an hour of (random) public meditation.

Sydney will be holding it's first meditation flash mob event on November 11th, 2011 @ 11am, at the Tarpeian Lawn, Royal Botanical Gardens in Circular Quay (near the Opera House).


NO experience necessary, everyone is welcome! You may meditate, sit quietly, or simply stand by if you wish. Your presence is what's most important :)

For more information please go to:

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=219082058137084
and
https://www.facebook.com/MedMobSydney

Hope to see you there!

In the end, only kindness matters.

Life is made up of little moments.

Please don't forget to be kind to someone today.

Smile, offer a helping hand, listen to someone free of judgement, compliment them, open your heart and fill others with love, hope, and courage.

And most of all, please don't forget how special you are, why you were put on this earth, and just how much you're capable of influencing or changing another's life for the better.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo F. Buscaglia

Are you a Lightworker?

Lightworkers are those who volunteered, before birth, to help the planet and its population heal from the effects of fear. Each lightworker is here for a sacred purpose. Very often, however, life on earth with its material focus creates a form of amnesia in lightworkers. They then forget their divine and perfect identities, and also their abilities to miraculously help the earth and all living creatures. When lightworkers forget their true identity and purpose, they feel lost and afraid.

You're are a lightworker if you: feel called to heal others; want to resolve the world's social and environmental problems; believe that spiritual methods can heal any situation; have had mystical experiences, such as psychic premonitions or angelic encounters; have endured harsh life experiences that eroded the knowledge of your Divine perfection; want to heal your own life as a first step in healing the world; feel compelled to write, teach, or counsel about your healing experiences, or feel a sense of time urgency to fulfill your mission before you know that you are here for a higher purpose, or even if you are unsure what it is or how to fulfill it.

Everywhere on the planet right now, lightworkers are awakening to faint memories about why they came to earth. They hear an inner calling that can't be ignored. This call is a reminder that it is now time to stop toying with material dreams, and get to work.

Many lightworkers are discovering innate spiritual gifts, such as psychic communication skills and spiritual healing abilities. These are the gifts that we volunteered to use to heal the earth and her population during the crucial decades surrounding the millennium.

Lightworkers tend to be highly sensitive & intuitive, drawn to the healing arts or creative pursuits. Whatever they do, at some point they will feel called to do something more meaningful & possibly spiritual or soulful with their lives, something to help others or change things in the world that just don’t feel right.

We who are lightworkers don't necessarily need to add anything to ourselves to prepare for our mission. We already have innate abilities, even if they are presently dormant.

- Doreen Virtue

I Am Compassion

Found this awesome non profit organisation called I Am Compassion. They also design and sell clothing (http://www.iamcompassion.org/cc/)

This is a great way to spread the word and let it be a reminder to everyone to live in love everyday.

com·pas·sion:

–noun

1.a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.