DailyHappyLiving.com

gopimenon September 29th, 2009

I have been sharing several ideas, beliefs and tips on happy living the past several months.  Today I would like to lay out a set of daily actions to be done in order to make Happy Living a reality for you!

To help you work out your own set of daily actions for Daily Happy Living, I would like to share my Daily Routine.  Starting from when I first wake up these are the normal actions I undertake each day:

1. Immediately on waking up, while still lying in bed, I become aware of how I feel,  because it is not everyday that I wake up feeling happy and enthusiastic.   This could be due to a lot of reasons – interrupted sleep, waking up suddenly during the middle of my dream cycle, insufficient rest,  etc. 

   On those days if I feel a little down I immediately carry out this self-talk:  “Why am I feeling down?  What are the thoughts I am entertaining right now?  What thoughts will put me in a better frame of mind?  Who is in control of my mind?” 

   Then, because I know that I can CHOOSE what thoughts I allow to dwell in my mind, I begin to ‘change channels’ or ‘flip switch’  i.e. I purposely change my thoughts to those that give me feelings of joy and peace! 

   Thoughts of my grandchildren and their cute behavior or even of my children when they were  toddlers (e.g. see Evian Roller Babies video on this page), or some dream I want to achieve, or an event that gave me a lot of pleasure and so on.  Thus when I do get up off the bed I am already in a happy frame of mind.

2. Next I do my ‘mirror exercise’ – look at myself in the mirror and really love the person in the mirror!
3. After morning ablutions and before breakfast, I switch on my laptop and listen to a 10 minute meditation tape and then read my ‘Daily Mental Conditioners’ and look at my ‘vision board’ of things that I want and their timeline.   This keeps me focused on what I want from my life and not on what I don’t want – which is key to happy living!
4. When I get downstairs, I then greet my wife with a resounding “Good Morning” and give her a hug!
5. After breakfast I avoid reading the newspaper – which will more often than not put me back in a ‘bad mood’ which I do not want!   (Instead I check my emails, which takes me some time.)
6. Since I have now begun to work at Internet Marketing from the home, I then begin to carry out some of the myriad duties I need to get done – such as learning about list building and driving traffic, then sending out ads,  writing a draft of a blog post or article, etc.
7. Then it is time for Lunch and a short nap!
8. After Tea, I continue with some of the work I had begun earlier – sending classified ads, solo ads, writing articles, etc.
9. In the evening, if there are no family activities planned, after dinner I may watch TV or read some of my downloaded inspirational ebooks!
10. This will put me in a happy frame of mind before going to bed.  Just before sleeping I also listen to a relaxation audio which helps me further wind down (and sleep like a child!)

I realize that most of the readers who are working at a day-job will not be able to follow all the steps of my routine listed above.  However everyone should be able to carry out Steps 1 to 5  and Steps 9 & 10 each day.  Best of all you can always plan your own day to suit your daily job or other activities.

Just remember to be Aware of Your Feelings, because feelings are the best gauge of the thoughts you are holding in your mind) and then Choose to think only the Thoughts that will make you Feel Happier and at Peace!  This will make Daily Happy Living a habit and a reality for you!

As always, Expect Happiness!

A couple of inspirational ebooks I am reading at present are as follows:

Free From Fear: This book shows 22 ways to overcome fears and phobias. You can download this ebook for FREE by clicking on the title above.

Outrageous Mastery This book is a truly unusual TRUE story of a woman who went from Wealthy, to Broke and Back to Success. Check it out by clicking the link above.

• happy living , unhappiness
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gopimenon September 13th, 2009

In my last post I discussed why I believe God is FOR us and NOT against us!  Today we will continue with the discussion.  If God is for us, then logically this World He created for us, is also FOR us and NOT against us, as many have taught us to believe.

