Dear Ones,
Happiness comes from BEING happy, not from DOING happy. And happiness comes from a decision to be happy inside yourself.
So many people are seeking happiness but focusing all their attention on what’s wrong with their lives and with the world around them. Too many look at what is not right, according to their definition of ‘right,’ and decide that they are not happy with the situation. And others feel so overwhelmed with life that they cannot even imagine feeling happy.
We want you to stop searching for happiness and decide that you’ve already found it.
What can you find right now, in this moment, to feel happy about? If you can’t find anything when you look around at your life then picture something. Find something to smile about. Find one thing in this present moment that you can feel happy about.
Now, expand that feeling. Happiness isn’t about having everything you want in your life and it isn’t about everything being ‘just so’ as you think is right. So give up that aspect of your search. Expand the feeling of one thing that you can think of to be happy about. Extend that feeling around you. Put your arms out and spin around slowly sending ‘happy energy’ into the room you’re in. Just pretend you can fill it up with happy laughter.
And then laugh at yourself.
You know, human beings are pretty funny creatures. Some people have hair growing in one place where they don’t want it but can’t grow it the way they want it elsewhere. Some people have bodies they don’t like. Some folks have crooked smiles that they share too seldom because they’re embarrassed that they don’t look perfect. What is this all about?
People think of themselves as the physical being they see in the mirror. They then think that everyone else sees them only as that physical being. We would tell you that you are so much more than that physical body. Those who really see you as a person see the energy being that you are who is capable of great love and great compassion. Serious people see you as the Light that shines out of your eyes and the heart that you spread to those around you. People who think deeply remember the time you helped them or comforted them or gave them sage advice. YOU are the only one who sees yourself as the body that is reflected back in the mirror. Others see you as so much more. Are you willing to see yourself as others see you?
Happiness is like body image. You look at the surface of your life and decide that you don’t feel happy about it. But is that what your Life really is – what you see on the surface? Of course not! Your Life is the network of friends and family that you have created. Your Life holds all the mystery of the unfolding possibilities that lie in front of you. Your history is just that – history – that has contributed to the person you are in this present moment, but that history is not WHO you are NOW.
Focus on the deeper aspects of Life today. Give yourself some breathing room. Notice that other people don’t care if a hair is out of place and they won’t remember tomorrow what you’re wearing on your feet today, even if you agonized this morning over which pair of shoes you wanted to wear! Be yourself for you are good enough just as you are. You are a perfect person in this moment. And there is happiness available to you if you pause and allow yourself to experience it.
Be fully present in this moment and find something to be happy about, even if it’s just that you are wearing matching shoes!


MUSE-INGS: “Let’s Avoid Another Dark Age” by Rosemary Bredeson
October 19, 2010 — RosemaryA Dark Age? That’s an interesting thought. And apathy would be the cause?
‘Hatred’ seems like such a strong word but it does seem as though a lot of people are busy hating other people. Did you know that using the word ‘hate’ affects your liver? Imagine how your liver would feel if you went around focusing your attention on hating others. Not good.
So how do we make sure we are focused on the energy of the Light, on Love? Do we have to go back to the days of flowers in our hair and bring back the flower children of the 60s? OK, so some of us wouldn’t have to dip back too far in our own lives to find those children of the 60s, but is that what we’re being called to do?
I don’t think so. I believe that within each of us there is Light. Each heart wants to Love. Each mind wants to explore, to delve into ideas, to be creative. Each spirit wants to grow. So if that is what is inside every human being, how do we get distracted? By that something that is just beyond our reach, the next thing that we can reach for. For some, it’s something tangible. For others, it’s more ephemeral, but there’s something outside our reach that is drawing us even if we’re not sure what ‘it’ is.
And so we become focused on acquiring and forget to be present in the current moment. We forget that human beings are connected to each other just by sharing the same air on the same planet at the same moment in history. We forget that the energy of Love allows us to solve problems from a place where all possibilities exist, a place of expansion. Have you experienced those moments of connection, of expansion, when you listen to a news story? For example, some miners were trapped in a Chilean mine for 2 months and the whole world focused attention on their safety, on the families that stood waiting for them to be rescued. People didn’t think about differences but about how they would feel if it were their loved one trapped in that mine. The rescue was watched by millions around the world and cheered by all. What an amazing thing that the whole world can look at that situation and bring people to a sense of connectedness with people who are different but who are just people, just like people everywhere. THIS is what the power of the Light can manifest. This is the power of Universal Love.
Do you ever find yourself saying, “I hate [whatever, whoever]?” Do you think you can become conscious of your use of the word ‘hate’ and change it? Instead of “I hate mushrooms” maybe you could say, “I prefer not to eat mushrooms.” After all, what did a mushroom ever do to you? Or, “I hate it when people are late for appointments” could become “I wish people were on time but, if they’re late, I always carry something to do, like make notes or read a book.”
Catch yourself energizing hatred in the world. Are there groups of people that you don’t Love? Do you really need to ‘hate’ them? Are there folks that you disagree with? Do you really need to ‘hate’ them? As a society, we used to be able to ‘agree to disagree.’ Let’s return to that energy and allow others to believe differently without invoking the energy of ‘hate’ around the situation. We don’t have to love what someone is saying but we can love that spark of Light that we know is inside them.
If we keep our thoughts and energy focused on Light, there won’t have to be another Dark Age!
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