January 21, 2010

• Happiness is yours for the taking

  Happiness is yours for the taking. As we’ve mentioned before, your happiness cannot be dependent on anything external or else you are completely dependent. Happiness must be generated from inside.This is not saying that happines isn't from external sources since we are physical beings, but recognizing what contributes to real inner happiness.The difference between the happiness from say having your favorite team win and the happiness you get from true friends and family or helping others.

   

  Happiness that is dependent on external factors is illusory. It can make you feel like you really are happy, or it can make you feel like you ought to be happy. Either way, the reality sets in and sometimes you actually feel worse. Some people go to a party on New Year’s Eve, drink, laugh, and tell jokes with their friends, and then go home depressed. The expectation of joy can be depressing when you don’t really have anything specific to be joyful about. So you bought a new calendar. Big deal.

   

  Physicality by its very nature is limited and temporary. So any emotions attached to it will be that way also. Our soul, the inner part of us, is connected to the Infinite and therefore brings us longer lasting joy, and true joy. Happiness must, has to, is imperative that it comes from the inside out, not from the outside in. “Happiness depends upon ourselves” as Aristotle once said.

   

  Ask yourself what you are thankful for. Notice the things in life that give you pleasure. Become a connoisseur of inner pleasure like a wine connoisseur is about wine. Every thing you need for happiness is already on the inside. Appreciation. Almost everything in your environment is giving you some kind of pleasure. All you need to do is focus your attention on it. It is human nature to focus on what we do not have. It takes a tiny bit of effort to focus on what we do have, which is a lot. Imagine you want to be a musician but can’t afford an instrument. Here’s a guy that can play his own beard…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGaaxlvP-BA&feature=related  which didn’t cost him a dime.

   

  But seriously folks life is providing you with many pleasures that go unnoticed every day like running water, electricity, indoor plumbing, friends, family, work etc. When you take the time to notice your pleasure, it will put you in a better mood.

   

  Deeply imbedded in our psyche is the desire to cling to the Infinite. All the pleasures of this world, from a warm bath to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, are a tiny glimpse of the infinite pleasure that is  the spiritual  side of this life. By taking the time to focus our attention on it here, we are opening ourselves up to an infinite source of an infinite variety of pleasure.

  It’s your inner appreciation that shows you how everything and everywhere are a source of some kind of pleasure. You’re not relying on what is outside, but what is inside.

  This is not to say that there aren't bad things in life that can make keeping your eye on the pleasant things difficult at times, but more often than not; it is the inconsequential that does this.How often has some minor thing ruined your mood that you know will have no effect of your life just a few days,or even hours, from when it happens? I have to plead guilty as charged on that myself at times.The idea is to hone the practice of paying more attention to what is spiritually uplifting and gives inner happiness

  The ideals of belief in a World to Come puts all of life into perspective. After all, if God can do anything, and there isn’t a next world, He sure made a very flawed existence for us. Don’t get me wrong, there are awesomely beautiful and wonderful things about life from beginning to end: love, accomplishment, wisdom, Beethoven, Michelangelo, etc. But we could have done without all the war, ignorance, tyranny, and famine,  mosquitoes, Beevis and Butthead, etc.

  We often see the hand of God at work in this world, but we also see injustice. It must be, if God is just, that another realm exists that recompenses the sufferers in this world, and does justice with the wrongdoers.

  The next world is not a side point; it is a crucial component of Monotheism. Ancient Bible scholars, sages and kabbalists referred to an afterlife. Maimonides includes it as one of his famous Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith. The Midrash and Talmud make many,  many references to the next world. It’s incontrovertible that throughout history it has been a cornerstone of Judaism,Christianity,Islam and many other beliefs. You can believe what you want. It’s a free country.

  The real awesome experience of being one with God, which is the reward for doing good acts in this world, can only be experienced in a realm designed specifically for reward and closeness to the Infinite. This world is perfectly designed for challenges; the next world is perfectly designed for pleasure and delight with the Creator.

  When put in their proper perspective all of life’s difficulties become understandable. Not easy, not pleasant, but understandable. And as the great psychologists have said, when a person understands his/her suffering, the burden is alleviated greatly. We can still have tranquility of soul. We can still have peace of mind.

  No matter what the difficulty, we can emerge with inner peace, and happiness if we keep our minds and spirits focused on that inner happiness we get from the real pleasures of life and keep that proper perspective concerning things that don't.

  • 9:15 am
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