I like to think of this World as a learning institution – a school, college or university rather than as a penal colony! Just think about this.   Didn’t we have some of our best times during our college or university days?  Most of us feel nostalgic about the ‘good old days in school’, which is why we have so many annual get togethers for Old Boys/Past Pupils!

At college we had the opportunity to learn so much, do so much and experience so much!  We could study in the libraries and classrooms, we could carry out experiments in the laboratories, we could play games, take part in athletic events and we could learn to debate.   Depending on the college, we could also swim, learn music,  dance and acting,  we could make lifelong friends, we could even fall in love!  Best of all we could have fun doing all these!

Isn’t that how the world is set up too?  For us to have fun learning, doing, feeling, growing and experiencing everything we have an interest in?  What better way can there be for humans to develop and grow and exploit all their innate talents that they have been gifted with?  So I believe that the World is like an institution of learning!

And what do we have to do to get promoted from year to year?   We have to study and carry out our assignments to the best of our abilities.   Then we are sure of being promoted to the next year and so on till graduation.  Do we have to constantly worry about the syllabus in the coming year or getting into the university of our choice after graduation?  No.  All we have to do is concentrate on doing a good job in the classroom and in our co-curricular activities each year and we are SURE to be promoted to the next year and ultimately get an entrance to our favorite university!  Of course if we cut classes, and never do our assignments and only make trouble for the other students, we will not be promoted to the next year but may have to repeat or even be suspended!

I feel that it is the same when it comes to living in this world.   If we live a good and great and happy life in this dimension (college) we will be SURELY promoted to a better/higher dimension in due course!  So why do we worry so much about the next life or the afterlife?  Why do we need to appease the gods, or pray for salvation?   We are already on the path to salvation – just by living, and living well!  (What living well means has been mentioned in my earlier posts but will be elaborated upon in a forthcoming post!)

Now, if we don’t learn our lessons in this life and refuse our worldly assignments, then it should be no surprise that we have to come back and repeat this life over again.   Refusing to live, learn and grow – saying that life is an illusion - is not going to make any difference!  You will learn!  Sooner or later, but you will learn! Remember that the Universe has infinite time so it has Infinite Patience! It is not in any hurry!   If you refuse to learn all that you are supposed to learn in this lifetime, that’s okay.    If you refuse to follow your inner programming (or conscience) that is okay too!  Remember the Universe also has Infinite Compassion!  So you are not going to be punished if you fail to learn in this lifetime.  You are not going to sent to HELL for eternity! You will be give more chances to learn, that is all.  You will just have to keep coming back again and again and again (if you so choose) to this world until you are ready to be promoted to the next dimension!

Our souls took on this life form in order to experience, to learn, to love and to enjoy and hence to GROW.  The best way we can fulfill that purpose is to LIVE – to think, to feel & to experience enthusiastically with our whole heart and mind and soul.

If we remember that God is for us, the world is for us and that we humans have been programmed for happiness, it should not be difficult to make daily happy living a reality!

• happiness , happy living , unhappiness , universal laws
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gopimenon September 7th, 2009

Hi There,

Over the past few months we have explored several principles of happy living. From today onwards we will see how to put these principles into practice in our daily lives.

As I have said before it is our deep seated Beliefs that create our Reality! Whether our lives are happy or miserable, whether we are successful achievers or failures, whether we have happy relationships or not, whether we are paranoid or at peace with the world, all depends on how we habitually think and what beliefs we hold!

Thus the principles of Happy Living I’m talking about are no more than BELIEFS that we choose to accept. We choose these beliefs because it makes sense to us and will enable us to achieve daily happy living!   BEST OF ALL – WE CAN CHOOSE OUR BELIEFS! SO WHY NOT CHOOSE SELF-EMPOWERING RATHER THAN SELF-DEFEATING BELIEFS?

So here we go!  Let us start with  the Happy Living Principle #1 which is:
“God and the Universe is FOR us, NOT Against us!”

How can the belief that ‘God is For Us’ make us happy? Just think about it. Would you be happy if you think that the Supreme Power is against you (constantly judging you and your actions and waiting to punish you in the hereafter); something that you have to FEAR?

I would feel it very difficult to be happy.  It would be like living in a country ruled by a powerful dictator!  I would be always looking over my shoulder to see if I am being watched, who can I trust, when is the secret police coming to my home, etc.  But even living under such a dictatorship may be tolerable compared to having to live in fear of an All Powerful, All Knowing, and ever Vengeful God!

If we think of God in those terms then we have no choice but to be miserable and helpless!  We will spend our lives trying in vain to ‘appease’ an angry God with rituals, sacrifices or prostrations, not knowing when we have done ‘enough’ to please God!  What a terrible, thankless way to look at God!

But that is how we have been taught to look at God, to be ‘God-fearing’ as though it is such a great state to be in! We should have been taught to be ‘God-loving’ instead. That is why I insist that the saying ‘Man Proposes, God Disposes’ should be changed to `Man Proposes, God Endorses’!

Then we would come to think of God the Supreme Power as a most loving parent, one who encourages us in our endeavors, and forgives us our mistakes.  Now the whole picture changes!  We are able to live our lives with a happy heart, go after our dreams with confidence and truly live a joyful life.

Now you may ask “How can we believe that God is like a loving parent and not a vengeful dictator?” What is the proof that this is true?  I will answer: “Why not?”  What is your proof that God is a vengeful dictator?  I have more proof of God’s love than of his punishment!

The instant I began to think of God as a loving parent, everything changed for me.   I had no more fear of the afterlife because I know that a loving parent would never create a Hell (a place of eternal punishment for our ‘sins’ in a limited lifetime).   I do not fear death because I know I will be ‘promoted’ to the next level in our evolution (or another dimension) in due course.   I only need to concentrate on living a great and wonderful life while I am here – and my promotion is guaranteed!

Next let me elaborate on my belief that the ‘Universe is For Us’ and not against us.   Just try this experiment:

• Imagine the perfect world.  What do you consider to be a perfect world?    Think about it and come up with your own vision of an ideal world.  Have you done that?

• Now ask yourself:  “Have I greater intelligence or more compassion than God, the Omnipotent (all-powerful), the Omniscient (all-knowing), the All-Loving?”

• If your answer is – “Of course not?  How can I be more intelligent or have more compassion than God? “

Then obviously this world that God himself has created must be the perfect world – not the world that we (or many of our religious teachers), who in our own ignorance and foolish arrogance, imagine it should be!

This world is perfect for human beings at our present state of growth or evolution, simply because God created it that way!  A story will illustrate this better:

The Wicked Man who Loved Fishing.

There was once a wicked man with no redeeming qualities, who had only one hobby – fishing.  When he died he expected to go to hell.  But on his death he found himself beside a beautiful lake.  He was given a lovely fishing rod.  He could not believe his good fortune.

He threw the line into the water and immediately he got a fish.  He was excited.  He threw the line in a second time – and immediately got another fish.   By the end of 15 minutes he had a basketful of fish and he was getting really bored.

Then he realized that if he were to continue to catch a fish each time he threw in the line, it was going to be Hell!”

What is the moral of the story?  The basic moral is that:  We as humans need challenges to overcome if we are to feel that we have achieved anything worthwhile!   In life there must be challenges to make life exciting.   We grow by overcoming challenges, not by avoiding them.   Achievement is all the sweeter, if there is struggle involved.

But the moral of the story for me that “God is NOT stupid and God is NOT a vengeful dictator!” The Creator knows what is good for us humans and thus He/She has created this wonderful world for us to live, experience, feel, learn, grow, enjoy, exploit our talents, achieve our goals and feel truly fulfilled!

So the challenges we face as humans in this the world is there for our growth and for our ultimate happiness – not as punishment for our ‘transgressions’ by an implacable dictator! 

To be continued….

• happiness , happy living , unhappiness
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